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What do we want to estimate from observational datasets? Choosing appropriate statistical analysis methods based on the chemical management phase
Author(s) -
Takeshita Kazutaka M.,
Hayashi Takehiko I.,
Yokomizo Hiroyuki
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.4564
Subject(s) - observational study , phase (matter) , statistical analysis , computer science , statistics , data mining , environmental science , data science , operations research , engineering , mathematics , chemistry , organic chemistry
The goals of observational dataset analysis vary with the management phase of environments threatened by anthropogenic chemicals. For example, identifying severely compromised sites is necessary to determine candidate sites in which to implement measures during early management phases. Among the most effective approaches is developing regression models with high predictive power for dependent variable values using the Akaike information criterion. However, this analytical approach may be theoretically inappropriate to obtain the necessary information in various chemical management phases, such as the intervention effect size of a chemical required in the late chemical management phase to evaluate the necessity of an effluent standard and its specific value. However, choosing appropriate statistical methods based on the data analysis objective in each chemical management phase has rarely been performed. This study provides an overview of the primary data analysis objectives in the early and late chemical management phases. For each objective, several suitable statistical analysis methods for observational datasets are detailed. In addition, the study presents examples of linear regression analysis procedures using an available dataset derived from field surveys conducted in Japanese rivers. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1414–1422. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).