What Is The Difference Between Observation And Inference?

The dictionary definitions of the two words sum up the major differences between observation and inference.

Observation means to, "observe something or someone carefully in order to gain information", whilst inference means, "the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true."

So, put simply, inference is the summary of the information that has been collected. Observation is the act of gathering the information in the first place.

Observation can take place using all five senses. Using somebody cooking as an example, the observer will be able to see the food being cooked, they will be able to smell the food as it cooks, and hear the food sizzle. They will then be able to touch the food to ascertain its texture, and finally taste the dish. If someone were inferring something about the food, they would be commenting on the food after the event of the cooking process. Similarly if somebody were watching a sporting event or a concert, they would be observing it.

When they speak about the event to someone else, they are inferring that is was a good event or a bad event. The person inferring will be assuming that the person they are speaking to would have the same opinion as them, which is not always the case; different people have different tastes when it comes to most things. To sum up, observation will appear the same to everyone, as what they observe, using all the senses, will not change. Inference though is changeable, as it is often the opinion of different people.

Observation is the act by using the 5 senses while inference is the uses logic to make conclusion or generalization from observe data

An inference is a deriving of logical conclusions and an observation is what you are watching in an experiment.

Observation is refers to act of observing something of that faculty while inference is refers to the process or act of deriving conclusions that are logical and are based on premises or facts that are known to be accurate or believed as such.

Observation refers to the act of observing something or that faculty. It refers to observing and monitoring a particular phenomenon for the purpose of recording its results and outcomes. It refers to the result or judgement that is obtained from observing an event that is occurring. Inference on the other hand refers to the process or act of deriving conclusions that are logical and are based on premises or facts that are known to be accurate or believed as such. An inference can also be based on an observation of events or phenomenon. The results of an inference can be tested to be true by repeated observation. Observation is used by the scientific community in the pursuit of knowledge and inference is used to determine and record its conclusions.

An inference is a guess about something you have not seen/witnessed. An observation is when you are looking at something and noting what it is or what happens to it.

An observation is using the senses of the person and the infference are the whether the fruits is ripe or weather its good