If you mean what are often called directional data, the key reference is
Mardia's book, called something like Statistics of Directional Data,
published by Wiley. It's not exactly easy, but the first 70-odd pages
and the introductory sections to other chapters give a good idea of the
subject. MUCH more accessible to "beginners", and an absolutely
DELIGHTFUL read that should be recommended to the whole world, are a
couple of works by E Batschelet. The first is a monograph published by
the American Institute for Biological Sciences in something like, I
think, 1963, with a dreadful long title to do with "animal rhythms and
certain biological processes" - or some such thing. Despite this, and
despite any difficulty getting hold of a copy (decent scientific
libraries will have one), this is MARVELLOUS in introducing you to the
ideas and lots of really real and useful and interesting contexts in
which they are used. Then there is a book by Batschelet published
posthumously in, I think, 1980, whose title I think is "circular
statistics in biology", which again is MARVELLOUS. Have a quick look at
it and you will immediately see what I mean!
If you take the journal "Teaching Statistics" and have number 3 of 1999
to hand, you can easily find the exact references. This issue contains
an article "directional data" under my name as Editor, but anonymous,
which might well be interesting in itself and has the references in it.
According to sod's law, this is the only recent issue of the journal
that I do not have to hand in the office as I write this email.
Gerald Goodall
Editor "Teaching Statistics"
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-----------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl C. Gaither [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 31 January 2001 01:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: circular probabilities
Hi to the list--
I have recently become interested in circular statistics and circular
probabilities.
Does anyone have any suggested readings or books that they would suggest
I read.
--
Carl C. Gaither and Alma E. Cavazos-Gaither
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/StatBook/
Authors of:
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