it's like saying ... on a measurement dissertation ... if you don't have a reliability coefficient ... you can't graduate!
At 11:54 AM 3/22/02 -0800, Brad Anderson wrote: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] (nothanks) wrote in message >news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>... > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Penley, Julie) wrote in message > news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>... > > > > Mercy, I hope y'all aren't aiming this at the original poster. > > Anyways, maybe part of the "problem" is that some fields think > > they do need "fancy" statistics and models (you know. > > "I NEED P-VALUES, GIMME P-VALUES", etc.) when, IMO, simple > > summaries will suffice. > >[snip] > >I recall serving as an external member on a Ph.D. committee. The >student had a pretty well designed randomized experiment with only 2 >comparison groups. The response variable was continuous and >approximately normally distributed. When the student proposed using a >t-test to compare means, one of the committee members said something >to the effect of: "This is a Ph.D. dissertation, you can't use a >t-test. You have to use something more sophisticated like ANOVA." >Ouch. I cringed, bit my tongue, and tactifully defened the student's >proposed method of analysis. A perceived need for statistical >sophistication and lengthy results sections shouldn't drive research >questions. Some important research questions can be correctly >addressed using very simple methods of analysis. To refer back to the >original question, if a 2 x 3 ANOVA is the appropriate analytical >procedure, then it's the correct procedure. I do agree with those who >suggested presenting results exploring the distributional properties >of the response variable. The student could certainly present results >of diagnostic statistics defending the choice of statistic. Depending >on the nature of the research question, the student might test for >interaction, test for simple main effects, and use appropriate >procedures for multiple comparisons. >. >. >================================================================= >Instructions for joining and leaving this list, remarks about the >problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES, and archives are available at: >. http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ . >================================================================= Dennis Roberts, 208 Cedar Bldg., University Park PA 16802 <Emailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> WWW: http://roberts.ed.psu.edu/users/droberts/drober~1.htm AC 8148632401 . . ================================================================= Instructions for joining and leaving this list, remarks about the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES, and archives are available at: . http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ . =================================================================
