The final step is to decide what the statistics mean, to learn new things about the world in which you are interested, and to apply this knowledge to your decisions if necessary. Statistics based on share returns data might help you understand the stock market better, as well as help you make better investment decisions. Statistics about customers might help you to sell more and be more profitable. Examples abound.

One key is to remain humble and hard working in statistics. No single statistical study is definitive: the next time you try to study the same phenomenon you might get very different data and therefore very different results. You should therefore scrutinize your results for trustworthiness; be realistic about how much your results can generalize to future samples, timeframes and contexts; and perhaps participate in testing them again to see whether you get the same results again. Never make overly strong assumptions about what you have found, but be brave and take leaps where it seems appropriate. Chapter 17 discusses more on this topic of what to make of your findings.