In statistics, reification is the use of an idealized model of a statistical process. The model is then used to make inferences connecting model results, which imperfectly represent the actual process, with experimental observations. Also, a process whereby model-derived quantities such as principal components, factors and latent variables are identified, named and treated as if they were directly measurable quantities.
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References Everitt, B.S. (2002) Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics (2nd Edition), CUP. ISBN 0-521-81099-X