When it comes to survey, the first thing comes in my mind is the census packet although I only saw it once (an easy way to disguise my age but this is true) but the questionaire layouts are so carefully and extensively done so as to give me a strong impression. Such survey is designed prior to collecting data so that after collection, data can be analyzed according to statistical methodology suitable to the design of the survey. Strategies for response quantification is also included (yes/no for 0/1, responses in 0 to 10 scale, bracketing salaries, age groups, and such, handling missing data) for elaborated statistical analysis to avoid subjective data transformation and arbitrary outlier eliminations.

In contrast, survey in astronomy means designing a mesh, not questionaires, unable to be transcribed into statistical models. This mesh has multiple layers like telescope, detector, and source detection algorithm, and eventually produces a catalog. Designing statistical methodology is not a part of it that draws interpretable conclusion. Collecting what goes through that mesh is astronomical survey. Analyzing the catalog does not necessarily involve sophisticated statistics but often times adopts chi-sq fittings and cast aways of unpleasant/uninteresting data points.

As other conflicts in jargon, –a simplest example is H_o: I used to know it as Hubble constant but now, it is recognized first as a notation for a null hypothesis — survey has been one of them and like the measurement error, some clarification about the term, survey is expected to be given by knowledgeable astrostatisticians to draw more statisticians involvement in grand survey projects soon to come. Luckily, the first opportunity will be given soon at the Special Session: Meaning from Surveys and Population Studies: BYOQ during the 213 AAS meeting, at Long Beach, California on Jan. 5th, 2009.

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1/ Python basics:
My favorite Intro to Python website is the Tutorial by Guido van Rossum (python founder):
http://docs.python.org/tut/

I also find other references at this site to be useful: http://docs.python.org

For more complicated questions I often search: http://www.python.org/

2/ Scientific python: numarray, numpy These modules allow one to use APL/IDL- like syntax with matrices (i.e. implicit loops over indices when doing many common operations). They also have some handy scientific functions. Eventually “numarray” will be replaced by “numpy”, but it hasn’t happened yet (because of “pyfits” for fits files). It should happen this year (November??).

Numarray home page: http://www.stsci.edu/resources/software_hardware/numarray

Numpy home pages: http://sourceforge.net/projects/numpy/ for code; and http://numpy.scipy.org/ for an overview.

3/ For fits files, the astronomical programmers at Space Telescope Science Insititute alse wrote “pyfits”: http://www.stsci.edu/resources/software_hardware/pyfits