This article proposes the use of the coefficient of determination as a statistic for hypothesis testing in multiple linear regression based on distributions acquired by beta sampling. (Contains 3 figures.)

In introductory statistics courses, the concept of power is usually presented in the context of testing hypotheses about the population mean. We instead propose an exercise that uses a binomial probability table to introduce the idea of power in the context of testing a population proportion. (Contains 2 tables, and 2 figures.)

We describe an activity that allows students to experience the full process of a statistical investigation, from generating the research question, to collecting data and testing a hypothesis. Implementation of the activity is described both with and without use of clickers, handheld remotes that allow instant data collection.

This article presents engaging interactive hypothesis tests which can be conducted with students very efficiently.

An in-class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p-value and power in a statistical test. (Contains 3 figures.)

The term "data snooping" refers to the practice of choosing which statistical analyses to apply to a set of data after having first looked at those data. Data snooping contradicts a fundamental precept of applied statistics, that the scheme of analysis is to be planned in advance. In this column, the authors shall elucidate the statistical…

This article, written jointly by a mathematician and a barrister, looks at some of the statistical issues raised by court cases based on fraud involving chip and PIN cards. It provides examples and insights that statistics teachers should find helpful. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Distributions are the basis for an enormous amount of theoretical and applied work in statistics. While there are formal definitions of distributions and many formulas to characterize them, it is important that students at first get a clear introduction to this basic concept. For many of them, neither words nor formulas can match the power of a…

Asterisks should not be used to indicate if the result of a hypothesis test is significant.

The use of The Three Stooges' films as a source of data in an introductory statistics class is described. The Stooges' films are separated into three populations. Using these populations, students may conduct hypothesis tests with data they collect.

Very little explanatory power is required in order for regressions to exhibit statistical significance. This article discusses some of the causes and implications. (Contains 2 tables.)

In this article, the authors focus on hypothesis testing--that peculiarly statistical way of deciding things. Statistical methods for testing hypotheses were developed in the 1920s and 1930s by some of the most famous statisticians, in particular Ronald Fisher, Jerzy Neyman and Egon Pearson, who laid the foundations of almost all modern methods of…

This article describes a classroom demonstration that may be used to encourage students' development and understanding of the idea of hypothesis testing.

A picture of a 95% confidence interval (CI) implicitly contains pictures of CIs of all other levels of confidence, and information about the "p"-value for testing a null hypothesis. This article discusses pictures, taken from interactive software, that suggest several ways to think about the level of confidence of a CI, "p"-values, and what…

We focus on the problem of ignoring statistical independence. A binomial experiment is used to determine whether judges could match, based on looks alone, dogs to their owners. The experimental design introduces dependencies such that the probability of a given judge correctly matching a dog and an owner changes from trial to trial. We show how…