ABSTRACT
In previous chapters, we study the ways in which descriptive statistics can be used to organize and summarize a set of measurements. However, in addition to describing the observations, we might also be interested in investigating how the information contained in a sample can be used to infer the characteristics of the population from which that sample was drawn. Before we can do this, however, we must first lay the groundwork. The mathematical foundation for statistical inference is the theory of probability. In Chapter 4, we used the word “probability” as a synonym for “proportion.” Before we can give a more precise definition of probability, we must first explain the concept of an event.
