Multivariate Techniques of Use in Biological Research

Abstract

SUMMARYMultivariate statistical methods are used increasingly in biological research to investigate the responses of organisms considered as a whole, whereas established statistical methods are usually concerned with measured characteristics considered one at a time. Multivariate techniques are mostly explained in terms of matrix algebra, which is a way of dealing with groups of numbers rather than individual ones. A brief description is given of some elementary results of matrix algebra and a method is presented whereby hypotheses can be generated about interrelations within an organism. Two techniques, principal component analysis and canonical analysis, are described in greater detail. It is emphasized that hypotheses need to be tested even though they have been generated by objective statistical means.