In the
statistical analysis
Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying distribution of probability.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers propertie ...
of the results from
factorial experiment
In statistics, a full factorial experiment is an experiment whose design consists of two or more factors, each with discrete possible values or "levels", and whose experimental units take on all possible combinations of these levels across all s ...
s, the sparsity-of-effects principle states that a system is usually dominated by
main effect In the design of experiments and analysis of variance, a main effect is the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable averaged across the levels of any other independent variables. The term is frequently used in the context of facto ...
s and low-order
interactions
Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to:
Science
* Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition
* Interaction (statistics)
* Interactions o ...
. Thus it is most likely that main (single factor) effects and two-factor interactions are the most significant responses in a factorial experiment. In other words, higher order interactions such as three-factor interactions are very rare. This is sometimes referred to as the ''hierarchical ordering principle''.
[ The sparsity-of-effects principle actually refers to the idea that only a few effects in a factorial experiment will be statistically significant.][
This principle is only valid on the assumption of a factor space far from a stationary point.][
]
See also
* Occam's Razor
Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor ( la, novacula Occami), also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony ( la, lex parsimoniae), is the problem-solving principle that "entities should not be multiplied beyond neces ...
* Pareto principle
The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the "vital few"). Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity.
Manage ...
References
{{reflist, refs=
[ {{Cite book, last1=Wu, first1= C. F. Jeff , last2= Hamada, first2= Michael , year=2000, title= Experiments: Planning, analysis, and parameter design optimization, location= New York, publisher= Wiley, ISBN =0-471-25511-4, authorlink1=C.F. Jeff Wu, pages=112]
[ {{Cite book, isbn=0471718130, title=Statistics for Experimenters: Design, Innovation, and Discovery
, last1= Box, first1=G.E.P., authorlink1=George E. P. Box
, last2=Hunter, first2=J.S.
, last3= Hunter, first3=W.G.
, year= 2005, page= 208, publisher=Wiley]
Design of experiments
Statistical principles