| statistics 1) The collection of data and the mathematical methods used to draw inferences about the relations between different variables. This involves the use of techniques such as linear regression and rank correlation. See also: Bayesian statistics 2) The numbers which are used to describe the functions fitted to data in summary form. Sufficient statistics are a set of parameters which contain or imply all available information about the functions they describe. If the fitted function is a normal distribution, for example, its mean and variance serve to describe it completely and uniquely. |