UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statements A, B, C and D correctly describe the main measures used in descriptive statistics. Means, medians and modes summarise central tendency in different ways, while variance and standard deviation capture variability. Statement E is false because descriptive statistics summarise data but do not by themselves conduct hypothesis tests; that is the role of inferential statistics. Therefore, the combination that includes A, B, C and D but excludes E is correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it recognises the four key descriptive indicators and their appropriate use, while rejecting the claim that they automatically perform inferential functions. It preserves the conceptual distinction between describing and testing.

Option B:
Option B is incomplete because it omits D, thereby failing to mention how dispersion measures contribute to understanding the spread of data. Without D, the description of descriptive statistics is focused only on central tendency.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it leaves out A, not explicitly acknowledging the suitability of the mean for interval and ratio data, which is essential in many analyses. This omission makes the set partial.

Option D:
Option D is wrong because it includes E, the assertion that descriptive statistics automatically test hypotheses, which confuses their function with inferential procedures.

Variance is defined as the square of the standard deviation. Since standard deviation is the square root of variance, squaring the standard deviation gives the variance (a measure of dispersion).

Option A:
Variance is correct because it equals (standard deviation)² and measures how spread out data are around the mean using squared deviations.

Option B:
Mean is a measure of central tendency (average), not the square of standard deviation, so it does not match the definition.

Option C:
Range is max − min, another dispersion measure, but it is not equal to (standard deviation)².

Option D:
Median is the middle value of ordered data and is unrelated to squaring the standard deviation.