Up next is RES/722 a research methodology course steeped in statistics. I am eager and anxious about this next class.
Eager because my dissertation study is quantitative in design and this is an important course to understanding the expectations of UOP for that type of study.
Eager, too, because I have a few work ideas that could use some fleshing out and might become a nice basis for class assignments.
Anxious, because I have already heard rumblings from other EDD students about their frustration and fears of math and stats. This, hopefully, will not impact my individual learning but might have some impact on my group projects.
This course is unique in the doctoral curriculum because it doesn’t involve 2 preceding reading weeks (some fun alliteration there). Instead, there are 2 lab weeks where a series of activities need to be concluded satisfactorily in order to pass the course. The labs take place in a system known as ALEKS and run by McGraw-Hill. McGraw-Hill is a major contributer for texts at UOP and is likely a strategic partner of some magnitude.
In the past I worked on an economics research project studying the socio-economic underpinnings of small businesses in the urban centers of Buffalo, NY. It was far afield of my undergrad but an invaluable lesson in how to think, research, and apply. We had two sayings in the research office.
“Lies, damn lies, and statistics” ~ Mark Twain
“Torture numbers, and they’ll confess to anything” ~ Gregg Easterbrook
These two saying always guided my critical thinking about numbers. It taught me to look behind the provided data and discover real meanings and interpretation. The recent best-seller, Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner, highlight just this type of thinking.
Combining my past stats experience with a new shot of economics mental skills from Freakonomics, I am ready to tackle the RES/722 course. I expect to be posting much of my learnings here as an archive for future application in my research.
As always, your thoughts and comments are most welcome.
Other Doc Blog posts about my RES/722 class adventure:
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
Disappointed
Happy
Fill Out This Survey…
Navigating the Schedule Change
August 21st, 2007 at 6:15 PM
I love the Gregg Easterbrook quote.
I remember once, when I was around the 7th grade, quoting a statistic to my dad (I read it in a magazine or something). It was a ridiculous stat and my dad said you can make numbers say anything you want – being a math/science nerd I defied him, “No, you can’t numbers are numbers. It’s the one truth.”
At this time I was in Algebra, maybe Trig, so I had a pretty firm grasp of math. My dad sat me down with a piece of paper and wrote “2 + 2″ across the top. “Of course, the answer is 4,” I say. He then proceeded to run through about 15-20 steps and at the end, 2 + 2 = 5.
I kept that paper until my 10th grade year – trying to find where he tricked me and error’d in his math. I gave it to teachers, friends, anyone that could help.
In the end, my dad was right. 2 + 2 did equal 5.
Man, I wish I still had that paper around. I’ll have to ask him to redo it sometime.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:49 AM
I’ll have to Google the equation and see if I can find it. I used to agree that numbers are facts. Unfortunately that is not always the case. I consider marketing the culprit in modern manipulation of numbers. If 30% of people like it then 70% of people consider similar products.
The Easterbrook quote is my favorite too. I have it posted in my office as a reminder to be honest in my research and unbiased about what I discover.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:27 AM
I took a statistics in college. It should be renamed “How to Lie and Make it Believable Using Numbers.” The problem is that the outcome depends on the question. The person asking the question can keep changing the language of the question until he gets the answer he desires. Political polls are a prime example of this.
But the biggest example of statistical fraud is teachers who use the bell curve to grade tests. I had a real idiot of teacher in college who gave bad tests. He frequently put items on the test that were never a part of the class lessons. His tests were difficult to say the least. There was always two or three question on a test no one could answer. But he was able to cover himself by using the bell curve to grade. One test was so hard. It was a 40 question test. Believe it or not. Thanks to the curve. That getting 6 questions right gave you a C. Can you imagine that you only needed to answer 15% right to get a C? So in the terms of actual knowledge most of the class really failed. Sad but true. This was tenured teacher so the class was basically S.O.L.
I just think that statistics should be issued with a warning label. Basically, let the buyer beware
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
August 24th, 2007 at 1:19 PM
I deal with student testing scores. In one area there was a significant drop the the scores of white students. Jokingly I said, “Don’t consider it a drop in their scores, consider it a decrease in the performance gap between them and their black counterparts.”
Words, words, words…numbers, numbers, numbers. It’s all about spin.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
September 13th, 2007 at 12:42 PM
[...] Damn Lies and Statistics Disappointed Happy Fill Out This Survey… Navigating the ScheduleChange [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
September 13th, 2007 at 12:42 PM
[...] Damn Lies and Statistics Disappointed Happy Fill Out This Survey… Navigating the ScheduleChange [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
September 13th, 2007 at 12:43 PM
[...] Damn Lies and Statistics Disappointed Happy Fill Out This Survey… Navigating the ScheduleChange [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
September 13th, 2007 at 12:52 PM
[...] Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics Disappointed Happy Fill Out This Survey… Navigating the Schedule Change [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0