The history of data analysis that is addressed here is underpinned by two themes,
– those of tabular data analysis, and the analysis of collected heterogeneous data.
“Exploratory data analysis” is taken as the heuristic approach that begins with data
and information and seeks underlying explanation for what is observed or measured. I
also cover some of the evolving context of research and applications, including scholarly
publishing, technology transfer and the economic relationship of the university to
society.