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Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on statistical modeling and knowledge discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes, while business intelligence covers data analysis that relies heavily on aggregation, focusing mainly on business information. [4]
Tukey defined data analysis in 1961 as: "Procedures for analyzing data, techniques for interpreting the results of such procedures, ways of planning the gathering of data to make its analysis easier, more precise or more accurate, and all the machinery and results of (mathematical) statistics which apply to analyzing data."
Two main statistical methods are used in data analysis: descriptive statistics, which summarize data from a sample using indexes such as the mean or standard deviation, and inferential statistics, which draw conclusions from data that are subject to random variation (e.g., observational errors, sampling variation). [4]
Statistics is the mathematical science involving the collection, analysis and interpretation of data. A number of specialties have evolved to apply statistical and methods to various disciplines. Certain topics have "statistical" in their name but relate to manipulations of probability distributions rather than to statistical analysis.
For example, if the data is in CSV form (text with commas between values), the program recognizes the format and creates a data set from the CSV file. Finally, the program can be used to do some analysis. In this analysis menu, the variables of interest can be selected, along with other options. Then the analysis is run and results are obtained.
Similarly, for a regression analysis, an analyst would report the coefficient of determination (R 2) and the model equation instead of the model's p-value. However, proponents of estimation statistics warn against reporting only a few numbers. Rather, it is advised to analyze and present data using data visualization.
One purpose of coding is to transform the data into a form suitable for computer-aided analysis. This categorization of information is an important step, for example, in preparing data for computer processing with statistical software. Prior to coding, an annotation scheme is defined. It consists of codes or tags.
When the research is complete and the researcher knows the (probable) answer to the research question, writing up can begin (as distinct from writing notes, which is a process that goes on through a research project). In term papers, the answer to the question is normally given in summary in the introduction in the form of a thesis statement.