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Analysis means literally to break a complex problem down into smaller, more manageable "independent" parts for the purposes of examination — with the hope that solving these smaller parts will lead to a solution of the more complex problem as well. Although taken for granted as a method of advancing understanding today, this is a relatively recent and important invention of humankind; however, it should be noted that roughly parallel concepts within mathematics and logic go back beyond [[Aristotle]]. It has been variously ascribed to [[Descartes]] (from his "[[Discourse on Method]]"), [[Galileo]] and [[Newton]] as a practical method of physical discovery, and was quite surprising to their contemporaries.
Analysis means literally to break a complex problem down into smaller, more manageable "independent" parts for the purposes of examination — with the hope that solving these smaller parts will lead to a solution of the more complex problem as well. Although taken for granted as a method of advancing understanding today, this is a relatively recent and important invention of humankind; however, it should be noted that roughly parallel concepts within the [[history of mathematics]] and [[history of logic]] existed before [[Aristotle]]. The method has variously been ascribed to [[Ibn al-Haytham]],<ref>{{MacTutor|id=Al-Haytham|title=Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham}}</ref> [[Descartes]] (''[[Discourse on the Method]]''), [[Galileo]] and [[Newton]] as a practical method of physical discovery, and was quite surprising to their contemporaries.


'''Analysis''' may refer to:
'''Analysis''' may refer to:
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* [[Synthesis]]
* [[Synthesis]]
* [[Scientific method]]
* [[Scientific method]]

==References==

{{reflist}}


[[Category:Greek loanwords]]
[[Category:Greek loanwords]]

Revision as of 00:29, 7 February 2008

See also: Analytic
Look up analysis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Analysis means literally to break a complex problem down into smaller, more manageable "independent" parts for the purposes of examination — with the hope that solving these smaller parts will lead to a solution of the more complex problem as well. Although taken for granted as a method of advancing understanding today, this is a relatively recent and important invention of humankind; however, it should be noted that roughly parallel concepts within the history of mathematics and history of logic existed before Aristotle. The method has variously been ascribed to Ibn al-Haytham,[1] Descartes (Discourse on the Method), Galileo and Newton as a practical method of physical discovery, and was quite surprising to their contemporaries.

Analysis may refer to:

Chemistry

  • Analytical chemistry, to examine material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition
  • Isotope analysis, the identification of isotopic signature, the distribution of certain stable isotopes and chemical elements within chemical compounds
  • Neutron activation analysis, a technique used to very accurately determine the concentrations of elements in a sample

Computer science

Cryptography

  • Cryptanalysis, the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information
  • Frequency analysis, a method to decompose a function, wave, or signal into its frequency components

Economics

Engineering

  • Analysis of resistive circuits, deals with electronic circuits containing only resistive elements
  • Dimensional analysis, a conceptual tool to understand physical situations involving a mix of different kinds of physical quantities
  • Accident Analysis, a branch of systems analysis dealing with the analysis of failure
  • Life cycle cost analysis, calculates the cost of a system or product over its entire life span
  • Structural analysis, an area of civil and structural engineering in which the deformations, deflections, internal forces and stresses of structures are analysed
  • System analysis, the branch of electrical engineering that characterizes electrical systems and their properties
  • Systems analysis, the science dealing with analysis of complex, large scale systems and the interactions within those systems
  • Engineering analysis, the application of scientific analytic principles and processes to reveal the properties and state of the system.

Linguistics

Literary criticism

  • Analysis (Homer), an influential school of thought in Homeric scholarship in the 19th-20th centuries
  • Psychocriticism, Charles Mauron's method based on Freud's own initial interpretations of literary works such as Hamlet

Mathematics

Music

Philosophy

Psychotherapy

Signal processing

Statistics

  • Analysis of variance (ANOVA), a collection of statistical models and their associated procedures which compare means by splitting the overall observed variance into different parts
  • Meta-analysis, combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses
  • Time-series analysis, methods that attempt to understand a sequence of data points spaced apart at uniform time intervals

May also refer to

  • Aura analysis, a technique in which supporters of the method claim that the body's aura, or energy field is analysed
  • Bowling analysis, a notation summarizing a cricket bowler's performance
  • Lithic analysis, the analysis of stone tools using basic scientific techniques
  • Protocol analysis, a means for extracting persons' thoughts while they are performing a task

See also

References

  1. ^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
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