Resource Library

An online calculator designed to give an estimated sample size that would be needed under specific conditions. This is used only for simple random samples.

Article that explains why comparing statistical significance, sample size and expected effects are important before constructing and experiment.

Resource providing information about: computation of the sample size and the assumptions that must be made to do so. Several examples are given with different conditions in each, and a table showing minimum sample sizes for a two-sided test.

A resource providing information about what the sample size is, what factors the sample size depends on, and how it can be determined,

Powerpoint explaining what power is and how power and sample size are related to one another.

Document (pdf) illustrating a test of normality using an Anderson-Darling test in MINITAB and a test of equality of variances with an F-test in EXCEL.

This is a complete lesson module (including example problems with answers to selected problems) for the purpose of enabling students to: 1) Provide examples demonstrating how the margin of error, effect size, and variability of the outcome affect sample size computations. 2) Compute the sample size required to estimate population parameters with precision. 3) Interpret statistical power in tests of hypothesis. 4) Compute the sample size required to ensure high power when hypothesis testing.

A game to help in the active learning of concepts in experimental design, regression, and significance testing. Shapesplosion is an on-line game in which a person is expected to place specifically shaped pegs into the appropriate holes within a short time period. In this project, students are asked to use the Shapesplosion game to design an experiment and collect data. This game is specifically designed so that students have the opportunity to develop and test their own unique research question. You can leave all the variables blank when you are simply trying out the game, however, if you want to find your score is the database of results, you will need to select the Participant Info box. This resource is particularly suitable for project oriented teaching and is part of the Stat2Labs collection at Grinnell College that includes instructor notes and student handouts created with funding from NSF-DUE grant #1043814 (Shonda Kuiper, PI).

A game for the active learning of concepts in experimental design and hypothesis testing in the one sample, two-sample and matched pairs situation. Memorathon is an on-line game in which a person is expected to repeat a sequence of buttons provided by an electronic device. Each time you successfully repeat the given sequence of buttons, the sequence gets longer. The challenge is to remember as long a sequence as possible. Cognitive psychologists test short-term memory using serial recall, which evaluates the ability of people to recall information in the specified order in which it was presented. Measuring how many items a subject can remember in order without an error, called memory span, is also studied. The Memorathon Game is an example of serial recall and memory span. This on-line game provides students the opportunity to design multiple versions of the Memorathon Game in order to test which variables have the largest effect on memory. You can leave all the variables blank when you are simply trying out the game, however, if you want to find your score in the database of results, input any specific course ID and student ID. Memorathon is part of the Stat2Labs collection at Grinnell College which includes instructor notes and student handouts.

A game to aid in the active learning of significance testing including power and the limitations of p-values. Statistically Grounded is an on-line game that introduces multivariate issues in a simplified game environment. Students are asked to serve as a consultant for their friend, Joe. Joe is starting his own coffee company and students help him design a study to determine whether factors, such as location, time of day, price, type of music, or some combination of these influence sales. The on-line game allows students to design a study, sample data, and make suggestions on how Joe's business should be run. The game then simulates several months of business based on student's suggestions. The goal is to design a plan that will earn the most sales and make the largest amount of profits. The TigetSTAT labs handouts were created by Rod Sturdivant (Ohio State University) and John Jackson (West Point) as part of the Stat2Labs collection at Grinnell College