Word of the Day: statistical analysis

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms |July 3, 2014

statistical analysis Statistical analysis is a component of data analytics. In the context of business intelligence, statistical analysis involves collecting and scrutinizing every single data sample in a set of items from which samples can be drawn. Statistical analysis can be broken down into five discrete steps, as follows: Describe the nature of the data to be analyzed. Explore the relation of the data to the underlying population. Create a model to summarize understanding of how the data relates to the underlying population. Prove (or disprove) the validity of the model. Employ predictive analytics to run scenarios that will help guide future actions.   The goal of statistical analysis is to identify trends.  A retail business, for example, might use statistical analysis to find patterns in unstructured and semi-structured customer data that can be used to create a more positive customer experience and increase sales.  Quote of the Day "I am not advising that every marketing decision or business rule be vetted through statistical analysis using every bit of knowledge in the enterprise data warehouse. That is the very definition of analysis paralysis." - John Myers Related Terms Related Terms predictive analytics noisy data data profiling R programming language data warehouse data lake Related Tags Advanced analytics software Big data analytics   Required Reading Data warehousing and statistical processing While it is possible to let the statistician explore the data found in the data warehouse, there are many reasons why such a strategy is not optimal. 'Big data' analytics programs require tech savvy, business know-how Data scientist is a new job title that is getting some industry buzz. But it's really a combination of skills, including predictive modeling and statistical analysis. Statistics and Business Intelligence Author John Maindonald discusses the evolution of statistical analysis and the convergence of traditional statistics with data mining/machine learning. R programming language demands the right use case A 2013 survey of data mining professionals indicated that the R programming language is by far the most popular statistical analysis tool. Stay In Touch FOLLOW WHATIS.COM     CONTACT US For feedback about any of our definitions or to send us ideas for new definitions, please contact us at: editor@techtarget.com About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2013 TechTarget. All rights reserved.