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Parametric and Non-Parametric Statistics Use in Research Methods

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Submitted By githundi
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Pages 15
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND EXTERNAL STUDIES
SCHOOL OF CONTINUING AND DISTANCE EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EXTRA-MURAL STUDIES.

NYERI EXTRAMURAL CENTRE

MASTER IN PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

COURSE: LDP 603: RESEARCH METHODS
ASSIGNMENT
STUDENT; GITHUNDI BEDAN.
ADMISSION REF-27086/2013
LECTURER; Dr. Lilian Otieno, Resident Lecturer

I am tasked to distinguish between parametric and non-parametric statistics and explain when to use each method in analysis of data.
I shall first seek to define what parametric and non-parametric statistics mean and then compare and contrast them in the analysis of data.
Parametric statistics is a branch of statistics that assumes that the data has come from a type of probability distribution and makes inferences about the parameters of the distribution. Most well-known elementary statistical methods are parametric. (According to Wikipedia, the online dictionary).
In statistical analysis, parametric significance tests are only valid if certain assumptions are met. If they are not, nonparametric tests can be used. A parameter is a measure of an entire population, such as the mean height of every man in London. In statistical analysis, one practically never has measurements from a whole population and has to infer the characteristics of the population from a sample.
Generally speaking parametric methods make more assumptions than non-parametric methods. If those extra assumptions are correct, parametric methods can produce more accurate and precise estimates. They are said to have more statistical power. However, if assumptions are incorrect, parametric methods can be very misleading. For that reason they are often not considered robust. On the other hand, parametric formulae are often simpler to write down and faster to compute. In some, but definitely not all cases, their simplicity makes up for their

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