The frequency distribution provides the baseline information.
> table(Outcome)
Outcome
0 3 4 5 7 9
2 1 2 1 1 1
In each case, the table header row lists all the actual scores in the entire data set.
“Table” provides the number of times that score exists. For example, the score of 4 was listed 2 times.
The descriptive statistics show the key elements to be interpreted.
> length(Outcome)
[1] 8
> mean(Outcome)
[1] 4
> var(Outcome)
[1] 9.714286
> sd(Outcome)
[1] 3.116775
“Length” refers to the number of scores.
Here, the mean (4.000), standard deviation (3.117), and variance/mean squares (9.714) are shown.
The purpose of descriptive statistics is to provide the reader with an idea about the basic elements of the group(s) being studied. Note that this also forms the basis of the in-text presentation of descriptive statistics for other inferential analyses.
The participants (N = 8) had a low mean Outcome score (M = 4.00, SD = 3.12).