Survival Analysis

Survival analysis is used to understand the timing of an event—its nature and predictors. Its name derives from common applications related to medical survival that occurs over a period of years (e.g., survival time following cancer diagnosis), but the procedure is easily applied to any categorical outcome (e.g., correct solution of a challenging problem, lapse of attention, missed therapy appointment, mechanical part failure, etc.) that might occur over time measured in units of any precision (e.g., milliseconds, minutes, decades, centuries). Extensions of the procedure allow comparing the survival functions of multiple groups and the inclusion of continuous and categorical predictors of survival.