Descriptive Statistics: Singular vs. Plural - What's the Difference?

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Descriptive statistics can be referred to in singular or plural form depending on context. When discussing it as a body of tools or methods, the singular "descriptive statistics is" is appropriate. Conversely, when referring to the actual data or numbers that describe a sample or population, the plural "descriptive statistics are" should be used. The distinction hinges on whether the focus is on the concept or the collection of data. Understanding this difference is crucial for accurate communication in statistical discussions.
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Is there any difference between the two?

1. Descriptive statistics which is one of the operations of statistics.

2. Descriptive statistics which are numbers used to describe a certain sample or population.
 
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It depends on the intent of your statement. If you are referring to the body of tools that comprise it, you say "Descriptive statistics is one of the ..."

If you are referring to to a collection of numbers and saying why they are important, you say "Descriptive statistics are..." (it may be more descriptive to say "These descriptive statistics are..."

Simply the difference between singular case and plural case.
 

Thread 'Finding the number of ways to arrange identical balls in a circle (3 different colors)'

I tried to combine those 2 formulas but it didn't work. I tried using another case where there are 2 red balls and 2 blue balls only so when combining the formula I got ##\frac{(4-1)!}{2!2!}=\frac{3}{2}## which does not make sense. Is there any formula to calculate cyclic permutation of identical objects or I have to do it by listing all the possibilities? Thanks
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Thread 'Greatest possible value of a constant in polynomial'

Since ##px^9+q## is the factor, then ##x^9=\frac{-q}{p}## will be one of the roots. Let ##f(x)=27x^{18}+bx^9+70##, then: $$27\left(\frac{-q}{p}\right)^2+b\left(\frac{-q}{p}\right)+70=0$$ $$b=27 \frac{q}{p}+70 \frac{p}{q}$$ $$b=\frac{27q^2+70p^2}{pq}$$ From this expression, it looks like there is no greatest value of ##b## because increasing the value of ##p## and ##q## will also increase the value of ##b##. How to find the greatest value of ##b##? Thanks
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