Resource Library

A joke to help in recalling the purpose of Correlation and Regression. The joke was written in 2017 by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University based on a joke often told in mathematics (comparing different mathematics topics and ending with the punchline: "Geometry is where I draw the line."). Other options for comparison to regression can be similarly added to the punchline here.  For example “I’ll do prediction, I’ll do forecasting, but regression is where I draw the line,” was suggested by Larry Lesser from The University of Texas at El Paso in 2025.

This cartoon caption can be used in discussing how modern tools in data science have precursors in the Exploratory Data Analysis techniques developed by John Tukey who famously described the interdisciplinary nature of statistics with his quote "The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone's backyard." The cartoon was used in the December 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Larry Lesser from The University of Texas at El Paso. (Lesser was then sparked by the Tukey quote to write his song “Backyard” that won 3rd place in the 2025 A-mu-sing contest.)  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon caption can be used in a conversation about the least squares method for estimation in the regression setting.  The cartoon was used as one of two cartoons in the September 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Nate Josephs from North Carolina State University.  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon’s quadruple pun caption can be used in general discussions of summary statistics and graphical presentations.  The cartoon was used in the July 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Larry Lesser from The University of Texas at El Paso.  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon caption illustrates the idea that statistical procedures based on the normality assumptions are often sensitive to heavy tailed populations and outliers. The cartoon was used in the June 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Charlie Smith from North Carolina State University.  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon caption illustrates the idea that the value of a regression predictions may be sensitive to noise and outliers.  The cartoon was used in the May 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by retired AP statistics teacher Jodene Kessler.  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University.

This cartoon caption illustrates the dangers of extrapolation beyond the range of the data and that making reliable predictions from models requires an adequate sample size to estimate parameters. The cartoon was used in the February 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Larry Lesser from The University of Texas at El Paso.  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon caption can help students remember to use data to check model assumptions when they make them. The cartoon was used in the January 2024 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Mike Lueke from St Louis Community College. The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon caption is intended to help discuss how outliers in linear regression models are worth studying and can lead you to further research questions. The cartoon was used in the December 2023 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Jeremy Case from Taylor University.   The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University. 

This cartoon caption is intended to emphasize the identification of seasonal effects in time series plots. The cartoon was used in the November 2023 CAUSE cartoon caption contest and the winning caption was written by Regina Lisinker, a student at the University of Minnesota.  The cartoon was drawn by British cartoonist John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea by Dennis Pearl from Penn State University.