'''Optimal discriminant analysis (ODA)''' and the related '''Classificationclassification tree analysis''' (CTA)''' are statistical methods that maximize predictive accuracy. For any specific sample and exploratory or confirmatory hypothesis, optimal discriminant analysis (ODA) identifies the statistical model that yields maximum predictive accuracy, assesses the exact Type I error rate, and evaluates potential cross-generalizability. Optimal discriminant analysis may be applied to > 0 dimensions, with the one-dimensional case being referred to as UniODA and the multidimensional case being referred to as MultiODA. Classification Treetree Analysisanalysis is a generalization of Optimal Discriminant Analysis to non-orthogonal trees. Optimal Discriminant Analysis and Classification Tree Analysis may be used to find the combination of variables and cut points that best separate classes of objects or events. These variables and cut points may then be used to reduce dimensions and to then build a statistical model that optimally describes the data.
Optimal discriminant analysis may be thought of as a generalization of Fisher's Linear[[linear Discriminantdiscriminant Analysisanalysis]]. In the case Optimal discriminant analysis is an alternative to [[analysis of variance|ANOVA]] (analysis of variance) and [[regression analysis]], which attempt to express one [[dependent variable]] as a linear combination of other features or measurements. However, ANOVA and regression analysis give a dependent variable that is a numerical variable, while optimal discriminant analysis gives a dependent variable that is a class variable.
