ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the interplay between subject-matter considerations and statistical analysis that is essential for fruitful work. It deals very largely with methods for the careful analysis and interpretation of bodies of scientific and technological data. Definitive probabilistic analysis is virtually always numerical rather than graphical, but even with these methods graphical methods can be valuable in presenting conclusions. The book discusses two important aspects of statistical analysis about the numerical analytic and computational. Numerical analytic considerations arise in ensuring that procedures are not sensitive to rounding errors in calculation and that where iterative procedures are necessary they converge, preferably speedily, to the required point. Computational considerations are broader and involve the organization of the raw data and the arrangement of the final conclusions, as well as the implementation of the main analysis.
