Question

Drug x, a drug that claims to treat male pattern scalp hair loss, was administered for 12 months to over 1800 men aged 18 to 41 with mild to moderate amounts of ongoing hair loss. Whether they were receiving drug x or a placebo ( a pill containing no medication), all men were given a medicated shampoo. In general, men who took drug x maintained or increased the number of visible scalp hairs; while scalp hairs counts in men who took the placebo continued to decrease. This concluded that drug x is effective in maintaining or increasing the amount of scalp hair in men.a. Which statement in this example can be referred to as descriptive statistics?b. Which statement in this example can be referred to as inferential statistics?

Answer 1

The following statement

'In general, men who took drug x maintained or increased the number of visible scalp hairs; while scalp hairs counts in men who took the placebo continued to decrease'

can be referred as descriptive statistics, since we are saying that the msot of the men who took the drug gain scalp hairs while the contrary happened from those men who took placebo.

On the other hand, the statement

'drug x is effective in maintaining or increasing the amount of scalp hair in men'

Is a deduction you make, so it can be referred as inferential statistics