statistical terminology

The field of statistics has a terminology problem.

It affects students’ ability to learn statistics. It affects researchers’ ability to communicate with statisticians; with collaborators in different fields; and of course, with the general public.

It’s easy to think the real issue is that statistical concepts are difficult. That is true. It’s not the whole truth, though. (more…)

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Odds is confusing in a different way than some of the other terms in this series.

First, it’s a bit of an abstract concept, which I’ll explain below.

But beyond that, it’s confusing because it is used in everyday English as a synonym for probability, but it’s actually a distinct technical term.

I found this incorrect definition recently in a (non-statistics) book: (more…)

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