Final answer:
Descriptive statistics summarize data, while inferential statistics use sample data to make conclusions about a population. The statement from the student is false, as it incorrectly attributes the function of inferential statistics to descriptive statistics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question seems to conflate descriptive statistics with inferential statistics. The correct statement is: Descriptive statistics allow a decision maker to describe and summarize a dataset.
Inferential statistics allow a decision maker to reach a conclusion about a population based on a subset (sample) from the population.
Descriptive statistics involve methods for organizing and summarizing data, such as calculating the mean or standard deviation, and help to make the data easier to understand and discuss.
On the other hand, inferential statistics use sample data to make generalizations about the entire population.
This includes processes like constructing confidence intervals and performing hypothesis testing to make informed estimates and decisions related to the population from which the sample was drawn.
In essence, a representative sample's statistics can allow decision makers to estimate population parameters with a certain level of confidence, which is a fundamental aspect of inferential statistics, not descriptive statistics.
For decisions and explanations about the whole population to be valid, the sample must be representative of the population.