统计知识问答.docxVIP

Frequently Asked Questions 1.STATISTICAL RESOURCE ENQUIRES Q1.1 My statistics knowledgeis shaky. Where can I learn about basic statistical concepts?Q1.2 Where can I learn more about specialist statistical methods for behavioural research?Q1.3 What statistical software is available to staff or students at the IoP?Q1.4 Can I install Stata on my laptop?Q1.5 Can I install SPSS on another machine?Q1.6 Where can I learn how to use statistical software?2.STATISTICAL CONCEPTS Q2.1 What do statisticians mean by parameter?Q2.2 What is the difference between the significance level of a test and its p-value?Q2.3 SPSS tables provide numbers under the heading sig.. Is that the significance level?Q2.4 Can I have a p-value of 0.000?Q2.5 What does a confidence interval mean?Q2.6 What is the difference between statistical significance and clinical significance?Q2.7 What is the difference between a standard deviation and a standard error?Q2.8 What is the difference between statistical precision and accuracy?Q2.9 What is a confounder?Q2.10 What is an interaction?Q2.11 What is an effect size?Q2.12 What is a dummy variable?3.POWER AND SAMPLE SIZE Q3.1 What software can I use for a power calculation?Q3.2 What information do I need to carry out a sample size or power calculation?Q3.3 Should I do post hoc (after completion of the study) power calculations?Q3.4 How do I do a sample size calculation for clustered data, e.g. from a cluster randomized trial?4.SETTING UP A DATABASE Q4.1 Should I reuse ID numbers for new patients once patients have dropped out of the study?Q4.2 Shall I categorise continuous data?Q4.3 How finely shall I define the categories of my variables?Q4.4 How shall I enter categorical variables into statistical software packages?Q4.5 How shall I code missing values?5. ASSUMPTIONS IN STATISTICAL MODELS Q5.1 How do I check normality?Q5.2 Shall I use boxplots or histograms?Q5.3 How do I check homogeneity (equal variances in groups)?Q5.4 Can I test for normality or other model