| Exploratory Data Analysis | Confirmatory Analysis =Statistical Inference |
| Purpose:
Unrestricted exploration of the data, searching for interesting
patterns. |
Purpose: To
answer specific questions, posed before the data were produced. |
| Conclusions apply:
Only to the individuals and circumstances for which we have data in
hand. |
Conclusions apply to a
larger group of individuals (population) or a broader class of
circumstances. |
| Conclusions:
Informal: Based on what we see in the data. |
Conclusions: Formal:
Backed by a statement of our confidence in them (confidence level,
p-value) |
| Use Exploratory
Analysis to generate hypotheses and formal questions. Design instrument(s) to measure, design experiment(s) to test hypotheses Use methods of data collection which guard against bias. Analyze using Confirmatory
Analysis---
|
("Publish"; let others
(or self) critique, analyze, replicate, and extend, possibly using Exploratory Analysis.) |
| Sievers home | Math151-Sp07/ExplorevsConf.htm | 2pm | 2/13/07 |