incf-nidash/nidm — pull request #140 by cmaumet (2014-10-24 16:10:04+00:00)
Title: Definition of "Inference"

**Term**: `Inference`
**Definition**: "The process of inferring the excursion set from a statistical map.".
**Original comment**: [link](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16pC2cDsdxlzv2CzlNMtStqt5-xHwDEsU6MjZVxWhrE4/edit?disco=AAAAAGsYjh0)
**Current link**: [nidm-results.owl/Inference](https://github.com/incf-nidash/nidm/blob/master/nidm/nidm-results/nidm-results.owl#L2013-L2026)

---
@khelm `20:20 9 Apr`
Can this be defined without the word inferring?

@nicholsn `21:24 18 Apr`
Also, Inference is a generic concept and the definition should reflect that. Why not use the definition from NCBI? (http://ncicb.nci.nih.gov/xml/owl/EVS/Thesaurus.owl#C75591)

"The process by which conclusions are derived from stated facts by the application of logical rules."
Show less

@JessicaTurner `20:46 22 Apr`
Well now, we're in nidm, and here the inference refers to a particular kind of inference, not just any old inference. I think it could be helpful to be specific, in this context.

@cmaumet `16:44 23 Apr`
I agree with Jessica, the NCBI definition seems a bit too broad in our context.

What we may need is a definition of "statistical inference". I remember we mentioned a statistics ontology before but could not find it again in the minutes...

@nicholsn `19:22 24 Apr`
The stats ontology is under development and called STATO (https://github.com/ISA-tools/stato)... I requested that they add "Design Matrix" and "Contrast" - you can follow that discussion here: https://github.com/ISA-tools/stato/issues/9#issuecomment-41302654

@nicholsn `20:07 24 Apr`
Also requested "Statistical Inference": https://github.com/ISA-tools/stato/issues/12

@cmaumet `12:38 25 Apr`
Great! Nolan: thanks a lot for the reference and for requesting the new terms. I have added a few pointers to this ontology (e.g. "model parameter estimate") as we could probably re-use a couple of their definitions.

@nicholsn `18:52 8 May`
FYI, this is now incorporated. Please take a look at: STATO_0000299: statistical inference