The Analysis Factor
Statistical Consulting, Resources, and Statistics Workshops for Researchers
Factor is confusing much in the same way as hierarchical and beta, because it too has different meanings in different contexts. Factor might be a little worse, though, because its meanings are related.
In both meanings, a factor is a variable. But a factor has a completely different meaning and implications for use in two different contexts. [Read more…] about Confusing Statistical Term #6: Factor
When your dependent variable is not continuous, unbounded, and measured on 
an interval or ratio scale, your model will not meet the assumptions of linear models.
Today I’m going to go into more detail about 6 common types of dependent variables that are not continuous, unbounded, and measured on an interval or ratio scale and the tests that work instead.
Side note: the usual advice is to use nonparametric tests when normality [Read more…] about When Dependent Variables Are Not Fit for Linear Models, Now What?
The assumptions of normality and constant variance in a linear model (both OLS regression and ANOVA) are quite robust to departures. That means that even if the assumptions aren’t met perfectly, the resulting p-values will still be reasonable estimates.
But you need to check the assumptions anyway, because some departures are so far that the p-value become inaccurate. And in many cases there are remedial measures you can take to turn non-normal residuals into normal ones.
But sometimes you can’t.
Sometimes it’s because the dependent variable just isn’t appropriate for a linear model. The [Read more…] about 6 Types of Dependent Variables that will Never Meet the Linear Model Normality Assumption
I’ve talked a bit about the arbitrary nature of median splits and all the information they just throw away.
But I have found that as a data analyst, it is incredibly freeing to be able to choose whether to make a variable continuous or categorical and to make the switch easily. Essentially, this means you need to be [Read more…] about Beyond Median Splits: Meaningful Cut Points
Most Multiple Imputation methods assume multivariate normality, so a common question is how to impute missing values from categorical variables.
Paul Allison, one of my favorite authors of statistical information for researchers, did a study that showed that the most common method actually gives worse results that listwise deletion. (Did I mention I’ve used it myself?) [Read more…] about Multiple Imputation of Categorical Variables