Enumerate the limitations of statistics in …

Statistics is indispensable to almost all sciences - social, physical and natural. It is very often used in most of the spheres of human activity. In spite of the wide scope of the subject it has certain limitations. Some important limitations of statistics are the following:

1. Statistics does not study qualitative phenomena: Statistics deals with facts and figures. So, the quality aspect of a variable or the subjective phenomenon falls out of the scope of statistics. For example, qualities like beauty, honesty, intelligence etc. cannot be numerically expressed. So, these characteristics cannot be examined statistically. This limits the scope of the subject.
2. Statistical laws are not exact: Statistical laws are not as exact as in case of natural sciences. These laws are true only on average. They hold good under certain conditions. They cannot be universally applied. So, statistics has less practical utility.
3. Statistics does not study individuals: Statistics deals with aggregate of facts. Single or isolated figures are not statistics. This is considered to be a major handicap of statistics.
4. Statistics can be misused: Statistics is mostly a tool of analysis. Statistical techniques are used to analyze and interpret the collected information in an enquiry. As it is, statistics does not prove or disprove anything. It is just a means to an end. Statements supported by statistics are more appealing and are commonly believed. For this, statistics is often misused. Statistical methods rightly used are beneficial but if misused these become harmful. Statistical methods used by less expert hands will lead to inaccurate results. Here the fault does not lie with the subject of statistics but with the person who makes wrong use of it.
5. Uniformity and homogeneity of data: Statistics can deal with only homogeneous and uniform data. Heterogeneous data are not comparable and hence statistical tools can't be applied on them. It does not make sense to compare weight of human beings with weight of cows or buffaloes. Sometimes data are available in different units and are collected under different circumstances. It also makes their comparison illogical.
6. Only Experts can make proper use of Statistics: Statistics can be properly used only by experts. A layman can't derive right meaning from statistical statements. According to King, "The science of statistics is most useful servant but only of great value to those who understand its proper use.