Inference And Analysis

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Inference

Inference and Analysis

Inferences are based on evidence. To infer, we must collect evidence. And evidence is collected by the process of analysis.

Analysis is a particular form of investigation. In general usage, analysis refers to any close, careful, or systematic examination. In the discussion here, the term “analysis“ is used in its more technical meaning. Analysis is a process of investigating something by breaking it into parts for closer examination. Complex topics are broken down into simpler ones. Intricate patterns are broken down into less complicated elements. A problem is simplified by limiting the amount that must be examined at any one time.

The goal of analysis is not simply to discover parts within the whole, but to understand the whole. Once the parts are identified, analysis then seeks to determine how those parts are related. From a recognition of

the nature of the parts, and
the relationships between the parts

we infer additional meaning. In the analytic model, the whole is seen as greater than the sum of its parts.

Levels of Analysis

Analysis can be carried out on various levels. Any part can be analyzed into smaller parts. A table of contents, for instance, indicates the contents of a book at various levels of analysis: parts, chapters, sections, etc.

Bases of Analysis

Finally, note that a single topic can often be broken up for analysis in a number of ways. An anthropologist might view society in terms of cultural values and institutions; the sociologist might look at issues of group identity and social interaction. The anthropologist might look at how justice is administered, the sociologist at the social status of judges. One would speak in terms of mores and ethical principles, the other in terms of social class and socio-economic status. They may analyze the same society, but their different bases of analysis lead to different understandings.

Analyzing Texts

What are the parts of a text? The simplest answer is that texts are composed of words, which form sentences, which form paragraphs, which form larger sections of a the text as a whole. Texts can also be analyzed in terms of elements or themes occurring throughout the discussion, like colors throughout plaid cloth.

The discussion throughout these web pages focuses on analysis of three basic elements of choice by the author: content, language, and structure.