Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Decision; 2. Probability; 3. Statistics and expectations; 4. Correlation and association; 5. Hypothesis-testing; 6. Data modelling and parameter-estimation: basics; 7. Data modelling and parameter-estimation: advanced topics; 8. Detection and surveys; 9. Sequential data - 1D statistics; 10. Statistics of large-scale structure; 11. Epilogue: statistics and our Universe; Appendices; References; Index.

"Astronomy needs statistical methods to interpret data, but statistics is a many-faceted subject which is difficult for non-specialists to access. This handbook helps astronomers analyze the complex data and models of modern astronomy. This second edition has been revised to feature many more examples using Monte Carlo simulation, and now also includes Bayesian inference, Bayes factors and Markov Chain Monte Carlo integration. Chapters cover basic probability, correlation analysis, hypothesis testing, Bayesian modelling, time series analysis, luminosity functions and clustering. Exercises at the end of each chapter guide readers through the techniques and tests necessary for most observational investigations. The data tables from the book are available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521732499. Bringing together the most relevant statistical and probabilistic techniques for use in observational astronomy, this handbook is a practical manual for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and professional astronomers"-- Provided by publisher.