The single principle of compositional data analysis, continuing fallacies, confusionsand misunderstandings and some suggested remedies

In any discipline, where uncertainty and variability are present, it is important to have principles which are accepted as inviolate and which should therefore drive statistical modelling, statistical analysis of data and any inferences from such an analysis. Despite the fact that two such principles have existed over the last two decades and from these a sensible, meaningful methodology has been developed for the statistical analysis of compositional data, the application of inappropriate and/or meaningless methods persists in many areas of application. This paper identifies at least ten common fallacies and confusions in compositional data analysis with illustrative examples and provides readers with necessary, and hopefully sufficient, arguments to persuade the culprits why and how they should amend their ways

[1]  G. Mateu-Figueras,et al.  Isometric Logratio Transformations for Compositional Data Analysis , 2003 .

[2]  C. M. Jackson,et al.  Compositional data analysis in archaeometry , 2003 .

[3]  D. F. Watson,et al.  Measures of variability for geological data , 1989 .

[4]  P. Guttorp,et al.  Statistical Interpretation of Species Composition , 2001 .

[5]  E. Whitten Open and closed compositional data in petrology , 1995 .

[6]  Felix Chayes,et al.  An Approximate Statistical Test for Correlations between Proportions , 1966, The Journal of Geology.

[7]  R. A. Leibler,et al.  On Information and Sufficiency , 1951 .

[8]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Biplots of Compositional Data , 2002 .

[9]  John C. Davis,et al.  Estimation of regionalized compositions: A comparison of three methods , 1995 .

[10]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Principles, practice and performance in decision-making in clinical medicine , 1975 .

[11]  V. Pawlowsky-Glahn,et al.  Groups of Parts and Their Balances in Compositional Data Analysis , 2005 .

[12]  F. Chayes On correlation between variables of constant sum , 1960 .

[13]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Log contrast models for experiments with mixtures , 1984 .

[14]  A. Azzalini,et al.  The multivariate skew-normal distribution , 1996 .

[15]  C. D. Litton,et al.  Theory of Probability (3rd Edition) , 1984 .

[16]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Some Distribution Theory Related to the Analysis of Subjective Performance in Inferential Tasks , 1981 .

[17]  John Aitchison,et al.  Relative variation diagrams for describing patterns of compositional variability , 1990 .

[18]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Some comments on compositional data analysis in archaeometry, in particular the fallacies in Tangri and Wright’s dismissal of logratio analysis , 2002 .

[19]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Logratio Analysis and Compositional Distance , 2000 .

[20]  Tony M. Chou Reply to letter to the editor by Sharifi et al. , 2001 .

[21]  V. Pawlowsky-Glahn,et al.  BLU Estimators and Compositional Data , 2002 .

[22]  Michael A. Stephens,et al.  Use of the von Mises distribution to analyse continuous proportions , 1982 .

[23]  M. J. van Uven,et al.  Skew Frequency Curves , 1917 .

[24]  John Aitchison,et al.  Measures of location of compositional data sets , 1989 .

[25]  F. Chayes,et al.  Numerical Correlation and Petrographic Variation , 1962, The Journal of Geology.

[26]  J. Aitchison Logratios and Natural Laws in Compositional Data Analysis , 1999 .

[27]  John Aitchison,et al.  Delusions of uniqueness and ineluctability , 1991 .

[28]  J Aitchison,et al.  The one-hour course in compositional data analysis or compositional data analysis is simple , 1997 .

[29]  V. Pawlowsky-Glahn,et al.  Geometric approach to statistical analysis on the simplex , 2001 .

[30]  John C. Gower,et al.  Introduction to Ordination Techniques , 1987 .

[31]  E M McGirr,et al.  Doctors as Decision-makers: A Computer-assisted Study of Diagnosis as a Cognitive Skill , 1971, British medical journal.

[32]  J. A. Martín-Fernández,et al.  Reply to Letter to the Editor by S. Rehder and U. Zier on ‘Logratio analysis and compositional distance by J. Aitchison, C. Barceló-Vidal, , 2002 .

[33]  Karl Pearson I. A Rejoinder to Professor Kapteyn , 1906 .

[34]  Sönke Rehder,et al.  Letter to the Editor: Comment on “Logratio Analysis and Compositional Distance” by J. Aitchison, C. Barceló-Vidal, J. A. Martín-Fernández, and V. Pawlowsky-Glahn , 2001 .

[35]  Alfred Harker,et al.  The Natural History of Igneous Rocks , 2009 .

[36]  J. Aitchison On criteria for measures of compositional difference , 1992 .

[37]  S. Merhar,et al.  Letter to the editor , 2005, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[38]  F. Feng,et al.  Reply to "Comment on , 1977 .

[39]  John Aitchison,et al.  The Statistical Analysis of Compositional Data , 1986 .

[40]  J. Atchison,et al.  Logistic-normal distributions:Some properties and uses , 1980 .

[41]  S. Shen,et al.  The statistical analysis of compositional data , 1983 .

[42]  Clarence Norman Fenner,et al.  The stability relations of the silica minerals , 1913 .

[43]  J. Aitchison A new approach to null correlations of proportions , 1981 .

[44]  J. Aitchison Principal component analysis of compositional data , 1983 .

[45]  John Aitchison,et al.  A plea for precision inMathematical Geology , 1991 .

[46]  D. F. Watson Reply to “delusions of uniqueness and ineluctability” by J. Aitchison , 1991 .

[47]  A. Azzalini,et al.  Statistical applications of the multivariate skew normal distribution , 2009, 0911.2093.

[48]  Sue E. Estroff,et al.  "Letter to the editor": Comment. , 1984 .

[49]  D. F. Watson Reply to comment on “measures of variability for geological data” by D. F. Watson and G. M. Philip , 1990 .

[50]  Ian Lauder,et al.  Statistical Concepts and Applications in Clinical Medicine , 2004 .

[51]  Clifford R. Stanley,et al.  Descriptive statistics forN-dimensional closed arrays: A spherical coordinate approach , 1990 .