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Encyclopedia > Statistical inference
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with inferential statistics. (Discuss)

Inferential statistics or statistical induction comprises the use of statistics to make inferences concerning some unknown aspect (usually a parameter) of a population. It is distinguished from descriptive statistics. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with statistical inference. ... Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics that denotes any of the many techniques used to summarize a set of data. ...


Two schools of inferential statistics are frequency probability and Bayesian inference.


See also

  • Statistical inference
  • Descriptive statistics
  • Induction (philosophy)

Definition

Statistical inference is inference about a population from a random sample drawn from it or, more generally, about a random process from its observed behavior during a finite period of time. It includes:

  1. point estimation
  2. interval estimation
  3. hypothesis testing (or statistical significance testing)
  4. Inferential statistics and prediction

There are several distinct schools of thought about the justification of statistical inference. All are based on some idea of what real world phenomena can be reasonably modeled as probability. In statistics, point estimation involves the use of sample data to calculate a single value (known as a statistic) which is to serve as a best guess for an unknown (fixed or random) population parameter. ... In statistics, interval estimation is the use of sample data to calculate an interval of possible (or probable) values of an unknown population parameter. ... One may be faced with the problem of making a definite decision with respect to an uncertain hypothesis which is known only through its observable consequences. ... In statistics, a result is significant if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance, given that a presumed null hypothesis is true. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with statistical inference. ... A prediction or forecast is a statement or claim that a particular event will occur in the future. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

  1. frequency probability
  2. Bayesian probability
  3. eclectic probability

The topics below are usually included in the area of statistical inference. Statistical regularity has motivated the development of the relative frequency concept of probability. ... In the philosophy of mathematics Bayesianism is the tenet that the mathematical theory of probability is applicable to the degree to which a person believes a proposition. ... Many statisticians adopt an eclectic view of the debate between proponents of the frequency interpretation of probability and proponents of personal probability. ...

  1. Statistical assumptions
  2. Likelihood principle
  3. Estimating parameters
  4. Testing statistical hypotheses
  5. Revising opinions in statistics
  6. planning statistical research
  7. summarizing statistical data

  Results from FactBites:
 
Statistical Inference - Overview: Imaging Research Inc. (1542 words)
The role of statistical analysis is selection of a small number of meaningful observations from among the many that constitute an array study.
Statistical inference techniques differ from data mining methods in that they provide tests of specific statistical hypotheses and their associated probability values.
Statistical inference procedures may be used when there are a priori experimental hypotheses (e.g., "cell line A expresses gene X at a level different from cell line B") and can also be used to perform "shotgun" testing.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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