Inferential statistics
As mentioned earlier, inferential statistics deals with inferring or deducing things from the sample data we have in order to make statements about the population as a whole. When we're looking to state our conclusions, we have to be mindful of whether we conducted an observational study or an experiment. An observational study is where the independent variable is not under the control of the researchers, and so we are observing those taking part in our study (think about studies on smoking—we can't force people to smoke). The fact that we can't control the independent variable means that we cannot conclude causation.
An experiment is where we are able to directly influence the independent variable and randomly assign ...
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