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Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics allow scientists to make generalizations about a larger population based on a sample from that population. Scientists use techniques like regression analysis and ANOVA to examine relationships between variables in a sample and then infer how those variables relate in the wider population. There are two major types of inferential statistics: confidence intervals, which provide a range of values for an unknown population parameter based on a sample, and tests of significance, where scientists make claims about a population by analyzing a sample with some degree of uncertainty. Common significance tests include the chi-square test and t-test.

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116 views2 pages

Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics allow scientists to make generalizations about a larger population based on a sample from that population. Scientists use techniques like regression analysis and ANOVA to examine relationships between variables in a sample and then infer how those variables relate in the wider population. There are two major types of inferential statistics: confidence intervals, which provide a range of values for an unknown population parameter based on a sample, and tests of significance, where scientists make claims about a population by analyzing a sample with some degree of uncertainty. Common significance tests include the chi-square test and t-test.

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Haslinda
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Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics are produced through complex mathematical


calculations that allow scientists to infer trends about a larger
population based on a study of a sample taken from it. Scientists
use inferential statistics to examine the relationships between
variables within a sample and then make generalizations or
predictions about how those variables will relate to a larger
population.

It is usually impossible to examine each member of the population


individually. So scientists choose a representative subset of the
population, called a statistical sample, and from this analysis, they
are able to say something about the population from which the
sample came. There are two major divisions of inferential
statistics:

 A confidence interval gives a range of values for an unknown


parameter of the population by measuring a statistical
sample. This is expressed in terms of an interval and the
degree of confidence that the parameter is within the
interval.
 Tests of significance or hypothesis testing where scientists
make a claim about the population by analyzing a statistical
sample. By design, there is some uncertainty in this process.
This can be expressed in terms of a level of significance.

Techniques that social scientists use to examine the relationships


between variables, and thereby to create inferential statistics,
include linear regression analyses, logistic regression
analyses, ANOVA, correlation analyses, structural equation
modeling, and survival analysis. When conducting research using
inferential statistics, scientists conduct a test of significance to
determine whether they can generalize their results to a larger
population. Common tests of significance include the chi-
square and t-test. These tell scientists the probability that the
results of their analysis of the sample are representative of the
population as a whole.

Descriptive vs. Inferential Statistics

Although descriptive statistics is helpful in learning things such as


the spread and center of the data, nothing in descriptive statistics
can be used to make any generalizations. In descriptive statistics,
measurements such as the mean and standard deviation are
stated as exact numbers.

Even though inferential statistics uses some similar calculations


— such as the mean and standard deviation — the focus is
different for inferential statistics. Inferential statistics start with a
sample and then generalizes to a population. This information
about a population is not stated as a number. Instead, scientists
express these parameters as a range of potential numbers, along
with a degree of confidence.

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