Involving comparisons between pairs of items or groups, typically in statistical analysis where each possible pair is examined separately. Often used in post-hoc testing to compare all possible combinations of groups two at a time.
Compound word formed from 'pair' (from Latin 'par' meaning equal) and '-wise' (Old English suffix meaning 'in the manner of'). The statistical usage emerged in the mid-20th century with the development of multiple comparison procedures.
Pairwise comparisons are like speed dating for statistics - instead of trying to understand complex multi-group relationships all at once, you examine every possible two-way combination to build up a complete picture of which groups truly differ!
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