WHAT ARE DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS? Before continuing the discussion of the basic descriptive data needed to answer the question I posed above, it is important to understand what we mean by descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics describe the characteristics of the data collected. In other words, descriptive statistics describe “how” the data appears, but they do not say why or how data elements interact or influence each other. Descriptive statistics provide the defender with summaries of the data collected, and these summaries can be quantitative or visual. Quantitative descriptive statistics are the sum of data that are usually reported as total numbers or averages in a report. For example, public defenders' offices may use descriptive statistics to determine the total number of felony cases opened per attorney in a year or state that on average they have had x number of cases opened over the past two years. These are considered workload summaries that describe the data collected but do not indicate whether a given variable (number of open cases in this example) has an influence (or correlates) with the final outcome of a case. When we say that a variable is correlated we mean that knowledge of a certain variable (number of cases) can allow us to consistently predict the action of another (final dispositional outcomes). For example, if you mix two hydrogen and one oxygen (H20), you get water. We know that whenever we have the interaction of these variables, we can statistically deduce that this combination of elements (variables) will consistently give us a substance that we call water. Descriptive statistics do not allow you to make these types of predictions or inferences;...... middle of paper... public defense providers are committed to providing zealous, high-quality representation, and their leaders support justice systems just and fair punishment. Experientially, lawyers, social workers, investigators and other staff know the difference they make in the lives of people and communities. However, it is difficult to effectively advocate for action in the budget and policy arena when there is little or no data about our systems or their impact on important outcomes. Our inability to measure customer outcomes and evaluate system performance makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the defense community to quantify the social and economic benefits of a high-quality, well-resourced public defense system. Works Cited See Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon; and Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, et al. v. State of Florida