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Deconstructing Statistical Questions

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  • David J. Hand

Abstract

Too much current statistical work takes a superficial view of the client's research question, adopting techniques which have a solid history, a sound mathematical basis or readily available software, but without considering in depth whether the questions being answered are in fact those which should be asked. Examples, some familiar and others less so, are given to illustrate this assertion. It is clear that establishing the mapping from the client's domain to a statistical question is one of the most difficult parts of a statistical analysis. It is a part in which the responsibility is shared by both client and statistician. A plea is made for more research effort to go in this direction and some suggestions are made for ways to tackle the problem.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. Hand, 1994. "Deconstructing Statistical Questions," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 157(3), pages 317-338, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:157:y:1994:i:3:p:317-338
    DOI: 10.2307/2983526
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nelder, John A., 1992. "Statistical packages and unbalanced data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 403-406, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hand, David J., 2009. "Mining the past to determine the future: Problems and possibilities," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 441-451, July.
    2. Andrea Saltelli & Arnald Puy, 2023. "What can mathematical modelling contribute to a sociology of quantification?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Duo Qin & Sophie van Huellen & Qing Chao Wang & Thanos Moraitis, 2022. "Algorithmic Modelling of Financial Conditions for Macro Predictive Purposes: Pilot Application to USA Data," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-22, April.
    4. David J. Hand, 2022. "Trustworthiness of statistical inference," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(1), pages 329-347, January.
    5. Ross Taplin, 2007. "Enhancing statistical education by using role‐plays of consultations," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(2), pages 267-300, March.

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