Skip to content

Explore Courses | Elder Research | Contact | LMS Login

Statistics.com
  • Curriculum
    • Curriculum
    • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • Management Team
    • Faculty Search
    • Teach With Us
    • Credit & Credentialing
  • Courses
    • Explore Courses
    • Course Calendar
    • About Our Courses
    • Course Tour
    • Test Yourself!
  • Mastery Series
    • Mastery Series Program
    • Bayesian Statistics
    • Business Analytics
    • Healthcare Analytics
    • Marketing Analytics
    • Operations Research
    • Predictive Analytics
    • Python for Analytics
    • R Programming
    • Rasch & IRT
    • Spatial Statistics
    • Statistical Modeling
    • Survey Statistics
    • Text Mining and Analytics
  • Certificates
    • Certificate Program
    • Analytics for Data Science
    • Biostatistics
    • Programming for Data Science – R (Novice)
    • Programming for Data Science – R (Experienced)
    • Programming for Data Science – Python (Novice)
    • Programming for Data Science – Python (Experienced)
    • Social Science
  • Degrees
    • Degree Programs
    • Computational Data Analytics Certificate of Graduate Study from Rowan University
    • Health Data Management Certificate of Graduate Study from Rowan University
    • Data Science Analytics Master’s Degree from Thomas Edison State University (TESU)
    • Data Science Analytics Bachelor’s Degree – TESU
    • Mathematics with Predictive Modeling Emphasis BS from Bellevue University
  • Enterprise
    • Organizations
    • Higher Education
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • FAQs & Knowledge Base
    • Glossary
    • Site Map
    • Statistical Symbols
    • Weekly Brief Newsletter Signup
    • Word of the Week
Menu Close
  • Curriculum
    • Curriculum
    • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • Management Team
    • Faculty Search
    • Teach With Us
    • Credit & Credentialing
  • Courses
    • Explore Courses
    • Course Calendar
    • About Our Courses
    • Course Tour
    • Test Yourself!
  • Mastery Series
    • Mastery Series Program
    • Bayesian Statistics
    • Business Analytics
    • Healthcare Analytics
    • Marketing Analytics
    • Operations Research
    • Predictive Analytics
    • Python for Analytics
    • R Programming
    • Rasch & IRT
    • Spatial Statistics
    • Statistical Modeling
    • Survey Statistics
    • Text Mining and Analytics
  • Certificates
    • Certificate Program
    • Analytics for Data Science
    • Biostatistics
    • Programming for Data Science – R (Novice)
    • Programming for Data Science – R (Experienced)
    • Programming for Data Science – Python (Novice)
    • Programming for Data Science – Python (Experienced)
    • Social Science
  • Degrees
    • Degree Programs
    • Computational Data Analytics Certificate of Graduate Study from Rowan University
    • Health Data Management Certificate of Graduate Study from Rowan University
    • Data Science Analytics Master’s Degree from Thomas Edison State University (TESU)
    • Data Science Analytics Bachelor’s Degree – TESU
    • Mathematics with Predictive Modeling Emphasis BS from Bellevue University
  • Enterprise
    • Organizations
    • Higher Education
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • FAQs & Knowledge Base
    • Glossary
    • Site Map
    • Statistical Symbols
    • Weekly Brief Newsletter Signup
    • Word of the Week

Markov Chain

Home » Glossaries » Markov Chain

Markov Chain

Statistical Glossary

Markov Chain:

A Markov chain is a series of random values x1, x2, ... in which the probabilities associated with a particular value xi depend only on the prior value xi-1. For this reason, a Markov chain is a special case of "memoryless" random processes.

The index "i" usually corresponds to discrete values of time or another unidimensional argument. The values themselves can be of any nature and dimension. For example, the random value could be a behavior category (physical interaction, no physical interaction) and the sequence would be a set of simulated behaviors in which the probability of a given behavior depends on the prior behavior.

This property of "memorylessness" fostered the development of a rich probabilistic theory of Markov chains and related statistical methods as well. Thus, if a Markov chain is an adequate model for your data, you can use a wide variety of well-developed mathematical and statistical tools.

The concept of Markov process is the extension of the concept of Markov chain into the case of continuous argument (usually, time). Markov fields is the further extension of Markov processes into multidimensional space.

If the symbols do not display properly, try
the graphic version of this page

Browse Other Glossary Entries

Courses Using This Term

Return to Glossary Search

About Statistics.com

Statistics.com offers academic and professional education in statistics, analytics, and data science at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of instruction. Statistics.com is a part of Elder Research, a data science consultancy with 25 years of experience in data analytics.

Latest Blogs

  • Dec 14: Statistics in Practice
    December 11, 2020/
    0 Comments
  • PUZZLE OF THE WEEK – School in the Pandemic
    December 11, 2020/
    0 Comments
  • From Kaggle to Cancel: The Culture of AI
    December 11, 2020/
    0 Comments

Social Networks

Linkedin
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube

Contact

The Institute for Statistics Education
4075 Wilson Blvd, 8th Floor
Arlington, VA 22203
(571) 281-8817

ourcourses@statistics.com

© Copyright 2021 - Statistics.com, LLC | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Accept