Understanding Statistics As A Language
by
Robert Andrews
and by
Larry A. Standridge
Copyright 2011 Robert Andrews,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by Hope House Press
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ISBN-13: 978-1-6153-9808-9
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Vita: Robert D. Andrews, EdD
Robert D. Andrews, Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies at Bryan College, has taught statistics at the doctoral level for nearly a decade. He has also taught Hermeneutics and Research, an introductory course to the hermeneutics of research reporting and design. Dr. Andrews’ educational background includes a BA in history, an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an MA in Educational Psychology from Tennessee Technological University, and an EdD in Educational Leadership from The University of Tennessee (Knoxville).
As a member of the Graduate Research Council at Oxford Graduate School, Dr. Andrews supervised numerous dissertation research projects. In addition to his dissertation supervision Dr. Andrews co-authored Understanding Research Communication with Larry A. Standridge, PhD and Helen Morgan, PhD, From Questions to Answers: Principles and Methods of Quantitative Research with Richard P. Walters, PhD, and Understanding Statistics as a Language with Dr. Larry A. Standridge.
Dr. Andrews is currently conducting research analysis on two independent projects: 1) A Sports Manifesto that is designed to investigate the relationship between values and attitudes about sports and 2) Faculty Perceptions of Faculty Development Practices in the Counsel for Christian Colleges and Universities—a 20-year longitudinal, follow-up study based on his 1980 dissertation. Dr. Andrews co-authored Needs Assessment for the Ryan White Title III Planning Grant for Chattanooga Cares with Dr. Richard P. Walters. Dr. Andrews has also supervised numerous research projects in various businesses in the Chattanooga area. Included among those projects were feasibility studies for ISO 9000 certification, human error management at the TVA Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, and research for an Affirmative Action Plan in a textile plant.
At the undergraduate level, Dr. Andrews has taught Greek, New Testament, Bible, Theology, Interpersonal Communication, Group and Organizational Behavior, Research, Ethics, Creative Problem Solving, Statistics, Principles of Management, and Philosophy of Culture. Dr. Andrews has also taught internationally at Donesque Christian University in the Ukraine, Calvary Chapel Bible College in Hungary, Emanuel University in Romania, and at Oasis University in Trinidad.
Dr. Andrews lives in Dayton, Tennessee, where he is a founding board member of the YMCA, Secretary of the Rhea Dayton Tennis Association, member of the Glenn Draper Singers, a tennis player, private pilot, and motorcyclist.
Vita: Larry A. Standridge, PhD
Larry A. Standridge has been involved in Adult Education and Educational Research for twenty-five years. After earning his BA in Communications from Baylor University, Dr. Standridge completed an MA at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his PhD at Ohio State University in Adult Education and Educational Research.
Dr. Standridge has served various institutions as Director or Dean of Continuing Education including John Wesley College, Owosso, MI, Lansing Community College, The University of Tennessee at Martin, and Sterling College, Sterling, KS. As Supervisor of Graduate Research at Oxford Graduate School, Dr. Standridge directed doctoral research for several years. His personal research has focused on the History of the Southern Baptist Denomination and has resulted in several research reports to the Oxford Society of Scholars. Dr. Standridge is also involved in ongoing research for Oxford Graduate School on the nature of dissertations produced by Oxford students. As the person on campus responsible for Institutional Research and Evaluation, Dr. Standridge consistently monitored Institutional Effectiveness for Oxford Graduate School.
Dr. Standridge lives in Martin, Tennessee where he has been active in his local church, real estate development, and telecommunications.
CHAPTER 1: STATISTICS AS A LANGUAGE
Communications Tool
Statistics is a tool for simple and effective communication of information, especially new information. Statistics can be compared to using a microscope, telescope, overhead projector, videotape, film, textbook, or a computer. A researcher makes a decision about the best way to present quantitative and qualitative information. One statistical formula may be as effective as twenty pages of text in reporting quantitative information.
Definition: Statistics is an advanced form of communication -- a specialized form of communication using numbers, letters, and symbols as a medium. Although the word statistics may refer to numerical data, it will be used more generally in the course of study to refer to the body of principles and procedures developed for the collection, classification, and summarization of data. [A descriptive statistic is an index number that summarizes or describes a set of data….Inferential statistics is a method that takes chance factors into account when samples are used to reach conclusions about populations. (Spatz, 1997) ]
Statistics is a substantial component of research language in all the behavioral sciences. Statistics is involved in the research effort from the beginning to end. At the outset statistical terms play a large part in the definition of problems for research. Specific plans for an investigation are formulated to permit statistical evaluations. Data from the investigation are analyzed by statistical methods. Finally, reports of findings are often expressed in statistical terms. Because of accuracy, versatility, and effectiveness in communication, statistics figures prominently in the language, in which researchers theorize, plan, evaluate, speak, and write.
Definition: Data is a collection of observed values representing one or more characteristics of objects or units. Most social data are in the form of categorical frequencies, cases in defined classes or categories.
Language and Academic Studies
Early in the development of the university, most academic material was written in Latin and later in German and French. Graduate education, especially at the doctoral level, required a working knowledge of Latin, German, or French. Since major academic works were in languages other than English, language study was required. Because of advances in the translation of primary data and because the intellectual center of the world shifted to the United States around 1940, the study of other languages in graduate schools was minimized.
In education and industry, participants encounter statistical information in reading previous research. Further, participants present and interpret their research using statistics in order to understand the findings and to communicate the findings clearly. The use of statistics to report research is not as much a mathematical use as a language use. The course of study is not intended to make participants expert statisticians, rather the study is intended to make participants communicators of statistics, both as receivers and senders.
The language of statistics is a part of the culture of academia. In the academic culture, statistics is the primary means of communicating research data. As in any language, the language of statistics has grown and evolved. Early English has evolved dynamically into present-day English. In the same way, early statistical language changed dynamically. While the symbols of the language remained the same, the language has progressed from manual mathematics to computer assisted analysis.
The dynamic of change is similar to the changes in the culture of the automobile. At one time mechanical knowledge of the car was