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Questions tagged [communication]

Related to communication or explanation of statistical data, analyses, or concepts

See Statistical communications questions? (on meta) for a discussion of this tag.

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Explaining to laypeople why bootstrapping works

I recently used bootstrapping to estimate confidence intervals for a project. Someone who doesn't know much about statistics recently asked me to explain why bootstrapping works, i.e., why is it that resampling the same sample over and over gives…
Alan H.
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Most confusing statistical terms

We statisticians use many words in ways that are slightly different from the way everyone else uses them. This cause lots of problems when we teach or explain what we are doing. I'll start a list (and now I'll add some definitions, per…
Peter Flom
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Debunking wrong CLT statement

The central limit theorem (CLT) gives some nice properties about converging to a normal distribution. Prior to studying statistics formally, I was under the extremely wrong impression that the CLT said that data approached normality. I now find…
Dave
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Are there any good popular science book about statistics or machine learning?

There a bunch of really good popular science books around, that deal with real science, as well as the history and reasons behind current theories, while remaining extremely enjoyable to read. For example, "Chaos" by James Gleick (chaos, fractals,…
naught101
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Evidence for man-made global warming hits 'gold standard': how did they do this?

This message in a Reuter's article from 25.02.2019 is currently all over the news: Evidence for man-made global warming hits 'gold standard' [Scientists] said confidence that human activities were raising the heat at the Earth’s surface had reached…
Sextus Empiricus
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What is your favorite layman's explanation for a difficult statistical concept?

I really enjoy hearing simple explanations to complex problems. What is your favorite analogy or anecdote that explains a difficult statistical concept? My favorite is Murray's explanation of cointegration using a drunkard and her dog. Murray…
brotchie
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Beautifully written papers

From David Salsburg's book The lady tasting tea: Although the reader may not believe it, literary style plays an important role in mathematical research. Some mathematical writers seem unable to produce articles that are easy to understand.…
alberto
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How would you explain generalized linear models to people with no statistical background?

I always have a hard time explaining statistical techniques to audience with no statistical background. If I wanted to explain what GLM is to such audience (without throwing out statistical jargon), what would be the best or most effective way? I…
Ken
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How would you explain statistical significance to people with no statistical background?

Background: I had to perform a data analysis for a client (some kind of lawyer) who was an absolute beginner in statistics. He asked me what the term "statistical significance" means and I really tried to explain it... but since I'm not good at…
Daniel Ryback
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How best to communicate uncertainty?

A massive problem in communicating the results of statistical calculations to the media and to the public is how we communicate uncertainty. Certainly most mass media seems to like a hard and fast number, even though except in a relatively small…
naught101
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How does one explain what an unbiased estimator is to a layperson?

Suppose $\hat{\theta}$ is an unbiased estimator for $\theta$. Then of course, $\mathbb{E}[\hat{\theta} \mid \theta] = \theta$. How does one explain this to a layperson? In the past, what I have said is if you average a bunch of values of…
Clarinetist
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Explaining conditioning number in statistics to non-statisticians

I work these days as a statistician and a lot of what I do is evaluating design of experiments; I started this job less than a year ago, after getting a PhD in mathematical statistics. I remember once trying to explain conditioning numbers and their…
cgmil
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How to justify a "complicated" regression model over a simpler model to a non-technical audience?

I find myself in the position of advocating for a linear mixed-effects model to estimate a trend to a non-technical audience. The subject of the regression model is a somewhat contentious topic and my client and their adversaries have differing…
Dalton Hance
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Should you introduce new notation for every regression?

I am currently writing an empirical paper which reports on the results from estimating a number of regression models. Question: is it standard to introduce new notation for each of these models, or should one stick to $\beta_0$, $\beta_1$, etc.…
afreelunch
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How to help people understand "...per 100,000"?

It's well known that members of the public have difficulty comprehending numbers over a certain size. A common tricky issue for people communicating demographic trends is helping people make sense of rates out of 100,000. This is an important issue…
user56reinstatemonica8
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