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Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, second unified edition, English volume

Analysis

Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, second unified edition, English vol.
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Analysis  (ANALYSIS n.)


Using the basic data generally involves two phases. Analysis 1 aims at isolating the components of the observed numbers (size, structure, extraneous factors and the phenomenon under investigation); synthesis 2 is the process of recombining the disaggregated components in various ways. Either phase involves the calculation 3 or computation 3 of indices 4 which may be denoted by various names (cf. § 133). In contrast to the basic data, these indices are referred to as results 6 or synthetic indices 5★. In a more restricted sense an index 7 (pl. indexes or indices) or index number 7 is a ratio showing the value of a given quantity relative to a base 8, which is usually taken as 100. Some indices are good indicators 9 of a complex situation; thus the infant mortality rate is sometimes used as an indicator of the health status of a population.

  • 1. Analysis, n. - analytical, adj. - analyze, v.
  • 3. Calculate, b. - calculation, n. - calculator, n.: a machine with minimal to modest data storage capabilities designed to facilitate a modest amount of arithmetic and statistical calculating.
    Compute, v. - computation, n. - computer, n.: a machine system designed to effect the transmission, storage and calculations of large data sets; it permits arithmetic and statistical calculations as well as logical processing of data. In a dated sense, the terms calculator and computer were used to designate the person(s) engaged in the computations.

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