Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Page 1 of 3
http://www.qualitydigest.com/print/7636
10/8/2009
Page 2 of 3
Instead, we work with some transformation of the data, Y. A statistic Y will generally have a known distribution, which will characterize some aspect of Xs distribution. Using Ys known distribution, we compute critical values, or P-values, and then decide what this tells us about the distribution of X. Thus, a common point of confusion for statistics students is thinking the distribution of X must be known before performing any analysis. Thankfully this isnt true. In fact, this point of confusion was a major obstacle to developing analytical techniques during the 1800s. Finally, the overwhelming obstacle to using the question of how the data are distributed as the starting point for an analysis is the fact that the data might not be homogeneous. In Februarys column, the data in figure 1 came from two different systems. For 33 years the number of major hurricanes averaged about 1.7 per year, with an upper bound of four per year. For the other 35 years, the multidecadal tropical oscillation averaged 3.5 major hurricanes per year, with an upper bound of nine or 10 per year. So which of these two different systems does the Poisson model in figure 1 represent? Neither.
Your data are the result of a process or system, and like all things in this world, these processes and systems are subject to change. For this reason alone, the primary question of data analysis is, and always has been, Are these data reasonably homogeneous, or do they contain evidence of a lack of homogeneity? The primary tool for examining any set of data for homogeneity is the process-behavior chart. This is why any data analysis should always begin by using the context to chart the data in a rational manner. To do otherwise may well result in patent nonsense. Department 2009 Quality Digest Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Home the Insider Videos Magazine Resources
http://www.qualitydigest.com/print/7636
10/8/2009
Page 3 of 3
http://www.qualitydigest.com/print/7636
10/8/2009