Observation is defined as the careful recording of data and organizing it in the logical sequence. The observations can be made by using various senses like smell, seeing, hearing, tasting, and feeling. Observations are considered as the raw data and can be divided into two major categories, quantitative, and qualitative observations.
Whenever such data is interpreted to arrive at a generalized conclusion, it is called as inference. While making inferences scientists make use of their previous knowledge and experiences. If observation is a process then inference is the outcome of that process.