Which statement about descriptive statistics is true?

• A. They are used to test causal relationships.
• B. They summarize data, such as central tendency and variability.
• C. They generalize findings to a population.
• D. They determine statistical significance.

Answer: (B)

Descriptive statistics describe the dataset by summarizing its main features, focusing on central tendency and variability. Central tendency tells you the typical value in the data (mean, median, mode), while variability shows how spread out the data are (range, variance, standard deviation, interquartile range). These summaries give a clear, concise picture of what the data look like without making claims beyond the sample. The other statements involve inferring relationships, generalizing to a population, or testing for significance, which are aspects of inferential statistics, not descriptive statistics.