July 2025
Beginner
464 pages
9h 31m
English
Content preview from Statistical Analysis with R For Dummies, 2nd Edition
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Chapter 18
Introducing Modeling
IN THIS CHAPTER
Discovering models
Modeling and fitting
Working with the Monte Carlo method
A model is something you know and can work with that helps you understand something you know little about. A model is supposed to mimic, in some way, the thing it’s modeling. A globe, for example, is a model of the earth. A street map is a model of a neighborhood. A blueprint is a model of a building.
Researchers use models to help them understand natural processes and phenomena. Business analysts use models to help them understand business processes. The models these people use might include concepts from mathematics and statistics — concepts so well-known that they can shed light on the unknown. The idea is to create a model that consists of concepts you understand, put the model through its paces, and see whether the results look like real-world results.
In this chapter, I discuss modeling. My goal is to show how you can harness R to help you understand processes in your world.
Modeling a Distribution
In one approach to modeling, you gather data and group them into a distribution. Next, you try to figure out a process that results in that kind of a distribution. ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.