The bootstrap: a tutorial

Bootstrap methods have gained wide acceptance and huge popularity in the fi eld of applied statistics. The bootstrap is able to provide accurate answer s in cases where other methods are simply not available, or where the usual approximations are invalid. The number of applications in chemistry, howev er, has been rather limited. One possible cause for this is the overwhelmin g number of techniques available. This tutorial aims to introduce the basic concepts of bootstrap methods, provide some guidance as to what bootstrap methods are appropriate in different situations, and illustrate several pot ential application areas in chemometrics by worked examples. (C) 2000 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.