Bayesian Reasoning in Data Analysis: A Critical Introduction

This book provides a multi-level introduction to Bayesian reasoning (as opposed to "conventional statistics") and its applications to data analysis. The basic ideas of this "new" approach to the quantification of uncertainty are presented using examples from research and everyday life. Applications covered include: parametric inference; combination of results; treatment of uncertainty due to systematic errors and background; comparison of hypotheses; unfolding of experimental distributions; upper/lower bounds in frontier-type measurements. Approximate methods for routine use are derived and ar