Which statement best describes descriptive statistics in rodent data?

• A. They test hypotheses about a population.
• B. They summarize data using measures like means, medians, and variability.
• C. They determine causal relationships.
• D. They compare groups using p-values.

Answer: (C)

Descriptive statistics describe what the data look like by summarizing their central tendency and spread. In rodent data, you would report the average body weight, the median age, and the range or standard deviation to show how variable the measurements are across individuals. These summaries help you see patterns, such as whether weights cluster around a typical value or spread widely, without making inferences beyond the observed group. Inferential statistics, by contrast, involve testing hypotheses about a population and often rely on p-values to decide if observed differences are likely not due to chance. Establishing causation requires experimental manipulation and cannot be concluded from descriptive summaries alone. Therefore, descriptive statistics are precisely the summaries of data using means, medians, and measures of variability.