Inferential Statistics: Concept, Uses and Examples

We explain that it is inferential statistics and its different uses.Besides, examples and descriptive statistics.

Inferential statistics are responsible for inferring properties, conclusions and trends.

What is inferential statistics?

Inferential statistics or statistical inference is called the branch of Statistics in charge of making deductions , that is, inferring properties, conclusions and trends, to from a sample of the set.Its role is to interpret, make projections and comparisons.

Inferential statistics usually employ mechanisms that allow you to carry out such deductions, such as punctual estimation tests (or intervals of confidence), hypothesis tests, parametric tests (such as mean, difference of means, proportions, etc.) and non-parametric tests (such as chi-square test, etc.).Also, correlation and regression, chronological series, analysis of variance, among others.

Therefore, inferential statistics is extremely useful in population analysis and trends , to get a possible idea of ​​the actions ones and reactions of it in the face of specific conditions.This does not mean that they can be predicted faithfully, nor that we are in the presence of an exact science, but of a possible approximation to the final result.

Examples of inferential statistics

Marketing companies use various statistical and differential tools.

Some examples of the application of inferential statistics are:

• Polls of voting trends.Before an important election , several pollsters poll public opinion to gather relevant data and then, having the sample analyzed and broken down, infer trends: who is the favorite, who is second, etc.


• Market analysis.Companies often hire other companies specialized in marketing to analyze their market niches through various statistical and differential tools, such as surveys and focus groups , based on which to deduce what products people prefer and in what context, etc.


• Medical Epidemiology.Having the specific data on the involvement of a population determined by one or several specific diseases, epidemiologists and public health specialists can reach conclusions on what public measures are necessary to prevent such diseases from spreading and contributing to its eradication.

Descriptive statistics

Descriptive statistics use the presentation of data and mathematical operations.

Unlike the inferential, descriptive statistics does not care about conclusions , interpretations or hypothesis from what reflected by the sample, but by the appropriate methods for the organization of the information it contains and to highlight its essential characteristics.

In other words, it is the “objective”, statistics committed to the presentation of the data (textual, graphic or by tables) and mathematical operations which can be applied to obtain greater margins of data, new information or exact frequencies and variability.