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→Relevant contexts: Fixed typo Tags: canned edit summary Mobile edit Mobile app edit |
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==Relevant contexts==
Discrete time is often employed when [[empirical]] [[measurement]]s are involved, because normally it is only possible to measure variables sequentially. For example, while [[economic activity]] actually occurs continuously, there being no moment when the economy is totally in a pause, it is only possible to measure economic activity discretely. For this reason, published data on, for example, [[gross domestic product]] will show a sequence of [[Calendar year#Quarters|quarterly]] values.
When one attempts to empirically explain such variables in terms of other variables and/or their own prior values, one uses [[time series]] or [[regression analysis|regression]] methods in which variables are indexed with a subscript indicating the time period in which the observation occurred. For example, ''y''<sub>''t''</sub> might refer to the value of [[income]] observed in unspecified time period ''t'', ''y''<sub>''3''</sub> to the value of income observed in the third time period, etc.
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