For this assignment, you will participate in a discussion about exactly what nonparametric statistics are and why they are important. You have seen many tests and analyses involving nonparametric statistics. In this assignment, it will be up to you to determine why these tests and analyses are necessary, and in what situations they are appropriate.

Example

The number of offspring that female blue whales have follows a skewed right distribution. Fifty years ago, researchers tagged ten female blue whales from birth and counted how many offspring each had over her lifetime. Now researchers want to get similar data to determine if the average number of offspring may be decreasing due to global warming or other environmental changes.

Instructions

1. Do the following on the Discussion Board for this example:

• In your own words, define nonparametric statistics.
• For this example, discuss why an approach using nonparametric statistics would be appropriate.
• For this example, what specific test might you use to test whether the average number of offspring has changed over the years? Why would you use this specific type of test?
• Describe a brief scenario where you may need to use nonparametric statistics in your daily life.