ABSTRACT
Inferential stats are numbers that tells the people if their findings are significant for the sample and how confidently they can generalize them to the population. Inferential stats are based on descriptive stats. Inferential stats are guided by three laws of probability: potential for sample error, resemblance of random samples in a population, and sample size. To use inferential stats means to carry out certain mathematical computations called tests of statistical significance. Statistical significance tests use different descriptive stats and different mathematics, depending on the level of measure (LOM) of the variables to be tested. Tests of statistical significance test hypothesis of group difference or hypothesis of association. Each type of hypothesis has a directional and non directional version, each of which requires its own particular statistical test version. Significance testing is a means to an end, then, not an end in and of itself. It is useful toward intra-sample meaning of quantitative data and extra-sample meaning.
