About

Zad Rafi

This website is about statistical science, which may seem like an odd phrase given that it’s rarely used. Unlike ‘statistics’, which may often refer to ‘mathematical statistics’ and ‘applied statistics’, statistical science goes beyond probability theory and mathematics, and incorporates good principles of design and scientific thinking to maximize quantitative inferences drawn from data in the real world. So, why not just call it ‘applied statistics’ to differentiate it from mathematical statistics?

As the great John Nelder argued,¹

First ‘applied statistics’ becomes a tautology, for statistics is nothing without its applications. The phrase should be abandoned. It has arisen to distinguish it from ‘mathematical statistics’. However, this is also a misnomer, because it should be ‘statistical mathematics’, as A. C. Aitken entitled his book many years ago.

To make this change does not in any way diminish the importance of mathematics. Mathematics remains the source of our tools, but statistical science is not just a branch of mathematics; it is not a purely deductive system, because it is concerned with quantitative inferences from data obtained from the real world.

Highly influential statisticians besides Nelder have recognized the need for statistics to break away from mathematics and probability such as Cox, Reid, Efron, & Greenland.^2–5 I too share their goals and hope to promote good statistical science on this website within the context of medicine and nutrition.

You can read past articles by clicking this Archives link or the menu on the top right. You can also see other projects by clicking… Projects or clicking the same link on the top right menu. You can find a list of other individuals in statistical science whose content I often read.

If you wish to follow this website, consider subscribing for updates whenever new articles are out. And if you wish to support the website, consider supporting the site here.

If you’re interested in knowing what this website is built on, you can read about it here.

If you’d like to get in touch with me, please use the contact form but also please feel free to message me on Twitter or interact with me there!

Thanks!

References

1. Nelder JA. (1999). ‘From Statistics to Statistical Science’. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series D (The Statistician). 48:257–269.

2. Cox DR. (2017). ‘Statistical science: A grammar for research’. European Journal of Epidemiology. 32:465–471. doi: 10.1007/s10654-017-0288-1.

3. Cox DR, Efron B. (2017). ‘Statistical thinking for 21st century scientists’. Science Advances. 3:e1700768. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1700768. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/6/e1700768.

4. Greenland S. (2017). ‘Invited commentary: The need for cognitive science in methodology’. American Journal of Epidemiology. 186:639–645. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx259. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwx259.

5. Reid N. (1994). ‘A conversation with sir david cox’. Statistical Science. 9:439–455. doi: 10.1214/ss/1177010394. https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.ss/1177010394.

References

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