Exploratory data analysis is an approach to data analysis where the features and characteristics of the data are reviewed with an “open mind”; in other words, without attempting to apply any particular model to the data. It is often used upon first contact with the data, before any models have been chosen for the structural or stochastic components, and it is also used to look for deviations from common models.
HISTORY
Exploratory data analysis is a set of techniques that have been principally developed by Tukey, John Wilder since 1970. The philosophy behind this approach is to examine the data before applying a specific probability model. According to Tukey, J.W., exploratory data analysis is similar to detective work. In exploratory data analysis, these clues can be numerical and (very often) graphical. Indeed, Tukey introduced several new semigraphical data representation tools to help with exploratory data analysis, including the “box and whisker plot” (also known as the box plot)...
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REFERENCES
Tukey, J.W.: Some graphical and semigraphical displays. In: Bancroft, T.A. (ed.) Statistical Papers in Honor of George W. Snedecor, pp. 293–316. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA (1972)
Tukey, J.W.: Exploratory Data Analysis. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1977)
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(2008). Exploratory Data Analysis. In: The Concise Encyclopedia of Statistics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-32833-1_136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-32833-1_136
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