Final answer:
The head of the statistics department is likely using descriptive statistics to summarize past class data about online assignment mistakes, or inferential statistics to make predictions about student performance in future assignments based on the collected data.
Step-by-step explanation:
The head of the statistics department is focused on understanding the mistakes made by students in their first online assignment by examining past classes. The process undertaken will likely involve descriptive statistics if the goal is to simply summarize the data, such as calculating the average number of mistakes or creating visual aids like graphs to present the frequencies of different types of errors.
If the head aims to inferential statistics, they could use the data to make predictions or generalizations about student performance on future assignments. For example, they might estimate the proportion of the entire student population that would make similar mistakes based on the sample data collected.
It's pertinent to note the distinction between the two types of statistics. Descriptive statistics organize and summarize data, whereas inferential statistics use the data to test hypotheses and estimate population parameters from sample statistics. Inference often involves calculating the probability of events, such as estimating the likelihood of a certain number of mistakes occurring across all student submissions.