Analysis and analytics are two related but distinct terms that often cause confusion.
“No data is clean, but most is useful.”
Dean Abbott
What is Analysis?
Analysis is the process of breaking down complex data into smaller, more manageable parts to gain a better understanding of it. Analysis can be done manually or with the help of tools, and it can involve various methods such as descriptive, inferential, or exploratory statistics. Analysis is a broader and more general concept than analytics, and it can be applied to any type of information, not just data.
For example, a literary analysis examines the themes, characters, and style of a text, while a business analysis evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company.
from Greek analysis “solution of a problem by analysis,” literally “a breaking up, a loosening, releasing,” noun of action from analyein “unloose, release, set free; to loose a ship from its moorings,” in Aristotle, “to analyze,” from ana “up, back, throughout” (see ana-) + lysis “a loosening,” from lyein “to unfasten” (from PIE root *leu- “to loosen, divide, cut apart”).1
What is Analytics?
Analytics is the systematic use of data and tools to extract insights, patterns, and trends from data. Analytics is a more specific and technical term than analysis, and it usually involves using statistical and quantitative methods, such as regression, clustering, or machine learning. Analytics is a subset of analysis, and it requires data as the input.
For example, web analytics measures and reports the behavior and performance of website visitors, while learning analytics uses data to understand and improve learning outcomes and processes.
from Greek analytika, from stem of analyein “unloose, release, set free,” from ana “up, back, throughout” (see ana-) + lysis “a loosening,” from lyein “to unfasten” (from PIE root *leu- “to loosen, divide, cut apart”)
Summarize:
| Analysis | Analytics |
|---|---|
| Meaning: process of breaking down complex data into smaller, more manageable parts to gain a better understanding of it | systematic use of data and tools to extract insights, patterns, and trends from data. |
| broader and more general not just data | more specific and technical term requires data as the input |
| Etymology: Greek analusis, from analuein ‘unloose’ + luein ‘loosen’ | Greek analytika, from analyein “unloose, release, set free” + lysis “a loosening” |
| Examples: explain: what has happened or what is happening | make predictions optimize decisions discover patterns and trends |
- https://www.etymonline.com/ ↩︎
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