The communication of messages in the data, transnumeration-type thinking, is
intimately linked with inferential thinking. Apart from considering the relevance of
the data to the problem, it is also important to consider the inferences that can be
made from the data. W. E. Deming first raised the important distinction between
enumerative and analytical studies in 1950 (for a detailed discussion, see Hahn &
Meeker, 1993). The aim of an enumerative study is to describe the current situation,
whereas the aim of an analytical study is to take actions on or make predictions
about a future population or process. The space for reliable statistical inference is
limited to the population or process actually sampled. For example, a public opinion
poll to assess thecurrentview of U.S. voters on who they would vote for in the next
election is an enumerative study.