“The Misuse of Statistics” Module in Stats Class [Extended]

Teaching statistics next semester, adding in this section, which I am tempted to name the “EJ Antoni Memorial Module”.

Before credible statistical analysis can proceed, one has to be sure that (1) one knows definitions, (2) one knows the attributes of the data, (3) one knows the relative reliability of alternative measures of the same variable.

In conducting basic statistical analysis, it is useful to (1) report diagnostics, (2) remember what units the variables are measured in, (3) what understand how a particular procedure works.

Here are some egregious examples of failures to heed these suggestions, either by error or by intent.

Addendum 9/10:

Reproducibility. If you’re going to make a stunning conclusion (like, we’ve been in recession since 2022), then provide the source data to replicate your results (I did it for this paper).

3 thoughts on ““The Misuse of Statistics” Module in Stats Class [Extended]

  1. James H McClure Jr

    “Report regression statistics if you’re going to cite regression results.”

    Who was on his dissertation committee? Like – how the eff did they not catch this?

  2. James H McClure Jr

    Have you noticed little EJ stopped blogging on the Twitter after his nomination to destroy the BLS? Of course his old blogs with all those sexist remarks are being highlighted.

  3. Baffling

    Usually rick stryker and econned howl whenever you take conservative economists to task for their biased and incorrect analysis. I am surprised by their silence recently.

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