We are beginning to see a NEW TERM being used by data scientists; previously there were two main terms to describe different aspects of data analysis:

• Descriptive Analytics
• Predictive Analytics,

BUT NOW:

• PRESCRIPTIVE ANLAYTICS....

is starting to pop up, here and there. It was discussed recently here:

http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/big-data-analytics/big-data...

And you will see a thorough and most appropriate use of the term PRESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS in our upcoming book, manuscript uploaded and now "in production":

L.A. Miner; P.S. Bolding; M. Goldstein; J.M. Hilbe; T. Hill; R Nisbet; N Walton, and G.D. Miner; Practical Predictive Analytics and Decisioning Systems for Medicine: Informatics Accuracy and Cost-Effectiveness for Healthcare Administration and Delivery Including Medical Research, (IN PRESS - 2014) Waltham, MA: Elsevier/Academic Press.

In Chapters 21 - 25 there are very thorough medical examples of using all three aspects of data analysis: DESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS, PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, and DECISIONING which leads into PRESCRIPTIVE analytics. Some of the chapters and also in some tutorials show as the end result a "prescription" of how to treat an individual patient, in what is now becoming "personalized / person-centered and even person-directed" medicine.