Resource Library

The applets in this section demonstrate basic issues of experimental design. The Poor Experimental Design ignores randomization rules and allows for increased experimental error. The Improved Experimental Design offers improvement over the first design by adding randomization and reducing experimental error. Both applets require the input of several participants. The purpose of the applets is to test the reaction times between a participant's dominant and non-dominant hand. This page was formerly located at http://www.stat.vt.edu/~sundar/java/applets/ExpDesign.html

This interactive module helps students to understand the definition of and uses for clustering algorithms. Students will learn to categorize the types of clustering algorithms, to use the minimal spanning tree and the k-means clustering algorithm, and to solve exercise problems using clustering algorithms.

This free online video program "presents a detailed case study of statistics at work. Operating in a real-world setting, the program traces the practice of statistics - planning the data collection, collecting and picturing the data, drawing inferences from the data, and deciding how confident we can be about our conclusions. Students will begin to see the full range and power of the concepts and techniques they have learned." This individual video is accessed by scrolling down to the "Individual Program Descriptions - 26. Case Study " and click the "VOD" icon at the top-right of the description.

This demonstration allows you to view the binomial distribution and the normal approximation to it as a function of the probability of a success on a given trial and the number of trials. It can be used to compute binomial probabilities and normal approximations of those probabilities.

In this free online video program, "a two-way table of counts displays the relationship between two ways of classifying people or things. This program concerns inference about two-way tables, covering use of the chi-square test and null hypothesis in determining the relationship between two ways of classifying a case. The methods are used to investigate a possible relationship between a worker's gender and the type of job he or she holds."

This free online video program "shows how to improve the accuracy of a survey by using stratified random sampling and how to avoid sampling errors such as bias. While surveys are becoming increasingly important tools in shaping public policy, a 1936 Gallup poll provides a striking illustration of the perils of undercoverage."

In this free online video program, students will learn that "statistics can be used to evaluate anecdotal evidence. This program distinguishes between observational studies and experiments and reviews basic principles of design including comparison, randomization, and replication. Case material from the Physician's Health Study on heart disease demonstrates the advantages of a double-blind experiment."

With this free online video program, "students will see how key characteristics in the distribution of a histogram - shape, center, and spread - help professionals make decisions in such diverse fields as meteorology, television programming, health care, and air traffic control. Through a discussion of the advantages of back-to-back stem plots, this program also emphasizes the importance of seeking explanations for gaps and outliers in small data sets." This individual video is accessed by scrolling down to the "Individual Program Descriptions - 2. Picturing Distributions" and click the "VOD" icon at the top-right of the description.

This free online video program uses historical anecdotes and contemporary applications to introduce the series which "explores the vital links between statistics and our everyday world. The program also covers the evolution of the discipline."

This laboratory introduces students to the basics of the Minitab software. Students make use of a basic example (water consumption and temperature) to introduce students to manipulation of data, calculation of descriptive statistics, creation of histograms, boxplots and scatterplots. Students are asked to hand in the results they have produced. Accompanying documents give model solutions.