An index that measures the degree of comfort a researcher has relative to statistical inference application is proposed. The index is calculated by selecting and weighting components inherent in the conduct of hypothesis tests and confidence intervals, and its values range from zero to one. To organize the components of the index, inference components are divided into two possibly overlapping categories: (1) a priori (those involved before collecting sample data); and (2) post hoc (those involved after data collection). An alphabetical glossary of components is provided, and methods of incorporating and weighting the components of a comfort index are outlined. A comfort index rating form is also provided. Illustrations of calculating and interpreting the index using a published research report and the comparability of indices produced by several researchers from one research report are described. Potential applications and limitations of the index are discussed. Five tables are included. (Author/TJH)