Which of the following is not a descriptive statistic?

Which of the following is not a descriptive statistic?

• A. P-value
• B. Mean
• C. Median
• D. Standard deviation

Answer: (A)

Descriptive statistics summarize the data you have—they describe center, spread, and general patterns. The mean and median tell you where the data sit on average, while the standard deviation shows how spread out the values are around that center. A p-value does not provide that kind of immediate summary. It comes from inferential statistics and gauges how likely the observed result would occur if there were no real effect, under a given hypothesis. It’s about drawing conclusions about a population from the sample, not about describing the sample itself. Because it focuses on probability and hypothesis testing rather than a straightforward description of the data, a p-value isn’t a descriptive statistic.

Descriptive statistics summarize the data you have—they describe center, spread, and general patterns. The mean and median tell you where the data sit on average, while the standard deviation shows how spread out the values are around that center. A p-value does not provide that kind of immediate summary. It comes from inferential statistics and gauges how likely the observed result would occur if there were no real effect, under a given hypothesis. It’s about drawing conclusions about a population from the sample, not about describing the sample itself. Because it focuses on probability and hypothesis testing rather than a straightforward description of the data, a p-value isn’t a descriptive statistic.