Resource Library

The idea that the examination of a relatively small number of randomly selected individuals can furnish dependable information about the characteristics of a vast unseen universe is an idea so powerful that only familiarity makes it cease to be exciting Is a quote from American Educational Statistician Helen Mary Walker (1891 - 1983). Helen Walker was the first women to serve as the president of the American Statistical Association and this quote is from her December 27, 1944 presidential address at the 104th annual meeting of the ASA in Washington, D.C. The full address may be found in the "Journal of the American Statistical Association" (1945; vol. 40, #229 p. 1-10).

A cartoon to teach the idea that the mean is affected by outliers while the median is not. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.

To us, probability is the very guide of life is the modern translation of a quote from Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.) found in his 45 B.C.E. work "De Natura Deorum".

This song describes the pitfalls of using a steep prior in a Bayesian analysis that is not based on an underlying understanding of the problem. The lyrics were written by Mark Glickman and may be sung to the tune of The Four Seasons' 1975 song "December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)" written by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker. The mp3 was recorded July 9, 2008 (Mark Glickman - vocals).

These three haikus were written as part of an activity in Paul Roback's introductory statistics class at St. Olaf College in February, 2009 ("World of chaos" by Carolyn Raitt; "Reality bites" by Hannah Johnson; "Is it you or me" by Nicole Villa). As a collection, the haikus won first place in the poetry category of the 2009 A-Mu-sing competition. The entire class is shown in this picture: http://www.causeweb.org/resources/fun/pics/Roback_class.jpg

This song extols the value of Bayesian thinking. The song was written by Mark Glickman and may be sung to the tune of The Zombie's 1968 song "Time of the Season" written by Rod Argent. The mp3 was recorded on May 24 2008 (Mark Glickman - vocals). This song was first performed live in June 2006 at "Eighth Valencia World Meeting on Bayesian Statistics" in Benidorm, Spain, by Mark Glickman, Brad Carlin, Jennifer Hill, and David Heckerman.

A cartoon to teach about the need to think carefully about the assumptions underlying a statistical model (also uses the idea that you can multiply chances for independent events to find the chance that they all occur). Drawn by British cartoonist John Landers based on an idea from Dennis earl. Free to use in the classroom and on course websites.

A cartoon to teach ideas about sample surveys. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.

A cartoon to teach about the use of a placebo to better control experimental studies. Drawn by British cartoonist John Landers based on an idea by Dennis Pearl. Free to use in the classroom or on course websites.

Oops! ... I Picked the Wrong Test is a 4 minute, 12 second video that provides a fun review of common mistakes made in conducting hypothesis tests. The video was first sung for students in a Psychology class at the University of Oregon. The singer is Jennifer Simonds, Ph.D. of Westminster College in Salt Lake City Utah (where the video was filmed). The song is a parody of "Oops ... I did it again" by Britney Spears (2000). Characters: Britney Spearman - Jennifer Simonds, Chuck - Chuck Tate, Frustrated Professor - Bill Bynum, Dancers - Cressa Perloff (dance captain), Kathleen Ware, and Mariah Mercer. Credits: Lyrics, vocals, directions, and production by Jennifer Simonds; Recording and Sound Engineering by Ted Sablay; Final Cut Consulting by Zelda Randazzo; Audio Sync Assistance by Lizzie Randazzo; Camera Work and Props by Amy Fairchild. This video won the overall Grand Prize in the 2009 CAUSE A-Mu-sing contest.