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  1. Home
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  3. Inferential Statistics

Inferential Statistics Online Courses

Data Science is a dynamic field, leading today’s workforce towards data analysis, understanding large amounts of information and insights.

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Inferential Statistics Course Overview

Statistics play a very crucial part in Data Science. Statistics is a science of collecting, organising, analysing and interpreting numerical data. It is classified into two types:

1. Descriptive statistics - It means analysing data that helps to describe and summarise in a meaningful way.

2. Inferential statistics - It takes data from samples and makes an interference about the larger population.
Descriptive and inferential statistics are both widely used in the analysis of datasets in data science. However, this article contains a detailed examination of the Inferential Statistics.

Inferential statistics is a scientific discipline that uses mathematical tools to make forecasts and projections by analysing the given data. This technique aims to draw conclusions from the samples and generalise them to a population.

As for inferential statistics, the data is collected, then a series of mathematical operations are carried upon it and then the results can be used for predictions and other uses. Inferential statistics is usually used for estimating the dissimilarities between the groups who receive treatment in an experiment.

In inferential statistics, the observed value is calculated. So by going through all the different stages of the test and then comparing the observed value or the calculated value to the critical value found in the critical values test, inferential statistics will decide whether or not the result is real or due to chance. Good research and hypotheses are needed for inferential statistics.

Statistical tests focus on testing for the significance of the results. Statistical significance is the likelihood that a given set of results is obtained if the null hypothesis is true. The concept is quite abstract.

It sounds a bit tricky so let's look at a few concrete inferential statistics examples.

Suppose there is a pill called Rem that will boost students' exam grades by increasing their IQ. However, before the seller of this pill launches the product on the market, they must find some evidence to prove that it works. So they design a clinical trial that takes ten students - half of them take the Rem pill, and the other half take the Rex pill. Look at the raw data :

Intelligent Quotient increased by—>


Rem Pill

86

81

56

70

65

67

50

75

60

83

Rex Pill

81

82

57

50

45

68

51

60

40

78

The averages are looking pretty good, 69.3 compared to 61.2. Some of the students did better on the Rex pill. They scored higher taking a Rex pill than a Rem pill.

Now suddenly, these percentages do not look so strong. Inferential statistics is mainly used to see how important the data is and if it is reliable or not.

Quantitative data is taken to get precise conclusions. If it had a thousand or ten thousand participants, eyeballing the figures would not have been possible. Therefore, these tests are undertaken.

The likelihood that Rem pills are higher, but the null hypothesis is still true. So even though they have a higher result, there is no significant difference.

What's the probability that is still the case even though there is a difference in the scores and a 5% chance is allowed.

The probability value is 5%, that is, 0.05. This is saying that the results are significant if there is less than a 5% probability that the null hypothesis is true. Regardless of the results (70% versus 60%), the chance of 5% probability is accepted.

The significance level for this test is 0.05. After putting the scores in an online calculator, the outcome (result) is not significant at a probability of 0.05. These results say that the p-value is 0.1, meaning there is a 10.2% chance that the null hypothesis is true.

Luck or other factors caused differences, not the Rem pill. If there was 4.2% that the null hypothesis is still true despite the difference in the scores, then the results are significant.

A 4% chance can be taken but not a 10% chance. So this is what is to be used for inferential statistics. The null hypothesis has to be accepted at a 10.2% chance that the null hypothesis is true (higher than 5%).

What if there is a 6% chance that the null hypothesis is still true? It cannot be accepted that the results are not significant. A cut-off point is needed - it stands at 5%.

When the probability of something being due to chance is known, one can either accept the null value or an alternative assumption. If the probability that the effect is due to chance is less than 5%, the experimental/alternative hypothesis is accepted. Whereas, if it is bigger, the null is accepted as it is unlikely the effect was caused by the IV and more like it is due to chance.

Most inferential statistics depend on a specific procedure. The estimations that include the level of self-determination, evaluation of the size and the principle of elimination help in contrasting the experimental groups. Practically all inferential statistics have a basic hypothesis.

The similar features and aspects in a condition are considered to be free. Consequently, the values are assumed to be entirely non-identical for the other values in an experiment.

In this branch of statistics, the sample data is taken to make an inference or even draw a conclusion about the population. As already mentioned before, it uses probability to determine how confident one can be that the conclusions they make turn out to be correct.

Inference is a term used to describe the process of estimating a population parameter using data from a sample.

Inferential statistics are used to check if the results are valid and reliable to the extent to which the null hypothesis can be rejected that the difference observed in the outcome is actually because of the manipulation of the independent variable (IV).

Inferentialstatisticsmeaning the experiment and observation of sample data in hopes that it will generalise the result of the population (the universal data). It is a process of drawing conclusions about population parameters based on a sample taken from the population.

The main purpose of inferential statistics is to organise the data from a study. The elements that come under Inference statistics are -

elements under inferential statistics

1. Measure of centrality

2. Measure of variability

3. Data representation

4. Sampling

5. Forecast techniques

6. Correlation and causality

Inferential statistics analysis is another approach for analysing data and drawing relevant conclusions.

Inferential statistics is concerned with inferring something from data. It uses a large amount of data to create conclusions and a small sample of data to draw conclusions about a wider population. It takes a subset of the original data and analyses it using various statistical approaches.

It not only provides insight into the larger picture via statistical analysis based on the limited amount of data available but also compares the sample data to other samples or past research. Inferential takes data from a sample and makes inferences about the larger population from which the sample is drawn.

As inferential statistics aims to draw conclusions from a smaller population and generalise them to a population, they must have confidence that the sample accurately reflects the population. It aids in the creation of point estimators or range estimators - confidence intervals.

Typically, multiple different descriptive statistics are used in inferential statistics.

P-values and confidence intervals are calculated or estimated using various study designs in inferential statistics.

This type of statistics is used to interpret the meaning of Descriptive statistics. That means once the data has been collected, analysed and summarised, these stats are used to describe the meaning of the collected data.

The bulk of the time, collecting data from a huge population is too expensive and involves more effort and skills to solve a scientific problem based on evidence. Inferential statistics cannot draw precise conclusions if your sample is not the best specimen of the entire population. Evaluating parameters and hypothesis testing are the two primary uses of inferential statistics.

1. Evaluation of parameters

This means taking a statistic from the sample data. For example, the sample is meaning to say something about a population parameter, that is the population mean.

It is the steps taken for concluding statistics from sample data and analyzing them to obtain information about a fixed population variable.

2. Hypothesis testing

This is where one can use sample data to answer research questions. For example, one might be interested in knowing if a new cancer drug is effective.

It is a research method that includes replying to research-related questions. Generally, a researcher will form a hypothesis and use various statistical perspectives to test the reliability of the given estimation.

The ability of inferential statistics to draw conclusions from a vast data collection is vital. The evaluation of parameters and hypothesis testing both help in exposing hidden facts in the data.

Inferential statistics also play a vital role in making insightful business decisions for e-commerce businesses.

Inferential statistics enables one to describe data and draw inferences and conclusions from the respective data. It allows individuals to make predictions or inferences from the data.

Through inferential statistics, we can conclude what a population may think or how it has been affected by taking sample data. It allows them to determine the probability that a sample mean represents the population from which it was drawn.

why inferential statistics important in data science

The population represents the entire volume of the data set or the elements an individual wanted to study or analyse. Some sampling techniques or the sampling processes are used to extract samples or simply a portion, a parcel, or a representation from the population.

Inferential statistical analysis of the sample takes place to draw conclusions from its nature and attributes. Then it is attributed to the entire population.

Inferential statistics is also known as null hypothesis testing. It is used to determine whether a particular sample or test outcome is representative of the population from which the sample was originally drawn.

Why is Inferential Statistics important?

  • It helps in making conclusions from a sample about the population
  • It is used to conclude if a sample selected is statistically significant to the whole population or not
  • It compares models to find which one is more statistically significant
  • In feature selection, whether adding or removing a variable helps in improving the model
  • It gathers data from a small group and uses it to infer things about a larger group of individuals

The key idea of inferential statistics is when an individual wants to know something about a large group (population) and tries to gather subsets out of that group (sample).

Inferential statistics involves making inferences, estimates or predictions about a large set of data using the information gathered.

Inferential statistics uses sample data since it is less expensive and time-consuming than gathering data from a whole population. It allows one to make valid inferences about the larger population based on the features of the sample.

When the sample is drawn from the population, it is expected that the sample's mean is the same as the mean of the population. During an experiment, a large sample is drawn randomly assigned into two groups.

  • The experimental group is the group that is tested or given a treatment, also known as the treatment group
  • The control group is a group identical to the experimental group, except that it is not given a treatment

Both groups are drawn from the same population, so they should have the same mean. If the intervention does not work, then after the experiment, the sample mean of the experimental group would still be the same as the control group’s sample mean, both of which are the same as the population mean.

In other words, nothing will change if the intervention does not work. But if the experimental group's sample mean is different from the sample mean of the control group, which didn't change from before the experiment, we can conclude that the intervention had an effect. This is known as hypothesis testing.

There are three main ideas underlying inference :

main ideas underlying inference statistics

  • A sample is likely to represent the population well. First, it is reasonable to expect that a sample of objects from a population will represent the population. For example, if 40% of New Zealand believe that the economy is worsening, then about 40% of the sample will also believe the same.
  • Secondly, there is an element of uncertainty as to how well the sample represents the population. A sample will never perfectly represent the population from which it is drawn. This is the reason for the sampling error. Nor will all the samples drawn from the same population be the same.

Through stimulation and portability theory, we can get an idea of what the population is likely to be like from the sample's information.

For example, suppose 40% of New Zealand's population thinks the economy is getting worse. If a sample is taken of 1000 people, how likely is it that 50% or more of them will say that they think the economy is getting worse?

This can be solved using probability theory or a simulation can be run on the computer to see what one would expect from a whole lot of samples of size 1000 taken from a population with 40% thinking the economy is worsening.

If the true population is 40% the probability of getting the sample is 50% or more people saying that they think the economy is getting worse is zero, it won't happen.

The sample proportion will be within 3% of the population proportion when a sample size of 1000 is used. That 3% is called the margin of error. It can be used to create confidence intervals that give a range within which one thinks the population parameter is likely to be.

  • The third principle is the way the sample is taken matters. This principle relates to non-sampling error.

The sample must be representative of the population, and this happens best when each person or thing in the population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample.

The only way to know with certainty the valueof a population parameter is to conduct a census by collecting data from every member of the entire population.

It is when 100% of the data (a census) is known that the value of a particular population parameter can be determined with 100% accuracy. The most circumstances conducting a census is either impractical or impossible to achieve.

As a result, the actual data collected only comes from a part of the population that is a sample. Since sample results are not based on data collected from 100% of the population, the population parameter can not be determined with 100% accuracy.

Nonetheless, when unbiased, representative samples are collected from the population, the results obtained in the sample (statistics) are used to infer the results in the population (parameters).

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