Monthly Archives: October 2010

Resurrecting the Unplanned

Posted on October 31, 2010 by statswithcats

Even if you took a class in statistics or another form of data analysis, you probably didn’t hear about frankendata. Frankendata is created when data, collected by different people, at different times and locations, analyzed with different procedures and equipment, … Continue reading →

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Tales of the Unprojected

Posted on October 24, 2010 by statswithcats

We have a habit in writing articles published in scientific journals to make the work as finished as possible, to cover up all the tracks, to not worry about the blind alleys or describe how you had the wrong idea … Continue reading →

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The Data Scrub

Posted on October 17, 2010 by statswithcats

Garbage in, garbage out is a saying that dates back to the early days of computers but is still true today, perhaps even more so. If the numbers you use in a statistical analysis are incorrect (garbage), so too will … Continue reading →

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Perspectives on Objectives

Posted on October 10, 2010 by statswithcats

Conducting a statistical analysis can be like traveling to a foreign country that you’ve never been to before. You had better have a map and some idea of what you want to do there or you might end up wasting … Continue reading →

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Assuming the Worst

Posted on October 3, 2010 by statswithcats

If you’re going to be poking around data looking for patterns and anomalies, you should be aware of the fundamental requirements you need to fulfill, or at least assume you fulfill. Consider this. All models make assumptions, an evil necessity … Continue reading →

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