Statistical analyses are the tests of the various problems of statistics, or the field that records and defines the occurrence of events within a group or population. The study of statistics was an offshoot of the probability theory that was postulated by Blasé Pascal to try to predict and order the occurrence of random events. Probability theory continues to be a fundamental aspect of the study of statistics. However, Statistics is a formal mathematical field that deals with discrete events that occur over time in the realm of large populations of events or individuals. Statistical analyses deal with numbers on the large scale.

There are a great number of statistical analyses that are used in every day life to calculate the relative risk of an activity, to determine the performance of a particular stock on the stock exchange or to work out the odds of horse racing. It is important to study the various types of statistical analyses to fully understand what type of information they will supply and to what form of problem they are best applied. A thorough understanding of statistical analyses is required to know how to use the tools available to get the information needed from a virtual sea of data and numbers. There is no shortcut or substitution for learning the fundamental concepts and theories behind statistical analyses.

There is fortunately a very good substitute for performing the calculations oneself, which is nearly impossible in most large scale applications. There are several options on the Internet that provide programs for performing statistical analyses. On the site ubalt.edu you will find all the information necessary for determining just what form of statistical or data analyses you need to do for the application that is in mind, whether it is related to business or has to do with population genetics. The information on the site will guide the user through the various theoretical tests of a situation, instruct one clearly on the type of result the test will yield and tell the user exactly which test to run for the size of the defined population. This site also has many links to other websites that specialize in performing certain statistical analyses, such as those related to business statistics or health statistics. There is also a tutorial link to an application for learning to use an Excel program to run Statistical and data analyses. An additional link is to a website specializing in Time series Analyses as it relates to business forecasting, an indisputably relevant tool.

The individual performing statistical analyses may want to pursue the link to Computers and Computational Statistics, which will actually allow the individual to run a specific analysis on a specific data set.

Another useful link is the one that explains the principles behind Questionnaire Design and Surveys Sampling, since this all-important feature is the way to select a group or population to analyse. It is important to know that a group must be correctly formed with unifying characteristics for the subsequent data to have any relevance at all.