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Too much current statistical work takes a superficial view of the client's research question, adopting techniques which have a solid history, a sound mathematical basis or readily available software, but without considering in depth whether the questions being answered are in fact those which should be asked. Examples, some familiar and others less so, are given to illustrate this assertion. It is clear that establishing the mapping from the client's domain to a statistical question is one of the most difficult parts of a statistical analysis. It is a part in which the responsibility is shared by both client and statistician. A plea is made for more research effort to go in this direction and some suggestions are made for ways to tackle the problem.
David J. Hand (Sat,) studied this question.
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