Many things have been said or written, in the negative sense, about statistics. One of the most well-known is Benjamin Disraeli’s, “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” This negativity towards statistics is probably based on a fear of the unknown. Looking at a statistical printout can be intimidating and mystifying for many people, primarily because they’ve never had statistics explained to them. Thus, statistics are often avoided because people feel that if they can’t understand them, then they can’t be of any value. The fact is, however, statistical analyses were developed to help make sense of numbers, not make them more complicated. Statistics can be an invaluable tool for breaking down, analyzing and making sense of large piles of raw data.
The following statistical techniques are offered by NorthView Research Group to add meaning and insight to the data we collect:
- Significance testing:
- Chi-square test
- T-test
- ANOVA (Analysis of variance)
- Multiple regression analysis
- Factor analysis
- Cluster analysis
- Discriminant analysis
- Multidimensional scaling
- Conjoint analysis