Now last time we examined the core question of ‘what is a statistical test asking’ with the answer ‘what’s the likelihood that the results I’ve got from these two groups are different only because of the play of chance?’ Now depending on what sort of data you have will depend on what ‘the results from these […]
Category: archimedes
StatsMiniBlog: Significance tests. Step one.
Moving through from estimating how the mean of a sample might reflect the mean of the population at large, we want to see if there are differences between two (or more) groups. This is usually done by ‘doing a statistical test’. What we won’t be dealing with here is the maths that derives these, the […]
StatsMiniBlog: Standard Error
This is it – a leap from the descriptive to the inferential. We are leaving the comfort of the sample we have collected data on and we’re about to make a statement that relates to the world beyond: we are inferring stuff. Annoyingly, this first step is a phrase disturbingly close to another. The ‘standard error […]
StatsMiniBlog: Parametric? :-/ Like paramedic or paralegal?
We have – in this microseries of miniblogs – looked at data distributions and describing what we’ve got. We’re ready for the big leap now; from description into inference. What can we say about how our data relate to the world at large? And the first thing to do is to clarify a deeply unhelpful […]
A little bit of formula?
Exclusive breastfeeding is regarded by WHO and by most, if not all, paediatric academies, as the ideal for newborns and infants up to 6 months old. It is also recommended that breastfeeding begins as soon as possible after birth. That is why the small pilot study by Flaherman et al is both interesting and controversial. […]
StatsMiniBlog: Transformations
There are a host of things in the world that undergo transformations. These are often physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. But numbers need love too, and we are getting to know that deep, deep down, we all love Normality. […]
StatsMiniBlog: Size and variability
Now you now know you continuous data can be Normal or not Normal (but we might be able to tweak that … see the next post) and we’d like to be able to describe it clearly and accurately. We could just reproduce every bit, but we really want to compress it to get the meat […]
StatsMiniBlog: Order and Normality
You’ve cracked the first step with data – you can tell if its continuous or discrete. As you progress to stats nirvana, you need to delve more deeply into the stuff. […]
StatsMiniBlog: Continuous vs. Categorical
So – in response to a tweet from @DocNadine Archi will be attempting to do a series of short posts on some ‘stats’ things. What would you like to see covered? A short and simple one today. Continuous vs. Categorical […]
Picket line
Do you remember we started looking out for new studies, important studies, that would change the way we thought about paediatric practice, or confirmed that we didn’t need to? It was back in 2010 and we’ve not stopped. But we’d like to hear from you if you want to join in. […]