NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN MULTIDIMENSIONAL DATA ANALYSIS

Publisher Summary Data analysis yields misleading results in complicated situations if multidimensional considerations are not taken into account. Three phases that are important in data analysis are: how to design the data, how to collect the data, and how to analyze the data. Each of these entails logic, methodology, and philosophy, which is called the fundamental concept of data analysis with relevant concrete methods and theories. Basic information is expressed as quantitative and qualitative data. These multidimensional data are processed through various multidimensional methods under the guiding concepts of data analysis embodied in the three phases to obtain useful information with validity. The properties inherent in the data must be taken into consideration in these three phases together with the background surrounding the data. This chapter discusses the quantification of qualitative data as a method of analyzing statistically multidimensional data. The fundamental concept of data analysis plays an important role and provides the guiding concepts for the development of method, or theory, and the design of computer software for data processing.