Statistical Thinking Activities: Some Simple Exercises with Powerful Lessons


Authors: 
Melton, K. I.
Category: 
Volume: 
12(2)
Pages: 
Online
Year: 
2004
Publisher: 
Journal of Statistics Education
URL: 
http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v12n2/melton.html
Abstract: 

Statistical thinking is required for good statistical analysis. Among other things, statistical thinking involves identifying sources of variation. Students in introductory statistics courses seldom recognize that one of the largest sources of variation may come in the collection and recording of the data. This paper presents some simple exercises that can be incorporated into any course (not just statistics) to help students understand some of the sources of variation in data collection. Primary attention is paid to operational definitions used in the data collection process.

The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education