SUMMARY: The Most Important
Points
- Think about differences between group means in terms of
standard deviations, not standard errors of the mean. Mean ± SD or Mean ± SEM?
- Learn exactly what a trivial, small, moderate, large, very
large, and almost perfect effect is, for a correlation, a
frequency difference, and the effect-size statistic. Magnitudes for Effect Statistics
- Present as few numbers as possible: no more than two
significant digits for effect statistics and standard
deviations. How Many Digits?
- Understand how validity impacts on cross-sectional studies and
reliability impacts on longitudinal studies.
Cross·Sectional Designs, Longitudinal Designs
- Test enough subjects to allow you to publish any result. Sample·Size Estimation, Based on Confidence Limits
- Try sample size "on the fly" in your next project, but base it
on width of the confidence interval, not statistical significance.
On The Fly
- Explore a stats program by making up data with an effect, then
analyzing them. Simulation
- Before you do any modeling (statistical tests), look at your
data to see what's going on. Effect Statistics
- Keep your eye on standard deviations or scatter of points, to
decide whether log or rank transformation is needed before you fit
a model. Residuals: Bad, Log Transformation, Rank Transformation
- If you have repeated measures with missing data, get a
statistician to help you model covariances. Modeling Covariances
- Know the difference between statistically significant and
substantial. Confidence Limits, Magnitudes for Effect Statistics
- Show confidence intervals instead or, or as well as, p values.
P Values
- Stop asking "is there an effect?" Start asking "how big is the
effect?" Hypothesis Testing
- Stop thinking about testing. Start thinking about estimating.
Hypothesis Testing
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Last updated 25 April 97