Related papers: Teaching statistics with Excel and R
Demand for data science education is surging and traditional courses offered by statistics departments are not meeting the needs of those seeking training. This has led to a number of opinion pieces advocating for an update to the…
The traditional theoretical statistics course which develops the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline (usually following a probability course) is undergoing near-continuous revision in the statistics community. In particular, recent…
Spreadsheets are known to be error-prone. Over the last decade, research has been done to determine the causes of the high rate of errors in spreadsheets. This paper examines the added value of a spreadsheet tool (PerfectXL) that visualizes…
The use of simulation-based methods for introducing inference is growing in popularity for the Stat 101 course, due in part to increasing evidence of the methods ability to improve students' statistical thinking. This impact comes from…
Among the multiple causes of high error rates in spreadsheets, lack of proper training and of deep understanding of the computational model upon which spreadsheet computations rest might not be the least issue. The paper addresses this…
Most organizations today use spreadsheets in some form or another to support critical business processes. However the financial resources, and developmental rigor dedicated to them are often minor in comparison to other enterprise…
Current prescriptions for spreadsheet style specify modular separation of data, calcu1ation and output, based on the notion that writing a spreadsheet is like writing a computer program. Instead of a computer programming style, this article…
The spreadsheet has been used by the business community for many years and yet still raises a number of significant concerns. As educators our concern is to try to develop the students skills in both the development of spreadsheets and in…
Bayesian statistics has gained great momentum since the computational developments of the 1990s. Gradually, advances in Bayesian methodology and software have made Bayesian techniques much more accessible to applied statisticians and, in…
This paper explores an innovative approach to teaching data wrangling skills to students through hands-on activities before transitioning to coding. Data wrangling, a critical aspect of data analysis, involves cleaning, transforming, and…
In traditional usability studies, researchers talk to users of tools to understand their needs and challenges. Insights gained via such interviews offer context, detail, and background. Due to costs in time and money, we are beginning to…
The R programming language is built on an ecosystem of packages, some that allow analysts to accomplish the same tasks. For example, there are at least two clear workflows for creating data visualizations in R: using the base graphics…
This article discusses how to make statistical graphics a more prominent element of the undergraduate statistics curricula. The focus is on several different types of assignments that exemplify how to incorporate graphics into a course in a…
What do we teach and what should we teach? An honest answer to this question is painful, very painful--what we teach lags decades behind what we practice. How can we reduce this `gap' to prepare a data science workforce of trained…
It is now widely accepted that errors in spreadsheets are both common and potentially dangerous. Further research has taken place to investigate how frequently these errors occur, what impact they have, how the risk of spreadsheet errors…
Spreadsheets are widely used by knowledge workers, especially in the industrial sector. Their methodology enables a well understood, easy and fast possibility to enter data. As filling out a spreadsheet is more accessible to common…
The experimental evaluation of the methods and concepts covered in software engineering has been increasingly valued. This value indicates the constant search for new forms of assessment and validation of the results obtained in Software…
Data analysis is a powerful tool in all experimental sciences. Statistical methods, such as sampling theory, computer technologies necessary for handling large amounts of data, skill in analysing information contained in different types of…
This paper discusses spreadsheets documentation and new means to achieve this end by using Excel's built-in "Comment" function. By structuring comments, they can be used as an essential tool to fully explain spreadsheet. This will greatly…
Open-ended assignments - such as lab reports and semester-long projects - provide data science and statistics students with opportunities for developing communication, critical thinking, and creativity skills. However, providing grades and…