Data and Databases

Abstract

Multivariate data consist of multiple measurements, observations, or responses obtained on a collection of selected variables. The types of variables usually encountered often depend upon those who collect the data (the domain experts), possibly together with some statistical colleagues; for it is these people who actively decide which variables are of interest in studying a particular phenomenon. In other circumstances, data are collected automatically and routinely without a research direction in mind, using software that records every observation or transaction made regardless of whether it may be important or not.