VIGNETTES
(Nov. 2, 2009; rev. Jan. 2, 2010)
This page will contain some number of sub-page with short discussions of particular statistical issues. Four are treated at this time.
The Times Higher Issues sub-page addresses the widespread custom of describing, for example, 3 as being three times greater than 1, rather than three times as great as one. It provides tables showing the overwhelming predominance of the misusage even in scientific journals with the exception of the New England Journal of Medicine. The sub-page also discusses several related points including the fact that most dictionary definitions of the multiplication are incorrect.
The Gender Differences in DADT Terminations page discusses certain misperceptions in reportage that women are disproportionately discharged for violation of the military don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy, including the bases for the perception that women and disproportionately discharged and the bases for comparisons among the military branches.
The Adjustment Issues sub-page addresses several points concerning approaches to adjustment of group differences in outcome rates for group differences in particular outcome-related characteristics, including the confusion between the standard adjustment for different prevalences of a characteristic within different groups and the determining what the differences between rates would be if the characteristic did not exist.
The Percentage Points sub-page addresses the way researchers refer to percentage point differences as if they were percent differences.
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