Been working with SAS a lot lately to get the data in shape for a new client. Here’s one of the problems I ran across. We want to get the average pay rate for people who got jobs as a result of our client’s services. However, when one of the people they served did not…
When people ask me what type of statistical software to use, I run through the advantages and disadvantages, but always conclude, “Of course, whatever you choose is going to give you the same results. It’s not as if you’re going to get a F-value of 67.24 with SAS and one of 2.08 with Stata. Your…
Two incidents happened lately where results I expected to be the same turned out to be different. The first one involved two Excel files sent to me from one of my favorite clients. (You’re all my favorite clients!) One of the files was an Excel file on a Mac. The other was created on a…
Before we went to Arlington, VA to get our hands on the National Indian Education Study , my colleague, Dr. Erich Longie, hypothesized that schools that had more cultural activities would have lower academic achievement. In addition to being an old friend, Dr. Longie is president of Spirit Lake Consulting, Inc. , a published author…
Any time you add another layer of complexity you better have a damn good reason. I’m often skeptical of proponents of both Item Response Theory and multiple imputation procedures, not because either IRT or MI is a bad thing in itself but because its inclusion makes data analysis and reporting more complicated. At the National…
I was very happy to get an acceptance letter from WUSS telling me that my class proposal for the 2011 conference was accepted. I’m usually happy to get acceptance letters in general but this was particularly nice since I have gotten the first four chapters of my naked mole rat book done and the next…
I admit that I am hardly a typical user for statistical software, given that I had to go online to download a file with less than 7,000 records and less than 500 variables. STILL, I have to say that PSPP was a disappointment in a great many ways. This is NOT to say that it…
When last seen, our heroes were attempting to write a book with the title Beyond SAS Basics: Tips, Statistics and a Naked Mole Rat The first chapter was entitled After the Data Step. The first half of it was posted here earlier which you would know if you were following this blog in the probably…
How to make SPSS 18 do graphics whether it wants to or not … SPSS isn’t the statistical package I use most often – a few times a month when clients request it. I have SPSS 18 on a Mac and it works fine pretty much, until recently when someone felt the need for a…
Any person who claims to know all of SAS is either clinically insane or a liar. However, that is not you. YOU are reading this book. Based on this one fact, I can conclude a couple of things about you. First, you know the basics of SAS. You can code a DATA step. You have…