The Subjectivity of Scientists and the Bayesian Approach

“Press and Tanur argue that subjectivity has not only played a significant role in the advancement of science, but that science will advance more rapidly if the modern methods of Bayesian statistical analysis replace some of the more classical twentieth-century methods.” (SciTech Book News, Vol. 25, No. 3, September 2001) “An insightful work.” (Choice, Vol. 39, No. 4, December 2001) “compilation of interesting and popular problems” (Short Book Reviews - Publication of the Int. Statistical Institute, December 2001) “…this book is fascinating.” (Short Book Reviews, Vol. 21, No. 3, December 2001) “…highlight the role of subjectivity in science by describing the life and works of 17 scientists.” (Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 973, 2001⁄23)

S. JAMES PRESS is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California at Riverside. He is also the author of Bayesian Statistics: Principles, Models, and Applications (Wiley) and Applied Multivariate Analysis: Including Bayesian and Frequentist Methods of Inference.

JUDITH M. TANUR is Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is also the editor of Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown and Questions About Questions: Inquiries into the Cognitive Bases of Surveys.