The word comes from the Ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις (analusis, "a breaking up", from ana- "up, throughout" and lysis "a loosening").[2]
As a formal concept, the method has variously been ascribed to Alhazen,[3] René Descartes (Discourse on the Method), and Galileo Galilei. It has also been ascribed to Isaac Newton, in the form of a practical
method of physical discovery (which he did not name).
Chemistry: The field of chemistry uses analysis in at least three ways: to identify the components of a particular chemical compound (qualitative analysis), to identify the proportions of components in a mixture (quantitative analysis), and to break down chemical processes and examine chemical reactions between elements of matter. For an example of its use, analysis of the concentration of elements is important in managing a nuclear reactor, so nuclear scientists will analyze neutron activation to develop discrete measurements within vast samples. A matrix can have a considerable effect on the way a chemical analysis is conducted and the quality of its results. Analysis can be done manually or with a device. Chemical analysis is an important element of national security among the major world powers with materials measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) capabilities.
Isotopes: Chemists can use isotope analysis to assist analysts with issues in anthropology, archeology, food chemistry, forensics, geology, and a host of other questions of physical science. Analysts can discern the origins of natural and man-made isotopes in the study of environmental radioactivity.
Business:
- Financial statement analysis – the analysis of the accounts and the economic prospects of a firm
- Fundamental analysis – a stock valuation method that uses financial analysis
- Technical analysis – the study of price action in securities markets in order to forecast future prices
- Business analysis – involves identifying the needs and determining the solutions to business problems
- Price analysis – involves the breakdown of a price to a unit figure
- Market analysis – consists of suppliers and customers, and price is determined by the interaction of supply and demand
Computer science:
- Requirements analysis – encompasses those tasks that go into determining the needs or conditions to meet for a new or altered product, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders, such as beneficiaries or users.
- Competitive analysis (online algorithm) – shows how online algorithms perform and demonstrates the power of randomization in algorithms
- Lexical analysis – the process of processing an input sequence of characters and producing as output a sequence of symbols
- Object-oriented analysis and design – à la Booch
- Program analysis (computer science) – the process of automatically analyzing the behavior of computer programs
- Semantic analysis (computer science) – a pass by a compiler that adds semantical information to the parse tree and performs certain check