ABSTRACT
Most of the use of probability in the social sciences is conditional probability. All hypothesis-testing statistics are conditional probabilities. There are two kinds of statistics, summarization statistics and inferential statistics. The most important summarization statistics are the total, average, range, distribution, and so forth. Inferential statistics can be used for two purposes: to aid scientific understanding, by estimating the probability that a statement is true or not, and to aid in making sound decisions by estimating which alternative among a range of possibilities is most desirable. Inferential statistical thinking is particularly relevant for scientific investigations. The best way to explain how to translate a scientific question into a statistical question is to illustrate the process. Probability-statistical testing adds up to comparison of a sample with a particular benchmark universe and asking whether there is probably a difference between the sample and the universe.
