The False Dilemma: Bayesian vs. Frequentist

Abstract

There are two main opposing schools of statistical reasoning, Frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Until recent days, the frequentist or classical approach has dominated the scientific research, but Bayesianism has reappeared with a strong impulse that is starting to change the situation. Recently the controversy about the primacy of one of the two approaches seems to be unfinished at a philosophical level, but scientific practices are giving an increasingly important position to the Bayesian approach. This paper eludes philosophical debate to focus on the pragmatic point of view of scientists' day-to-day practices, in which Bayesian methodology is very useful. Several facts and operational values are described as the core-set for understanding the change.