To infer, we must collect evidence. And evidence is collected by the process of analysis. Analysis is a particular form of investigation. In general usage, analysis refers to any close, careful, or systematic examination. In the discussion here, the term analysis is used in its more technical meaning.
Analysis is a process of investigating something by breaking it into parts for closer examination.
Complex topics are broken down into simpler ones. Intricate patterns are broken down into less complicated elements. A problem is simplified by limiting the amount that must be examined at any one time. The goal of analysis is not simply to discover parts within the whole, but to understand the whole. Once the parts are identified, analysis then seeks to determine how those parts are related.