Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In mathematics and statistics, a quantitative variable may be continuous or discrete if it is typically obtained by measuring or counting, respectively. [1] If it can take on two particular real values such that it can also take on all real values between them (including values that are arbitrarily or infinitesimally close together), the variable is continuous in that interval. [2]
In physics, for example, the space-time continuum model describes space and time as part of the same continuum rather than as separate entities. A spectrum in physics, such as the electromagnetic spectrum, is often termed as either continuous (with energy at all wavelengths) or discrete (energy at only certain wavelengths).
The concept of data type is similar to the concept of level of measurement, but more specific. For example, count data requires a different distribution (e.g. a Poisson distribution or binomial distribution) than non-negative real-valued data require, but both fall under the same level of measurement (a ratio scale).
While the tools of data analysis work best on data from randomized studies, they are also applied to other kinds of data—like natural experiments and observational studies [19] —for which a statistician would use a modified, more structured estimation method (e.g., difference in differences estimation and instrumental variables, among many ...
Benford's law, which describes the frequency of the first digit of many naturally occurring data. The ideal and robust soliton distributions. Zipf's law or the Zipf distribution. A discrete power-law distribution, the most famous example of which is the description of the frequency of words in the English language.
Panel data is the general class, a multidimensional data set, whereas a time series data set is a one-dimensional panel (as is a cross-sectional dataset). A data set may exhibit characteristics of both panel data and time series data. One way to tell is to ask what makes one data record unique from the other records.
Effectively, this describes the nature of the inelastic collision. The bouncing ball is an especially interesting hybrid system, as it exhibits Zeno behavior. Zeno behavior has a strict mathematical definition, but can be described informally as the system making an infinite number of jumps in a finite amount of time. In this example, each time ...
On the other hand, discrete choice analysis examines situations in which the potential outcomes are discrete, such that the optimum is not characterized by standard first-order conditions. Thus, instead of examining "how much" as in problems with continuous choice variables, discrete choice analysis examines "which one".