Breaking the F-barrier: How the use of a visual representation of Fisher’s F-ratio can aid student comprehension of orthodox statistics

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Rory Allen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Significance Test ◽  
Algebraic Manipulation ◽  
Life Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Degree Of Confidence

Universal laws are notoriously hard to discover in the social sciences, but there is one which can be stated with a fair degree of confidence: “all students hate statistics”. Students in the social sciences often need to learn basic statistics as part of a research methods module, and anyone who has ever been responsible for teaching statistics to these students will soon discover that they find it to be the hardest and least popular part of any social science syllabus. A typical problem for students is the use of Fisher’s F-test as a significance test, which even in the simple case of a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) presents difficulties. These are two in number. Firstly, the test is presented as a test of the null hypothesis, that is, that there is no effect of one variable (the independent variable, IV) on the other, dependent variable (DV). This highlights the opposite of what one generally wants to prove, the experimental hypothesis, which is usually that there is an effect of the IV on the DV. Students, if they think about the question at all, may be tempted to ask “why not try to prove the experimental hypothesis directly rather than using this back-to-front approach?” Secondly, the F-ratio itself is presented in the form of an algebraic manipulation, involving the ratio of two mean sums of squares, and these means are themselves moderately complicated to understand. Even students specializing in mathematics often find algebra difficult, and to non- athematicians this formula is simply baffling. Instructors do not usually make a serious attempt to remedy this confusion by attempting to explain what the F-ratio is attempting to measure, and when they do, the explanation is not usually very enlightening. Students may struggle with the statement that the F-ratio is the ratio of “two different estimates of the variance of the population being sampled from, under the null hypothesis”. So what? The result is that students frequently end up applying statistical analysis programs such as SPSS and R, without having the faintest understanding of how the mathematics works. They use the results in a mechanical way, according to a procedure learned by rote memory, and may overlook different tests which might be more appropriate for their data. This might be called the cookbook approach to data analysis, and it is the opposite of the ultimate aim of high quality teaching, which is to provide a deep understanding of principles, which will allow the student to use these principles flexibly in real life challenges, without violating the assumptions of the statistical tests being employed.

Breaking the F-barrier: How the use of a visual representation of Fisher’s F-ratio can aid student comprehension of orthodox statistics

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Rory Allen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Significance Test ◽  
Algebraic Manipulation ◽  
Life Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Degree Of Confidence

Universal laws are notoriously hard to discover in the social sciences, but there is one which can be stated with a fair degree of confidence: “all students hate statistics”. Students in the social sciences often need to learn basic statistics as part of a research methods module, and anyone who has ever been responsible for teaching statistics to these students will soon discover that they find it to be the hardest and least popular part of any social science syllabus. A typical problem for students is the use of Fisher’s F-test as a significance test, which even in the simple case of a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) presents difficulties. These are two in number. Firstly, the test is presented as a test of the null hypothesis, that is, that there is no effect of one variable (the independent variable, IV) on the other, dependent variable (DV). This highlights the opposite of what one generally wants to prove, the experimental hypothesis, which is usually that there is an effect of the IV on the DV. Students, if they think about the question at all, may be tempted to ask “why not try to prove the experimental hypothesis directly rather than using this back-to-front approach?” Secondly, the F-ratio itself is presented in the form of an algebraic manipulation, involving the ratio of two mean sums of squares, and these means are themselves moderately complicated to understand. Even students specializing in mathematics often find algebra difficult, and to non- athematicians this formula is simply baffling. Instructors do not usually make a serious attempt to remedy this confusion by attempting to explain what the F-ratio is attempting to measure, and when they do, the explanation is not usually very enlightening. Students may struggle with the statement that the F-ratio is the ratio of “two different estimates of the variance of the population being sampled from, under the null hypothesis”. So what? The result is that students frequently end up applying statistical analysis programs such as SPSS and R, without having the faintest understanding of how the mathematics works. They use the results in a mechanical way, according to a procedure learned by rote memory, and may overlook different tests which might be more appropriate for their data. This might be called the cookbook approach to data analysis, and it is the opposite of the ultimate aim of high quality teaching, which is to provide a deep understanding of principles, which will allow the student to use these principles flexibly in real life challenges, without violating the assumptions of the statistical tests being employed.

scholarly journals ESTUDIO EMPÍRICO PARA DETERMINAR EL NIVEL DE ANSIEDAD HACIA LA MATEMÁTICA EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS. EMPIRICAL STUDY TO MEASURE ANXIETY TOWARD MATHEMATICS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo García Santillán ◽  
Milka Elena Escalera Chávez ◽  
Josefina Carmen Santana Villegas ◽  
Bertha Yolanda Guzmán Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
College Students ◽  
Mathematics Anxiety ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Math Anxiety ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
Para Determinar

Abstract.Mathematical knowledge is very important in the lives of people, therefore, it is necessary understand it and make good use of mathematics in everyday life. Therefore, the aim of this work is to identify whether there is a set of latent variables that allow explain the anxiety toward math on students at Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec, Oaxaca. The study is quantitative; and the study sample was formed of 303 college students from several profiles of the social sciences and engineering areas. The instrument utilized, is the scale of Munoz and Mato (2007) and was applied face to face to sample of study, in order to get data that allow us measure mathematics anxiety. The results show that students consider about the exposed variables that, the most prominent variable is the anxiety toward mathematics when faced in real life situations. The results allow us to observe that the studied variables explained 81% of variance that explains the math anxiety; the remaining 19% is explained by other variables that have not been considered in this research. Hence, if the student increases their anxiety in one of those, for example toward compression of mathematical problems, other variables also increase as the results show that there is a direct relationship between them.Keywords: Anxiety, Mathematics, Attitude toward mathematics, mathematics evaluationResumen.Los conocimientos matemáticos son de suma importancia en la vida de las personas, por lo tanto en la actualidad es necesario entender y hacer buen uso de las matemáticas en la vida diaria. El objetivo de este trabajo es identificar si en los alumnos del Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec, existe un conjunto de variables que pueden explicar la ansiedad frente a las matemáticas. El estudio es cuantitativo, la muestra de estudio se conformó de 303 estudiantes del nivel universitario del Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, de varios perfiles de ciencias sociales e ingeniería. Se utilizó el cuestionario Muñoz y Mato-Vázquez (2007), para medir la ansiedad a las matemáticas. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes consideran que de las variables expuestas, la más preponderante es la ansiedad que les causa las matemáticas cuando se encuentran en situaciones de la vida real. Los resultados dejan ver que las variables analizadas contribuyen con el 81% a determinar la ansiedad hacia las matemáticas, el 19% restante es explicado por otras variables que no han sido consideradas en esta investigación. De ahí que, si el estudiante incrementa su ansiedad en una de ellas por ejemplo hacia la compresión de los problemas matemáticos, las otras variables también se incrementan ya que los resultados muestran que hay una relación directa entre ellas.Palabras clave: Ansiedad, Matemáticas, Actitud hacia las matemáticas, Evaluación matemática.

Introduction Strivers

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
Real Life ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
The Social

This chapter provides a background on ethical costs of upward mobility. It explains what ethical costs are, why they matter, and how to contend with them. The chapter outlines the elements of a new narrative of upward mobility, one that is honest about the ethical costs involved. It also emphasizes how narratives are powerful tools in shaping the understanding of people and their future. The ideas introduced are not only backed up by arguments or evidence from the social sciences, but also illustrated by the stories of real-life strivers. It does not intend to serve as a rigorous, systematic empirical study of the experiences of first-generation students. Rather, it is meant to show narratives of upward mobility that are far more ethically complicated than is generally acknowledged.

scholarly journals Mathematization, Not Measurement: A Critique of Stevens’ Scales of Measurement

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-94
Author(s):  
M. A. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Real Numbers ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Mathematical Properties ◽  
Psychological Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scales Of Measurement

In the early 1900s, physics was the archetypical science and measurement was equated with mathematization to real numbers. To enable the use of mathematics to draw empirical conclusions about psychological data, which was often ordinal, Stevens redefined measurement as “the assignment of numerals to objects and events according to a rule.” He defined four scales of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio) and set out criteria for the permissible statistical tests to be used with each. Stevens' scales of measurement are still widely used in data analysis in the social sciences. They were revolutionary but flawed, leading to ongoing debate about the permissibility of the use of different statistical tests on different scales of data. Stevens implicitly assumed measurement involved mapping to real numbers. Rather than rely on Stevens' scales, researchers should demonstrate the mathematical properties of their data and map to analogous number sets, making claims regarding mathematization explicit, defending them with evidence, and using only those operations that are defined for that set.

Epidemiology and the Scientific Method

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan F. Chalmers
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Social ◽  
Modern Physics ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Made In

This article refutes the claim that the field of epidemiology and community health would benefit from the application of the scientific method. It is argued that the methods of physics are not appropriate for other disciplines. When applied to the social sciences, positivism is a conservatizing force, causing theory to become based on a mere description of social phenomenon. Since it cannot lead to a deep understanding of social phenomena, positivism is incapable of revealing ways in which society could be radically changed. Moreover, such theory is far from neutral. Rather, it is formed and influenced by the forms of life experienced and practiced in the society. This is illustrated by an analysis of the origin of modern physics at the time when society was changing from a feudal to capitalist form of organization. It is concluded that advances will be made in epidemiology and community health when this field breaks from its focus on the individual and incorporates class into its analysis. However, given the interconnection between social structure and social theory, resistance to such a radical change can be expected.

scholarly journals PENGARUH MOTIVASI KERJA TERHADAP KINERJA PEGAWAI PADA DIVISI KESEKRETARIATAN PT PLN (PERSERO) DISTRIBUSI JAKARTA RAYA DAN TANGERANG

Epigram ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megido Andreas ◽  
Maswir Maswir ◽  
Mawarta Onida
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Work Motivation ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Significance Test ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
The Social ◽  
Precision Time

AbstractThis research aimed to analyze and determine the performance of employees in the Secretariat Division of PT PLN (Persero) Distribution of Jakarta and Tangerang using motivational variables are analyzed based on the theory of intrinsic motivation, according to Herzberg two-factor theory. This research was conducted to measure employee performance using several indicators, including the number (quantity) of work, quality of work, precision time, attendance, and cooperation ability. The method used in this research is the quantitative method with survey research and data collection through a questionnaire to the respondent. Processing data using a data analysis tool named SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 21. The samples used in this study as many as 23 people. Based on the calculation simple linear regression analysis obtained regression equation Y = 5.113 + 0,894X. From the calculation of the coefficient of determination the influence of work motivation (Variable X) on the performance (Variable Y) is equal to 0.413 or 41.3%, while the remaining 0.587 or 58.7% is influenced by independent variables studied were: job satisfaction, stress, trust, justice, ethics, training and decision-making. From the calculation of significance test (partial test) can be obtained values (t count > t table), i.e. 3.844 > 1.721 that means Ha accepted and Ho rejected, so the hypothesis are "There is a positive and significant influence between Work Motivation and Employees Performance at Secretariat Division of PT PLN (Persero) Distribution of Jakarta and Tangerang" which means that the hypothesis can be accepted.Key words: Performance, Work Motivation, Intrinsic Motivation.AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dan mengetahui kinerja pegawai pada Divisi Kesekretariatan PT PLN (Persero) Distribusi Jakarta Raya dan Tangerang dengan menggunakan variabel motivasi yang dianalisis berdasarkan teori motivasi intrinsik, menurut teori dua faktor Herzberg. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan mengukur kinerja pegawai dengan menggunakan beberapa indikator, diantaranya jumlah (kuantitas) pekerjaan, kualitas pekerjaan, ketepatan waktu, kehadiran, dan kemampuan kerja sama. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu metode kuantitatif dengan penelitian survei serta pengumpulan data melalui kusioner ke responden. Pengolahan data dengan menggunakan alat bantu analisis data yaitu SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) versi 21. Jumlah sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 23 orang. Berdasarkan pada perhitungan analisis regresi linear sederhana didapat persamaan regresi Y = 5,113 + 0,894X. Dari hasil perhitungan koefisien determinasi besarnya pengaruh motivasi kerja (Variabel X) terhadap kinerja (Variabel Y) adalah sebesar 0,413 atau 41,3%, sedangkan sisanya sebesar 0,587 atau 58,7% dipengaruhi oleh variabel bebas yang diteliti yaitu: kepuasan kerja, stress, kepercayaan, keadilan, etika, pelatihan dan pengambilan keputusan. Dari hasil perhitungan uji signifikansi (uji parsial) dapat diperoleh nilai (t hitung > t tabel) yaitu 3,844 > 1,721 berarti Ha diterima dan Ho ditolak, sehingga hipotesis yang didapat adalah “Terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan antara Motivasi Kerja dan Kinerja Pegawai pada Divisi Kesekretariatan PT. PLN (Persero) Distribusi Jakarta Raya dan Tangerang.” yang berarti hipotesis tersebut dapat diterima.Kata kunci: Kinerja, Motivasi Kerja, Motivasi Intrinsik

Inter- and Extra-textual Hauntings: Unravelling the Semantic Web of Václav Havel’s Leaving

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-251
Author(s):  
Katie Fry
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Comparative Literature ◽  
Research Council ◽  
Real Life ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Semantic Complexity ◽  
Twentieth Century Europe

Leaving (2007), the first play written by Václav Havel since the start of his political career in 1989, is a theatrical tour de force that categorically defies generic classification. In this article Katie Fry draws on methodologies of theatre semiotics and intertextuality to elucidate the semantic complexity of Havel’s highly unconventional play. Leaving is analyzed in terms of its engagement with intertexts, its incorporation of ‘real-life’ material from Havel’s political and artistic careers, and its subversion of theatrical conventions. Katie Fry is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Toronto. She has worked as a translator and dramaturg for independent theatre projects in Madrid and Toronto. Her dissertation project examines the attribution of religious import to theatre, opera, and literature in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. She holds a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Embodied ekphrasis of experience: Bodily rhetoric in mediating affect in interaction

Semiotica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (235) ◽  
pp. 91-111
Author(s):  
Hanna Rautajoki ◽  
Jarkko Toikkanen ◽  
Pirkko Raudaskoski
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Multimodal Interaction ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Affective Meaning ◽  
Rhetorical Device ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Media Research

AbstractThe article investigates the rhetorical means of mediating affective experience in occasioned storytelling.The completion of this article has been supported by The Emil Aaltonen Foundation and The Academy of Finland project (285144) The Literary in Life and The Academy of Finland project (326645) European Solidarities in Turmoil. We are interested in the forms and aspects of bodily action in signifying and communicating a “para-factual experience” that was triggered by a real-life incident, but in fact only took place in a person’s imagination. We explore the case of a TV interview in which an American living in Finland narrates a personal, disturbing experience related to the news about 9/11. The story presents a visual scenario of the teller’s affective reaction towards two Muslim women in a grocery store. What is interesting in the story are its involuntary dimensions: the scenario portrays a picture of the teller that he finds unrecognizable and detached from his sense of self as a person. Even if the act was never actually realized, to the teller it felt real and compelling, as is manifest in the way he translates the scenario into a bodily performance. The teller not only uses his body to tell the story but momentarily turns the surrounding setting into a scene in the storyworld in which he plays the unidentified me. We call this physical performance of the imagined scene the embodied ekphrasis of experience.In Semiotica, the rhetorical device of ekphrasis has appeared before (see Frosh 2003; Hopkins 2015; Nesselroth 2016; Sarapik 2009) from such literary and linguistic perspectives, as well as through the lens of media research and cultural studies, to which our application will add from the viewpoint of ethnomethodology and the social sciences. Deploying research on multimodal interaction and intermediality, our empirical analysis explicates how the teller’s body, and not just words, build action, convey affective meaning, and resemiotize and mobilize a physical enactment of the past hypothetical scene.

scholarly journals Why hypothesis testers should spend less time testing hypotheses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M. Scheel ◽  
Leonid Tiokhin ◽  
Peder Mortvedt Isager ◽  
Daniel Lakens
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Functional Form ◽  
Reform Movement ◽  
Significance Tests ◽  
Testing Hypotheses ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unexpected Consequence ◽  
Replication Crisis

For almost half a century, Paul Meehl educated psychologists about how the mindless use of null-hypothesis significance tests made research on theories in the social sciences basically uninterpretable (Meehl, 1990). In response to the replication crisis, reforms in psychology have focused on formalising procedures for testing hypotheses. These reforms were necessary and impactful. However, as an unexpected consequence, psychologists have begun to realise that they may not be ready to test hypotheses. Forcing researchers to prematurely test hypotheses before they have established a sound ‘derivation chain’ between test and theory is counterproductive. Instead, various non-confirmatory research activities should be used to obtain the inputs necessary to make hypothesis tests informative. Before testing hypotheses, researchers should spend more time forming concepts, developing valid measures, establishing the causal relationships between concepts and their functional form, and identifying boundary conditions and auxiliary assumptions. Providing these inputs should be recognised and incentivised as a crucial goal in and of itself. In this article, we discuss how shifting the focus to non-confirmatory research can tie together many loose ends of psychology’s reform movement and help us lay the foundation to develop strong, testable theories, as Paul Meehl urged us to.

4 From Comparative Constitutional Law to Comparative Constitutional Studies

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirschl Ran
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Comparative Constitutional Law ◽  
Constitutional Jurisprudence

The chapter argues for an interdisciplinary approach to comparative constitutional inquiry that is methodologically and substantively preferable to doctrinal accounts. It suggests that for historical, analytical, and methodological reasons, maintaining the disciplinary divide between comparative constitutional law and other closely related disciplines that study various aspects of the same constitutional phenomena, artificially and unnecessarily limits our horizons and restricts the questions asked as well as the answers provided. Traditional disciplinary boundaries, both substantive and methodological, between comparative (public) law and the social sciences continue to impede the development of comparative constitutional studies as an ambitious, coherent, and theoretically advanced area of inquiry. By engaging in a dialogue with the social sciences, and political science in particular, comparative constitutional inquiries would go beyond the traditional realms of judicial review to consider extrajudicial factors such as judicial behaviour, the origins of constitutional change, constitutional design, and the real-life effects of constitutional jurisprudence.

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