# Types of Statistics Statistics can be thought of as the "study" of data. Wikipedia defines data as "a collection of values that convey information". We use statistics to learn from data. Depending on *how* we want to learn from the data, statistics can be classified in one of several ways: 1. **Descriptive statistics**: methods for simply summarizing the information contained in data 2. **Inferential statistics**: methods for making generalizations about a [[Population|population of interest]] based on a [[Sample|observed sample from this population]]. 3. **Predictive statistics**: methods for taking observed data from the past and using it to make predictions about the values of future data Each type of statistics deals with different, but sometimes overlapping ideas. Tools like confidence intervals and p-values are relevant to statistical inference, but not to descriptive or predictive statistics. Likewise, ideas like test error are relevant to predictive statistics, but not the other two types. --- # References - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data - [[Fundamentals of Biostatistics#Chapter 2 - Descriptive Statistics]] - [[Fundamentals of Biostatistics#Chapter 6 - Estimation]]