http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--Home.php CAUSEweb.org RSS Feed.(CAUSE: Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education) http://www.causeweb.org/images/logo.jpg http://www.causeweb.org/ 144 40 CAUSEweb.org en-us editor@causeweb.org webmaster@causeweb.org Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2024 A cartoon that can be used in teaching about forced choice survey questions. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.(note - the Tower of Suurhusen with a tilt angle of 5.19 degrees is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as having the greatest title amongst all leaning towers in the world) Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:31:02 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2023 A cartoon that can be used in teaching about random walks. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.(note - in the U.K. the word "redundancy" in labor statistics refers to people who have been laid-off because their job no longer exists). Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:27:30 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2021 A cartoon that can be used in teaching about random walks. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:17:18 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2022 A cartoon that can be used in teaching about Machine Learning estimation techniques. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:16:11 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2020 "Oh, well, this would be one of those circumstances that people unfamiliar with the law of large numbers would call a coincidence." is a quote spoken by Sheldon Cooper (2007 - ) a character on the CBS comedy show The Big Bang Theory played by Jim Parsons (1973 - ). The quote occurred in Season 1 episode 4 that first aired in October, 2007. Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:05:42 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2019 "In comparing the deaths of one hospital with those of another, any statistics are justly considered absolutely valueless which do not give the ages, the sexes and the diseases of all the cases." is a quote by British nursing pioneer and statistician Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910). The quote appears on page 59 of her 1859 book Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:23:48 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2018 "Inside every nonBayesian there is a Bayesian struggling to get out." is a quote by British Bayesian Statistician Dennis V. Lindley (1923- ). The quote is also cited on page 497 of E.T. Jaynes 2003 book Probability Theory: The Logic of Science. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:34:28 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2017 This java applet provides students with opportunities to visualize the Monty Hall paradox (i.e., the famous “three-door” problem often discussed in introductory statistics courses). By going through the simulation and reading the accompanying materials, students can better understand concepts related to probability, and they can also see the need to gather data in order to test theories about what might happen under particular conditions (especially since the outcome of the Monty Hall problem tends to contradict students’ initial intuitions). Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:12:50 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2016 This applet is designed to allow users to explore the relationship between histograms and the most typical summary statistics. The user can choose from several types of histograms (uniform, normal, symmetric, skewed, etc.), or can create their own by manipulating the bars of the histogram. The statistics available for display are mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, and interquartile range. Also available is a "Practice Guessing" option, in which the values of the statistics are hidden until the user has entered guesses for each value. Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:09:50 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2015 "... if the difference isn't different enough to make a difference, what's the difference?" is a quote by American agricultural statistician Victor Chew (1923 - ). The quote is found in his 1980 paper "Testing differences among means: correct interpretation and some alternatives" (HortScience pages 467-470). The quote can be used in discussions of practical significance versus statistical significance. Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:42:47 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2014 "Science walks forward on two feet, namely theory and experiment ... Sometimes it is one foot that is put forward first, sometimes the other, but continuous progress is only made by the use of both—by theorizing and then testing, or by finding new relations in the process of experimenting and then bringing the theoretical foot up and pushing it on beyond, and so on in unending alterations." is a quote by American physicist Robert Andrews Millikan (1868 - 1953). The quote comes from Dr. Milikan's May 23, 1924 Nobel lecture. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:59:51 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2013 A cartoon suitable for use in teaching about various graphic displays. The cartoon is number 688 from the webcomic series at xkcd.com created by Randall Munroe. Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites under a creative commons attribution-non-commercial 2.5 license. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:05:57 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2012 February 9, 2010 T&L webinar presented by Hollylynne Lee (North Carolina State University) and Todd Lee (Elon University), and hosted by Jackie Miller (The Ohio State University). A model for probabilistic reasoning will be discussed that may support students' statistical reasoning. The development of the model and instructional implications are based on theoretical considerations and empirical results from work with middle grades students. Significant time for discussion is planned to get reactions to the model as well as to discuss aspects of probability that participants believe are foundational to building statistical literacy or reasoning. Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:09:54 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2011 "I can prove anything by statistics except the truth" is a quote by British politician George Canning (1770 - 1827). The quote is found on page 587 of the 1908 book Dictionary of Thoughts edited by Tryon Edwards. The quote may be used to illustrate the idea that statistical inference is often geared toward demonstrating what is unlikely to be true rather than proving what is true. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:40:56 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2010 "Statistics are to baseball what a flaky crust is to Mom's apple pie." is a quote by American television journalist Harry Reasoner (1923 - 1991). The quote was said in a story on the news magazine show, "60 minutes." Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:33:16 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2009 January 26, 2010 webinar presented by Alicia Gram, Smith College, and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Capital University. This webinar describes an activity that uses data collected from an experiment looking at the relationship between two categorical variables: whether a cotton plant was exposed to spider mites; and did the plant contract Wilt disease? The activity uses randomization to explore whether there is a difference between the occurrence of the disease with and without the mites. The webinar includes a discussion of the learning goals of the activity, followed by an implementation of the activity then suggestions for assessment. The implementation first uses a physical simulation, then a simulation using technology. (Extra materials, including Fathom instructions for the simulation, available for download free of charge). Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:44:37 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=1798 During this simulation activity, students generate sampling distributions of the sample mean for n = 5 and n = 50 with Fathom 2 and use these distributions to confirm the Central Limit Theorem. Students sample from a large population of randomly selected pennies. Given that the variable of interest is the age of the pennies, which has a geometric distribution, this is a particularly convincing demonstration of the Central Limit Theorem in action. This activity includes detailed instructions on how to use Fathom to generate sampling distributions. The author will provide the Fathom data file upon request. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:16:42 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2007 AniWiki is a gallery for statistical animations in several subjects such as probability, linear models, multivariate statistics, and nonparametric statistics. Most of the animations are created in the R environment. Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:01:45 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2006 "The true logic of this world is the calculus of probabilities." This is a quote of Scottish physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879). The quote is found on page 197 in volume 1 of The Scientific Letters and Papers of James Clerk Maxwell, (James Clerk Maxwell and Peter Michael Harman, ed.). Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:37:18 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2005 "In earlier times they had no statistics and so they had to fall back on lies." This is a quote by Canadian economist Stephen Leacock (1869 - 1944). The quote is found on page 265 of his 1938 book In Model Memoirs and Other Sketches from Simple to Serious Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:15:32 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2004 This joke can be used in a discussion of how sample size affects the reliability of the sample mean. The joke may be found amongst the extensive Science Jokes resources at www.newyorkscienceteacher.com Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:29:24 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=2003 "Statistics" is a poem by Canadian physician Neil Harding McAlister (1952 - ). The poem contains material that can help with class discussions about sample surveys, medical experiments, and significance testing. Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:08:08 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=50 Some basic statistical analysis tools that allow the user to input their own data or use the pre-existing data and perform the desired test (e.g ANOVA, Descriptive, t-test, chi-square, correlation and regression). Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:02:27 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=845 This page contains an index of datasets for nursing related studies. Each dataset is accompanied by a worksheet asking students to analyze certain aspects of the data; a description of the study; and a description of each of the variables used. Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:58:01 -0500 http://www.causeweb.org/cwis/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=521 This applet shows balls falling through a grid of posts to show the central limit theorem in action. Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:54:27 -0500