Final answer:
Statistics are used in inferential statistics to draw conclusions about population parameters. Techniques like confidence intervals help estimate the true parameter from the statistics.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the field of Statistics, we use the statistic to draw conclusions about the population parameter. A statistic is a numerical characteristic of a sample, which serves as an estimate of a corresponding population parameter. Statistics are calculated from sample data and are used in inferential statistics, a branch of statistics that makes generalizations about a population based on sampled data. The goal is to make an inference about a population parameter with a degree of confidence, understanding that this estimate will likely not be the exact value of the parameter but should be reasonably close. For example, if a survey of high school seniors indicates that 50 percent plan to attend a four-year college or university, this figure represents a statistic, as it's based on a sample of the entire population of high school seniors.
Understanding the difference between a parameter and a statistic is critical in statistics. A parameter is a numerical value that characterizes a whole population, and it's what statisticians aim to estimate using statistics from samples. Techniques such as constructing confidence intervals are used to estimate what the true parameter might be based on sampled statistics with a given level of certainty.