Inference and conclusion

An inference is a guess that a reader makes by combining details from a text and personal knowledge. A reader makes an inference about what is happening.

Inference: Inference is something that uses facts to determine other facts. It is done by examining the facts of a given situation and determining what those facts suggest about the situation. For example, if you come with a knife in your hand, I probably would infer that you mean to do some harm to me. Inference can be accurate or inaccurate, justified or unjustified, logical or illogical.

What is conclusion in research?

A conclusion is the last paragraph in your research paper, or the last part in any other type of presentation. ... A conclusion is, in some ways, like your introduction. You restate your thesis and summarize your main points of evidence for the reader. You can usually do this in one paragraph.

A conclusion is a judgment about what something means based on facts and details.

Conclusion: A conclusion is the next logical step in the information series. A statement requires two conditions to serve as a conclusion. First, it must be logically derived statement from the information given. Second, It must not be inferred from the given statement. For example, if you see that my watch is broken, it can’t be repaired now and I know the shop that has the same watch. So, conclusion would be that I would buy that watch.

So, inference is an educated guess while conclusion is more about logically deriving the next step.

Similarity between the two is that both require figuring out what is not specifically stated in the text.

Drawing conclusions refers to information that is implied or inferred.  This means that the information is never clearly stated.

Writers often tell you more than they say directly.  They give you hints or clues that help you "read between the lines."  Using these clues to give you a deeper understanding of your reading is called inferring. When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to see other meanings that the details suggest or imply (not stated).  When the meanings of words are not stated clearly in the context of the text, they may be implied – that is, suggested or hinted at.  When meanings are implied, you may infer them.

Inference is just a big word that means a conclusion or judgement.  If you infer that something has happened, you do not see, hear, feel, smell, or taste the actual event.  But from what you know, it makes sense to think that it has happened.  You make inferences every day.  Most of the time you do so without thinking about it.  Suppose you are sitting in your car stopped at a red signal light.  You hear screeching tires, then a loud crash and breaking glass.  You see nothing, but you infer that there has been a car accident.  We all know the sounds of screeching tires and a crash.  We know that these sounds almost always mean a car accident.  But there could be some other reason, and therefore another explanation, for the sounds.  Perhaps it was not an accident involving two moving vehicles.  Maybe an angry driver rammed a parked car.  Or maybe someone played the sound of a car crash from a recording.  Making inferences means choosing the most likely explanation from the facts at hand.

 

How to write the conclusion of your case study

You worked on an amazing UX project. You documented every detail and deliverable and when the time came, you began to write a UX case study about it. In the case study, you highlighted how you worked through a Design Thinking process to get to the end result; so,

Can you stop there and now move on to the next thing?

Well, no! There’s just one more bit left to finish up and make the perfect case study.

Every start has an end – we’re not just repeating the famous quote here, because for case studies, a proper end is your last and final chance to leave a lasting great (at the very least, good) impression with whoever is reading your work (typically, recruiters!). Many junior UX designers often forget about the conclusion part of the case study, but this is a costly mistake to make. A well-written case study must end with an appropriate final section, in which you should summarize the key takeaways that you want others to remember about you and your work. Let’s see why.

Last impressions are just as important as first ones

When humans are presented with information, they tend to remember the first and last elements and are more likely to forget the middle ones.

This is known as the “serial position effect” (more technically, the tendency to remember the first element is known as the “primacy effect”, while the tendency to remember the last elements is known as the “recency effect”). Further work in human experiences discovered that the last few things we see or hear at the end of an experience can generate the most powerful memories that come back to us when we come across a situation or when we think about it.

For example, let’s say you stayed in a hotel room that left a bit to be desired. Maybe the room was a little cramped, or the towels were not so soft. But if the receptionist, as you leave, shakes your hand warmly, smiles and thanks you sincerely for your custom, and goes out of his way to help you with your luggage, or to get you a taxi, you will remember that person’s kind demeanor more than you will remember the fact that the room facilities could be improved.

A good ending to your case study can help people forget some of the not-so-good points about your case study middle.

For example, if you missed out a few crucial details but can demonstrate some truly interesting takeaways, they can always just ask you about these in an interview. Inversely, a bad ending leaves the recruiter with some doubt that will linger.

Did this person learn nothing interesting from all this work?

Did their work have no impact at all?

Did they even write the case study themselves?

A bad last impression can certainly undo much of the hard work you’ve put into writing the complicated middle part of your case study.

What to put in your case study conclusions

A case study ending is your opportunity to bring some closure to the story that you are writing. So, you can use it to mention the status of the project (e.g., is it ongoing or has it ended?) and then to demonstrate the impact that your work has had. By presenting some quantifiable results (e.g., data from end evaluations, analytics, key performance indicators), you can demonstrate this impact. You can also discuss what you learned from this project, making you wiser than the next applicant –

for example, something about a special category of users that the company might be interested in developing products for, or something that is cutting-edge and that advances the frontiers of science or practice.

As you can see, there are a few good ways in which you can end your case study. Next, we will outline four options that can be part of your ending: lessons learned, the impact of the project, reflections, and acknowledgements.

Let us understand with the help of an example:

Ram took a deep breath and dried his sweaty palms on his jeans. He looked down the ramp and shivered. It was a steep drop. But he had to go through with it. Everyone was staring straight at him. He put his skateboard down and got ready. He could do it!

Q: What evidence helps you to infer that Ram was nervous?

1.               He put his skateboard down and got ready.

2.               His palms were sweaty.

3.               He looked down the ramp.

4.               He could do it.

Solution: 1 and 4 are positive statements which mean that he was not nervous. 2 and 3 statements seem to be the correct answer choices but statement 3 only says that he looked down which cannot be the correct fact to infer. Hence, statement 2 is the only fact to infer that Ram was nervous.

Q: Based on the evidence, it can be concluded that Ram will do what?

1.               He is probably not going down.

2.               He is probably going to get on his skateboard and go down the ramp.

3.               He is probably going to look at his friends and ask them what to do.

4.               He is probably going to fix his skateboard.

Solution: Looking at the above scenario, it can be concluded that he will go down the ramp i.e. the next logically derived step. Hence, statement 2 is the answer.

So, keep this basic difference in mind while solving questions based on critical reasoning.