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Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,
Analysis.
Analysis,
Plural analyses,
Is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it.
The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle,
Though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.
The word comes from the ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις,
A breaking up,
Or an untying,
From ἀνά,
Up,
Throughout,
And λύσις,
A loosening.
From it also comes the words plural,
Analyses.
As a formal concept,
The method has variously been ascribed to René Descartes,
Discourses on the Method,
And Galileo Galilei.
It has also been ascribed to Isaac Newton in the form of a practical method of physical discovery which he did not name.
The converse of analysis is synthesis,
Putting the pieces back together again in a new or different whole.
The field of chemistry uses analysis in three ways,
To identify the components of a particular chemical compound,
Qualitative analysis,
To identify the proportions of components in a mixture,
Quantitative analysis,
And to break down chemical processes and examine chemical reactions between elements of matter.
For an example of its use,
Analysis of the concentration of elements is important in managing a nuclear reactor,
So nuclear scientists will analyze neutron activation to develop discrete measurements within vast samples.
A matrix can have a considerable effect on the way a chemical analysis is conducted and the quality of its results.
Analysis can be done manually or with a device.
Types of analysis A.
Qualitative analysis.
It is concerned with which components are in a given sample or compound.
Example.
Precipitation reaction.
B.
Quantitative analysis.
It is to determine the quantity of individual components present in a given sample or compound.
Example.
To find concentration by UV spectrophotometer.
Isotopes.
Chemists can use isotope analysis to assist analysts with issues of concentration.
Anthropology.
Archaeology.
Food chemistry.
Forensics.
Geology.
And a host of other questions of physical science.
Analysts can discern the origins of natural and man-made isotopes in the study of environmental radioactivity.
Computer science.
Requirements analysis.
Encompasses those tasks that go into determining the needs or conditions to meet for a new or altered product.
Taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders,
Such as beneficiaries or users.
Competitive analysis.
Online algorithm.
Shows how online algorithms perform and demonstrates the power of randomization in algorithms.
Lexical analysis.
The process of processing an input sequence of characters and producing as output a sequence of symbols.
Object-oriented analysis and design.
A la Bouche.
Program analysis.
Computer science.
The process of automatically analyzing the behavior of computer programs.
Semantic analysis.
Computer science.
A pass by a computer that adds semantical information to the parse tree and performs certain checks.
Static code analysis.
The analysis of computer software that is performed without actually executing programs built from that.
Structured systems analysis and design methodology.
A la Yurden.
Syntax analysis.
A process in compilers that recognizes the structure of programming languages,
Also known as parsing.
Worst case execution time.
Determines the longest time that a piece of software can take to run.
Engineering.
Analysts in the field of engineering look at requirements,
Structures,
Mechanisms,
Systems,
And dimensions.
Electrical engineers analyze systems and electronics.
Life cycles and system failures are broken down and studied by engineers.
It is also looking at different factors incorporated within the design.
Mathematics.
Modern mathematical analysis is the study of infinite processes.
It is a branch of mathematics that includes calculus.
It can be applied in the study of classical concepts of mathematics,
Such as real numbers,
Complex variables,
Trigonometric functions,
And algorithms,
Or of non-classical concepts like constructivism,
Harmonics,
Infinity,
And vectors.
Florian Cajori explains in A History of Mathematics,
1893,
The difference between modern and ancient mathematical analysis as distinct from logical analysis as follows.
The terms synthesis and analysis are used in mathematics in a more special lens than in logic.
In ancient mathematics,
They had a different meaning from what they now have.
The oldest definition of mathematical analysis,
As opposed to synthesis,
Is that given in Euclid 13.
5,
Which in all probability was framed by Eudoxus.
Analysis is the obtaining of the thing sought by assuming it,
And so reasoning up to an admitted truth.
Synthesis is the obtaining of the thing sought by reasoning up to the inference and proof of it.
The analytic method is not conclusive unless all operations involved in it are known to be reversible.
To remove all doubt,
The Greeks has a rule added to the analytic process,
A synthetic one,
Consisting of a reversion of all operations occurring in the analysis.
Thus,
The aim of analysis was to aid in the discovery of synthetic proofs or solutions.
James Gow uses a similar argument as Cajori with the following clarification in his A Short History of Greek Mathematics,
1884.
A synthetic proof proceeds by showing that the proposed new truth involves certain admitted truths.
An analytic proof begins by an assumption,
Upon which a synthetic reasoning is founded.
The Greeks distinguished theoretic from problematic analysis.
A theoretic analysis is of the following kind.
To prove that A is B,
Assume first that A is B.
If so,
Then since B is C,
And C is D,
And D is E,
Therefore A is E.
If this be known of falsity,
A is not B.
But if this be a known truth and all the intermediate propositions be convertible,
Then the reverse process,
A is E,
E is D,
D is C,
C is B,
Therefore A is B,
Constitutes a synthetic proof of the original theorem.
Problematic analysis is applied in all cases where it is proposed to construct a figure which is assumed to satisfy a given condition.
The problem is then converted into some theorem which is involved in the condition and which is proved synthetically.
And the steps of this synthetic proof taken backwards are a synthetic solution of the problem.
Psychotherapy.
Psychoanalysis seeks to elucidate connections among unconscious components of patients' mental processes.
Transactional analysis is used by therapists to try to gain a better understanding of the unconscious.
It focuses on understanding and intervening human behavior.
Signal processing.
Finite element analysis.
A computer simulation technique used in engineering analysis.
Independent component analysis.
Link quality analysis.
The analysis of signal quality.
Path quality analysis.
Fourier analysis.
Statistics.
In statistics the term analysis may refer to any method used for data analysis.
Among the many such methods,
Some are analysis of variance,
A-N-O-V-A,
A collection of statistical models and their associated procedures which compare means by splitting the overall observed variance into different parts.
Boolean analysis.
A method to find deterministic dependencies between variables in a sample,
Mostly used in exploratory data analysis.
Cluster analysis.
Techniques for finding groups,
Called clusters,
Based on some measure of proximity or similarity.
Factor analysis.
A method to construct models describing a data set of observed variables in terms of a smaller set of unobserved variables,
Called factors.
Meta-analysis.
Combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses.
Multivariate analysis.
Analysis of data involving several variables.
Such as by-factor analysis,
Regression analysis,
Or principal component analysis.
Principal component analysis.
Transformation of a sample of correlated variables into uncorrelated variables,
Called principal components.
Mostly used in exploratory data analysis.
Regression analysis.
Techniques for analyzing the relationships between several predictive variables and one or more outcomes in the data.
Scale analysis.
Statistics.
Methods to analyze survey data by scoring responses on a numeric scale.
Sensitivity analysis.
The study of how the variation in the output of a model depends on variations in the inputs.
Sequential analysis.
Evaluation of sampled data as it is collected until the criterion of a stopping rule is met.
Spatial analysis.
The study of entities using geometric or geographic properties.
Time series analysis.
Methods that attempt to understand a sequence of data points spaced apart at uniform time intervals.
Business.
Financial statement analysis.
The analysis of the accounts and the economic prospects of a firm.
Financial analysis.
Refers to an assessment of the viability,
Stability,
And profitability of a business,
Sub-business,
Or project.
Gap analysis.
Involves the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance of an organization.
Business analysis.
Involves identifying the needs and determining the solutions to business problems.
Price analysis.
Involves the breakdown of a price to a unit figure.
Market analysis.
Consists of suppliers and customers and prices determined by the interaction of supply and demand.
Some of the parts analysis.
Method of valuation of a multi-divisional company.
Opportunity analysis.
Consists of customers trends within the industry,
Customer demand,
And experience determined purchasing behavior.
Economics.
Agro-ecosystem analysis.
Input-output model,
If applied to a region.
Is called regional impact multiplier system.
Government.
Intelligence.
The field of intelligence employs analysts to break down and understand a wide array of questions.
Intelligence agencies may use heuristics,
Inductive and deductive reasoning,
Social network analysis,
Dynamic network analysis,
Link analysis,
And brainstorming to sort through problems they face.
Military intelligence may explore issues through the use of game theory,
Red teaming,
And war gaming.
Signals intelligence applies crypto analysis and frequency analysis to break codes and ciphers.
Business intelligence applies theories of competitive intelligence analysis and competitor analysis to resolve questions in the marketplace.
Law enforcement intelligence applies a number of theories in crime analysis.
Policy.
Policy analysis.
The use of statistical data to predict the effects of policy decisions made by governments and agencies.
Policy analysis includes a systematic process to find the most efficient and effective option to address the current situation.
Qualitative analysis.
The use of anecdotal evidence to predict the effects of policy decisions or more generally influence policy decisions.
Humanities and social sciences.
Linguistics.
Linguistics explores individual languages and language in general.
It breaks language down and analyzes its component parts.
Theory.
Sounds and their meaning.
Utterance usage.
Word origins.
The history of words.
The meaning of words and word combinations.
Sentence construction.
Basic construction beyond the sentence level.
Stylistics and conversation.
It examines the above using statistics and modeling and semantics.
It analyzes language in context of anthropology,
Biology,
Evolution,
Geography,
History,
Neurology,
Psychology,
And sociology.
It also takes the applied approach looking at individual language development and clinical issues.
Literature.
Literary criticism is the analysis of literature.
The focus can be as diverse as the analysis of Homer or Freud.
While not all literary critical methods are primarily analytical in nature,
The main approach to the teaching of literature in the West since the mid-20th century,
Literary formal analysis or close reading,
Is.
This method,
Rooted in the academic movement labeled the New Criticism,
Approaches texts,
Chiefly short poems such as sonnets,
Which by virtue of their small size and significant complexity,
Lend themselves well to this type of analysis,
As units of discourse that can be understood in themselves without referring to biographical or historical frameworks.
This method of analysis breaks up the text linguistically in a study of prosody,
The formal analysis of meter,
And phonic effects such as alliteration and rhyme,
And cognitively in examination of the interplay of syntactic structures,
Figurative language,
And other elements of the poem that work to produce its larger effects.
Music.
Musical analysis.
A process attempting to answer the question,
How does this music work?
Musical analysis is a study of how the composers use the notes together to compose music.
Those studying music will find differences with each composer's musical analysis,
Which differs depending on the culture and history of music studied.
An analysis of music is meant to simplify the music for you.
Shankarian analysis.
Shankarian analysis is a collection of music analysis that focuses on the production of the graphic representation.
This includes both analytical procedure as well as the notational style.
Simply put,
It analyzes tonal music,
Which includes all chords and tones within a composition.
Philosophy.
Philosophical analysis.
A general term for the techniques used by philosophers.
Philosophical analysis refers to the clarification and composition of words put together and the entailed meaning behind them.
Philosophical analysis dives deeper into the meaning of words and seeks to clarify that meaning by contrasting the various definitions.
It is the study of reality,
Justification of claims,
And the analysis of various concepts.
Branches of philosophy include logic,
Justification,
Metaphysics,
Values,
And ethics.
If questions can be answered empirically,
Meaning it can be answered by using the senses,
Then it is not considered philosophical.
Non-philosophical questions also include events that happened in the past or questions science or mathematics can answer.
Analysis is the name of a prominent journal in philosophy.
Other.
Aura analysis.
A pseudo-scientific technique in which supporters of the method claim that the body's aura or energy field is analyzed.
Bowling analysis.
Analysis of the performance of cricket players.
Lithic analysis.
The analysis of stone tools using basic scientific techniques.
Lithic analysis is most often used by archaeologists in determining which types of tools were used at a given time period pertaining to current artifacts discovered.
Protocol analysis.
A means for extracting person's thoughts while they are performing a task.
Field research,
Field studies,
Or field work is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory,
Library,
Or workplace setting.
The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines.
For example,
Biologists who conduct field research may simply observe animals interacting with their environments,
Whereas social scientists conducting field research may interview or observe people in their natural environments to learn their languages,
Folklore,
And social structures.
Field research involves a range of well-defined,
Although variable methods.
Informal interviews,
Direct observation,
Participation in the life of the group,
Collective discussions,
Analyses of personal and professional experiences,
Analyses of personal documents produced within the group,
Self-analysis,
Results from activities undertaken off or online,
And life histories.
Although the method generally is characterized as qualitative research,
It may,
And often does,
Include quantitative dimensions.
Field research has a long history.
Cultural anthropologists have long used field research to study other cultures.
Although the cultures do not have to be different,
This has often been the case in the past with the study of so-called primitive cultures,
And even in sociology the cultural differences have been ones of class.
The work is done in fields,
That is,
Circumscribed areas of study which have been the subject of social research.
Fields could be education,
Industrial settings,
Or Amazonian rainforests.
Field research may be conducted by ethologists such as Jane Goodall.
Alfred Radcliffe Brown,
1910,
And Bronislaw Malinowski,
1922,
Were early anthropologists who set the models for future work.
The quality of results obtained from field research depends on the data gathered in the field.
The data,
In turn,
Depending upon the field worker,
Their level of involvement,
And ability to see and visualize things that other individuals visiting the area of study may fail to notice.
The more open researchers are to new ideas,
Concepts,
And things which they may not have seen in their own culture,
The better will be the absorption of those ideas.
Better grasping of such material means a better understanding of the forces of culture operating in the area and the ways they modify the lives of the people under study.
Social scientists,
I.
E.
Anthropologists,
Social psychologists,
Etc.
,
Have always been taught to be free from ethnocentrism,
I.
E.
The belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group when conducting any type of field research.
When humans themselves are the subject of study,
Protocols must be devised to reduce the risk of observer bias and the acquisition of too theoretical or idealized explanations of the workings of a culture.
Participant observation,
Data collection,
And survey research are examples of field research methods,
In contrast to what is often called experimental or lab research.
When conducting field research,
Keeping an ethnographic record is essential to the process.
Field notes are a key part of the ethnographic record.
The process of field notes begin as the researcher participates in local scenes and experiences in order to make observations that will later be written up.
The field researcher tries first to take mental notes of certain details in order that they may be written down later.
Kinds of field notes.
Jot notes.
Keywords or phrases are written down while in the field.
Field notes proper.
A description of the physical context and the people involved,
Including their behavior and non-verbal communication.
Methodological notes.
New ideas that the researcher has on how to carry out the research project.
Journals and diaries.
These notes record the ethnographer's personal reactions,
Frustrations,
And assessments of life and work in the field.
Another method of data collection is interviewing,
Specifically interviewing in the qualitative paradigm.
Interviewing can be done in different formats.
This all depends on individual researcher preferences,
Research purpose,
And the research question asked.
In qualitative research,
There are many ways of analyzing data gathered in the field.
One of the two most common methods of data analysis are thematic analysis and narrative analysis.
As mentioned before,
The type of analysis a researcher decides to use depends on the research question asked,
The researcher's field,
And the researcher's personal method of choice.
In anthropology,
Field research is organized so as to produce a kind of writing called ethnography.
Ethnography can refer to both a methodology and a product of research,
Namely a monograph or book.
Ethnography is a grounded,
Inductive method that heavily relies on participant observation.
Participant observation is a structured type of research strategy.
It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines,
Particularly cultural anthropology,
But also sociology,
Communication studies,
And social psychology.
Its aim is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals,
Such as a religious,
Occupational,
Or subcultural group,
Or a particular community,
And their practices through an intense involvement with the people in their natural environment,
Usually over an extended period of time.
The method originated in field work of social anthropologists,
Especially the students of Franz Boas in the United States and in the urban research of the Chicago School of Sociology.
Max Gluckman noted that Bronislaw Malinowski significantly developed the idea of field work,
But it originated with Alfred Court Haddon in England and Franz Boas in the United States.
Robert G.
Burgess concluded that it is Malinowski who is usually credited with being the originator of intensive anthropological field research.
Anthropological field work uses an array of methods and approaches that include,
But are not limited to,
Participant observation,
Structured and unstructured interviews,
Archival research,
Collecting demographic information from the community the anthropologist is studying,
And data analysis.
Traditional participant observation is usually undertaken over an extended period of time,
Ranging from several months to many years,
And even generations.
An extended research time period means that the researcher is able to obtain more detailed and accurate information about the individuals,
Community,
And or population under study.
Observable details like daily time allotment and more hidden details like taboo behavior are more easily observed and interpreted over a longer period of time.
A strength of observation and interaction over extended periods of time is that researchers can discover discrepancies between what participants say and often believe should happen,
The formal system,
The formal system,
And what actually does happen,
Or between different aspects of the formal system.
In contrast,
A one-time survey of people's answers to a set of questions might be quite consistent,
But is less likely to show conflicts between different aspects of the social system or between conscious representations and behavior.
Field research lies at the heart of archaeological research.
It may include the undertaking of broad area surveys,
Including aerial surveys,
Of more localized site surveys,
Including photographic,
Drawn,
And geophysical surveys,
And exercises such as field walking and of excavation.
In biology,
Field research typically involves studying of free-living wild animals in which the subjects are observed in their natural habitat without changing,
Harming,
Or materially altering the setting or behavior of the animals under study.
Field research is an indispensable part of a biological science.
Animal migration tracking,
Including bird ringing or banding,
Is a frequently used field technique,
Allowing field scientists to track migration patterns and routes and animal longevity in the wild.
Knowledge about animal migrations is essential to accurately determining the size and location of protected areas.
Field research also can involve study of other kingdoms of life,
Such as plantae,
Fungi,
And microbes,
As well as ecological interactions among species.
Field courses have been shown to be efficacious for generating long-term interest in and commitment for undergraduate students in STEM,
But they are not always as effective as field research.
The number of field courses has not kept pace with demand.
Cost has been a barrier to student participation.
In geology,
Field work is considered an essential part of training and remains an important component of many research projects.
In other disciplines of the earth and atmospheric sciences,
Field research refers to field experiments,
Such as the VORTEX projects,
Utilizing in-situ instruments.
Permanent observation networks are also maintained for other uses,
But are not necessarily considered field research,
Nor are permanent remote sensing installations.
The objective of field research in economics is to get beneath the surface to contrast observed behavior with the prevailing understanding of a process and to relate language and description to behavior.
In 2009,
Nobel Prize winners in economics,
Eleanor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson,
Have advocated mixed methods and complex approaches in economics and hinted implicitly to the relevance of field research approaches in economics.
