Terminology - Descriptive Vs. Inferential Statistics

Hope you are chugging along nicely.

Now that you know what Population and Sample mean, here's something more.

Descriptive Statistics

They refer to the use of data from a population to describe the same population or draw conclusions about that population.

Example: A set of scores from a sports team's past performance is used to predict their performance in an upcoming game.

Inferential Statistics

They refer to the use of data from a sample to describe an entire population or draw conclusions about that population. Note that the sample here comes from the same population that is being described.

Example: Consider data from clinical trials. A study is conducted on a sample of 500 people from a city of a million population, and conclusions are drawn on the effects of pollution on health.