Monday, June 12, 2006

Statistics is for the dogs

"Hey Dante, if we want to compare how frequently people read blogs to credibility ratings, what test would we run?" I'm at the table, running statistical calculations on survey data for my thesis. Dante is on the floor next to me. He looks up when I talk to him.

"I'll give you a hint, Dante. The frequency, since there isn't an even space between the categories, is ordinal data. Credibility is integral data." Dante shifts his weight. "With ordinal data and integral data, we have to run a Spearman's Rho," I tell him. Dante sighs, laying his head back down. After all, he is a dog and the only statistic he cares about is the frequency he gets fed compared to the amount of petting he receives.

Actually, I'm right there with him. It's been a year since I took my Research Methods class, which was confusing to begin with. As a result, nothing stuck. I'm just as lost as I was when I was in the class. The sad part is that I was one of the better students in that class. I spent two years writing and administrating market research surveys, so I have that down. But when it comes to statistics, ugh! Oh well, if I can get through this part, I will be on track to finish this summer and graduate.

No comments: