You cannot. Statistics are not an observational tool.
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Inferential statistics is concerned with making predictions or inferences about a population from observations and analyses of a sample. That is, we can take the results of an analysis using a sample and can generalize it to the larger population that the sample represents. In order to do this, however, it is imperative that the sample is representative of the group to which it is being generalized.
The Branches of StatisticsTwo branches, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, comprise the field of statistics.Descriptive StatisticsCONCEPT The branch of statistics that focuses on collecting, summarizing, and presenting a set of data.EXAMPLES The average age of citizens who voted for the winning candidate in the last presidential election, the average length of all books about statistics, the variation in the weight of 100 boxes of cereal selected from a factory's production line.INTERPRETATION You are most likely to be familiar with this branch of statistics, because many examples arise in everyday life. Descriptive statistics forms the basis for analysis and discussion in such diverse fields as securities trading, the social sciences, government, the health sciences, and professional sports. A general familiarity and widespread availability of descriptive methods in many calculating devices and business software can often make using this branch of statistics seem deceptively easy. (Chapters 2 and 3 warn you of the common pitfalls of using descriptive methods.)Inferential StatisticsCONCEPT The branch of statistics that analyzes sample data to draw conclusions about a population.EXAMPLE A survey that sampled 2,001 full-or part-time workers ages 50 to 70, conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), discovered that 70% of those polled planned to work past the traditional mid-60s retirement age. By using methods discussed in Section 6.4, this statistic could be used to draw conclusions about the population of all workers ages 50 to 70.INTERPRETATION When you use inferential statistics, you start with a hypothesis and look to see whether the data are consistent with that hypothesis. Inferential statistical methods can be easily misapplied or misconstrued, and many inferential methods require the use of a calculator or computer. (A full explanation of common inferential methods appears in Chapters 6 through 9.)
application of statistics in education
Statistics can easily be manipulated and used to espouse erroneous or misleading theories.
Ø Statistics is the science of collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. It has wide usage in the field of research. In fact all the data collection and interpretation techniques used in Research are part of statistics. Ø It makes use of descriptive statistics for collection of data and inferential statistics for drawing inferences from this set of data. Ø The subject called research statistics & statistics is very important in research because that is the backbone of your research. Ø The Numbers gives an easy idea of how you conducted your research. Ø Statistics provides a platform for research as to; How to go about your research, either to consider a sample or the whole population, the Techniques to use in data collection and observation, how to go about the data description (using measure of central tendency). Ø To wrap it up, statistics as a science of data collection, analysis, interpretation, explanation and presentation will guide you in research for proper characterization, summarization, presentation and interpretation of your research result for proper action.