A New Way to Teach (or Compute) Pearson's r Without Reliance on Cross‐Products

Many students have difficulty seeing the conceptual ‘link’ between bivariate data displayed in a scatterplot and the statistical summary of the relationship, r. This article shows how to teach (and compute) r such that each datum's ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ influences are made apparent and used in a new formula for calculating Pearson's r.     

Response to Armstrong,Brewer, and O'Brien and Israel

Abstract

This study examined performers' retrospective explanations of the relationship between anxiety symptoms, self-confidence, and performance. Interviews were used to determine how the presence of symptoms and the accompanying directional interpretation affected performance in six elite and six subelite swimmers. Causal networks revealed that perceived control was the moderating factor in the directional interpretation of anxiety and not the experience of anxiety symptoms alone. Symptoms perceived to be under control were interpreted to have facilitative consequences for performance; however, symptoms not under control were viewed as debilitative. Increases or decreases in self-confidence were perceived to improve or lower performance. Findings reveal how cognitive and somatic information was processed, what strategies were adopted, and how this series of events related to performance.     

Reform in statistical education

Two questions are considered in this article: (a) What should professionals in school psychology do in an effort to stay current with developments in applied statistics? (b) What should they do with their existing knowledge to move from surface understanding of statistics to deep understanding? Written for school psychologists who have completed their formal education, this article examines the way in which four kinds of relatively new technological tools—Java applets, electronic discussion groups, blogs, and online books, tutors, and courses—can help professionals increase their knowledge and understanding of statistical concepts and procedures. Because new statistical procedures, over time, enter the arsenal of applied researchers, and given that the National Association of School Psychologists explicitly states that continuing professional development in research is an expectation, the information presented here shows school psychologists that there are useful and efficient ways for them to “keep current” with advances in applied statistics. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 527–533, 2007.     

NLM's practices for handling errata and retractions

The keystone of the scientific method is solid experimental design and reproducible results. The publishing of findings advances knowledge and establishes the basis for further research. In recent years, the foundations of this principle have been shaken as a small, but significant portion of the scientific literature is being flawed by the appearance of fraudulently produced research. Potentially as damaging are errors that result from poor editing and proofreading. Fraudulent articles and errors lead, at best, to misunderstandings and, at worst, to dire consequences in the treatment of patients. Errata and retraction notices are generally carried in the published literature but usually are not linked to the original data. Database producers, such as NLM, have the means to establish this link and to inform users of incorrect information in the source documents as well. This paper reports NLM's experience in bringing published retraction and errata notices to the public's attention and relates this experience to the library's overall interest in quality assurance.     

对美国社区学院课程演变的考察

美国社区学院的课程直接反映了学生们截然不同的目标。纵观其历史,社区学院已经维持着一种去反映学生抱负模式的变化和地方经济模式改变的课程使命。这正反映着社区学院独有的特点并有可能被当成是其最大的力量。