Statistics

== Specialized disciplines ==
{{main|List of fields of application of statistics}}

Statistical techniques are used in a wide range of types of scientific and social research, including: [[biostatistics]], [[computational biology]], [[computational sociology]], [[network biology]], [[social science]], [[sociology]] and [[social research]]. Some fields of inquiry use applied statistics so extensively that they have [[specialized terminology]]. These disciplines include:

{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|* [[Actuarial science]] (assesses risk in the insurance and finance industries)
* Applied information economics
* [[Astrostatistics]] (statistical evaluation of astronomical data)
* [[Biostatistics]]
* [[Chemometrics]] (for analysis of data from [[chemistry]])
* [[Data mining]] (applying statistics and [[pattern recognition]] to discover knowledge from data)
* [[Data science]] ({{crossref|see also: [[Data science#Relationship to statistics]]}})
* [[Demography]] (statistical study of populations)
* [[Econometrics]] (statistical analysis of economic data)
* [[Statistical study of energy data|Energy statistics]]
* [[Engineering statistics]]
* [[Epidemiology]] (statistical analysis of disease)
* [[Geography]] and [[geographic information system]]s, specifically in [[spatial analysis]]
* [[Image processing]]
* [[Jurimetrics]] ([[law]])
* [[Medical statistics]]
* [[Political science]]
* [[Psychological statistics]]
* [[Reliability engineering]]
* [[Social statistics]]
* [[Statistical mechanics]]}}

In addition, there are particular types of statistical analysis that have also developed their own specialised terminology and methodology:
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Bootstrapping (statistics)|Bootstrap]]{{\}}[[jackknife resampling]]
* [[Multivariate statistics]]
* [[Statistical classification]]
* [[Structured data analysis (statistics)|Structured data analysis]]
* [[Structural equation modelling]]
* [[Survey methodology]]
* [[Survival analysis]]
* Statistics in various sports, particularly [[Baseball statistics|baseball]] – known as [[sabermetrics]] – and [[Cricket statistics|cricket]]
}}

Statistics form a key basis tool in business and manufacturing as well. It is used to understand measurement systems variability, control processes (as in [[statistical process control]] or SPC), for summarizing data, and to make data-driven decisions. In these roles, it is a key tool, and perhaps the only reliable tool.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}