At 06:16 AM 2/26/2000 -0600, David Carter Davis wrote:
>Oh, yes, I know this is EXTREMELY un-PC of me, but these are the facts.
>I think a lot of you with the "now let's not jump to conclusions blah blah
>blah, small sample size blah blah" were reacting from a bit of PC
kneejerkdom.
{snip}
>To those of you wagging your finger at me, warning me against the danger of
>small sample size, I ask you...how many cheating incidents must I observe
>before you will allow me to believe the evidence of my eyes?
{SNIP a bunch of stuff about ducks}
You can believe the evidence all you want, but what you have to be careful
about is what the evidence is actually telling you. It is a question of
generalization. Although based on the evidence it appears that Russians
that are enrolling in your class tend to cheat, I do not think one can make
the leap to the conclusion "Russians have a higher tendency to cheat than
other ethnic groups." At best, one can say "Russians who have enrolled in
your courses tend to cheat."
Is this an observation that others in your department have noticed, or is
it limited to your courses? Is it something faculty from other departments
on your campus noticed, or is it limited to your department? Is it
something that people at other schools have noticed, or is it something
unique to your campus?
I will grant you that the evidence does appear to support your claim in
your situation. However, I do not see how you can generalize from this
observation. What evidence do you have that the Russian students in your
classes are representative of the Russian population world-wide? Or even to
the Russian student population on your campus?
- Marc
G. Marc Turner, MEd
Lecturer & Head of Computer Operations
Department of Psychology
Southwest Texas State University
San Marcos, TX 78666
phone: (512)245-2526
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
