Obtaining information from time data statistical analysis in human component system studies (II)- Example with simulated data

Abstract A didactic example based on a set of 10 signals is given to illustrate the diversity in time data exploration. We argue that to assess the performance of the analysis path, the researcher must focus mainly on the information loss in the characterizing stage since it is the starting point of the path, thus conditioning its potential results. Several statistical analysis paths with different information loss levels are suggested, and three paths are investigated. The first two are exploratory and based on a space-time fuzzy windowing and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The third path is confirmatory, based on a non-parametric test to see if the previous results can be generalized. A discussion dealing with the objectivity and subjectivity aspects inherent to a statistical analysis is then proposed.