For other uses, see Analysis (disambiguation).

Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain
a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study
of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), though analysis as a formal concept
is a relatively recent development.[1]
The word comes from the Ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις (analysis, "a breaking up", from ana- "up,
throughout" and lysis "a loosening").[2]
As a formal concept, the method has variously been ascribed to Alhazen,[3] René
Descartes (Discourse on the Method), and Galileo Galilei. It has also been ascribed to Isaac
Newton, in the form of a practical method of physical discovery (which he did not name).

Contents

 1Applications
o 1.1Science
 1.1.1Isotopes
o 1.2Business
o 1.3Computer science
o 1.4Economics
o 1.5Engineering
o 1.6Intelligence
o 1.7Linguistics
o 1.8Literature
o 1.9Mathematics
o 1.10Music
o 1.11Philosophy
o 1.12Psychotherapy
o 1.13Public Policy
o 1.14Signal processing
o 1.15Statistics
o 1.16Other
 2See also
 3References
 4External links

Applications[edit]
Science[edit]
A clinical chemistry analyser; hand shows size

See also: Analytical chemistry and List of chemical analysis methods

The field of chemistry uses analysis in at least three ways: to identify the components of a
particular chemical compound (qualitative analysis), to identify the proportions of components in
a mixture (quantitative analysis), and to break down chemical processes and examine chemical
reactions between elements of matter. For an example of its use, analysis of the concentration of
elements is important in managing a nuclear reactor, so nuclear scientists will analyse neutron
activation to develop discrete measurements within vast samples. A matrix can have a considerable
effect on the way a chemical analysis is conducted and the quality of its results. Analysis can be
done manually or with a device. Chemical analysis is an important element of national
security among the major world powers with materials
Isotopes[edit]
See also: Isotope analysis and Isotope geochemistry
Chemists can use isotope analysis to assist analysts with issues in anthropology, archeology, food
chemistry, forensics, geology, and a host of other questions of physical science. Analysts can
discern the origins of natural and man-made isotopes in the study of environmental radioactivity.

Business[edit]
 Financial statement analysis – the analysis of the accounts and the economic prospects of a firm
 Fundamental analysis – a stock valuation method that uses financial analysis
 Technical analysis – the study of price action in securities markets in order to forecast future
prices
 Business analysis – involves identifying the needs and determining the solutions to business
problems
 Price analysis – involves the breakdown of a price to a unit figure
 Market analysis – consists of suppliers and customers, and price is determined by the interaction
of supply and demand
 Opportunity analysis – consists of customers trends within the industry, customer demand and
experience determine purchasing behavior
Computer science[edit]
 Requirements analysis – encompasses those tasks that go into determining the needs or
conditions to meet for a new or altered product, taking account of the possibly conflicting
requirements of the various stakeholders, such as beneficiaries or users.
 Competitive analysis (online algorithm) – shows how online algorithms perform and
demonstrates the power of randomization in algorithms
 Lexical analysis – the process of processing an input sequence of characters and producing as
output a sequence of symbols
 Object-oriented analysis and design – à la Booch
 Program analysis (computer science) – the process of automatically analysing the behavior of
computer programs
 Semantic analysis (computer science) – a pass by a compiler that adds semantical information
to the parse tree and performs certain checks
 Static code analysis – the analysis of computer software that is performed without actually
executing programs built from that
 Structured systems analysis and design methodology – à la Yourdon
 Syntax analysis – a process in compilers that recognizes the structure of programming
languages, also known as parsing
 Worst-case execution time – determines the longest time that a piece of software can take to run
Economics[edit]
 Agroecosystem analysis
 Input-output model if applied to a region, is called Regional Impact Multiplier System
Engineering[edit]
See also: Engineering analysis and Systems analysis
Analysts in the field of engineering look at requirements, structures,
mechanisms, systems and dimensions. Electrical engineers analyse systems in electronics. Life
cycles and system failures are broken down and studied by engineers. It is also looking at different
factors incorporated within the design.

Intelligence[edit]
See also: Intelligence analysis
The field of intelligence employs analysts to break down and understand a wide array of
questions. Intelligence agencies may use heuristics, inductive and deductive reasoning, social
network analysis, dynamic network analysis, link analysis, and brainstorming to sort through
problems they face. Military intelligence may explore issues through the use of game theory, Red
Teaming, and wargaming. Signals intelligence applies cryptanalysis and frequency analysis to
break codes and ciphers. Business intelligence applies theories of competitive intelligence
analysis and competitor analysis to resolve questions in the marketplace. Law
enforcement intelligence applies a number of theories in crime analysis.

Linguistics[edit]
See also: Linguistics
Linguistics looks at individual languages and language in general. It breaks language down and
analyses its component parts: theory, sounds and their meaning, utterance usage, word origins,
the history of words, the meaning of words and word combinations, sentence construction, basic
construction beyond the sentence level, stylistics, and conversation. It examines the above
using statistics and modeling, and semantics. It analyses language in context
of anthropology, biology, evolution, geography, history, neurology, psychology, and sociology. It also
takes the applied approach, looking at individual language development and clinical issues.

Literature[edit]
Literary criticism is the analysis of literature. The focus can be as diverse as the analysis
of Homer or Freud. While not all literary-critical methods are primarily analytical in nature, the main
approach to the teaching of literature in the west since the mid-twentieth century, literary formal
analysis or close reading, is. This method, rooted in the academic movement labelled The New
Criticism, approaches texts – chiefly short poems such as sonnets, which by virtue of their small size
and significant complexity lend themselves well to this type of analysis – as units of discourse that
can be understood in themselves, without reference to biographical or historical frameworks. This
method of analysis breaks up the text linguistically in a study of prosody (the formal analysis of
meter) and phonic effects such as alliteration and rhyme, and cognitively in examination of the
interplay of syntactic structures, figurative language, and other elements of the poem that work to
produce its larger effects.

Mathematics[edit]
Main article: Mathematical analysis
Modern mathematical analysis is the study of infinite processes. It is the branch of mathematics that
includes calculus. It can be applied in the study of classical concepts of mathematics, such as real
numbers, complex variables, trigonometric functions, and algorithms, or of non-classical concepts
like constructivism, harmonics, infinity, and vectors.
Florian Cajori explains in A History of Mathematics (1893) the difference between modern and
ancient mathematical analysis, as distinct from logical analysis, as follows:
The terms synthesis and analysis are used in mathematics in a more special sense than in logic. In
ancient mathematics they had a different meaning from what they now have. The oldest definition of
mathematical analysis as opposed to synthesis is that given in [appended to] Euclid, XIII. 5, which in
all probability was framed by Eudoxus: "Analysis is the obtaining of the thing sought by assuming it
and so reasoning up to an admitted truth; synthesis is the obtaining of the thing sought by reasoning
up to the inference and proof of it."
The analytic method is not conclusive, unless all operations involved in it are known to be reversible.
To remove all doubt, the Greeks, as a rule, added to the analytic process a synthetic one, consisting
of a reversion of all operations occurring in the analysis. Thus the aim of analysis was to aid in the
discovery of synthetic proofs or solutions.
James Gow uses a similar argument as Cajori, with the following clarific