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confusing statistical terms

Six terms that mean something different statistically and colloquially

by guest contributer  Leave a Comment

by Kim Love and Karen Grace-Martin

Statistics terminology is confusing.

Sometimes different terms are used to mean the same thing, often in different fields of application. Sometimes the same term is used to mean different things. And sometimes very similar terms are used to describe related but distinct statistical concepts.

[Read more…] about Six terms that mean something different statistically and colloquially

Tagged With: bias, confusing statistical terms, Correlation, Error, odds, random, significance, terminology

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Series on Easy-to-Confuse Statistical Concepts

by Karen Grace-Martin  4 Comments

There are many statistical concepts that are easy to confuse.

Sometimes the problem is the terminology. We have a whole series of articles on Confusing Statistical Terms.

But in these cases, it’s the concepts themselves. Similar, but distinct concepts that are easy to confuse.

Some of these are quite high-level, and others are fundamental. For each article, I’ve noted the Stage of Statistical Skill at which you’d encounter it.

So in this series of articles, I hope to disentangle some of those similar, but distinct concepts in an intuitive way.

Stage 1 Statistical Concepts

The Difference Between:

  • Association and Correlation
  • A Chi-Square Test and a McNemar Test

Stage 2 Statistical Concepts

The Difference Between:

  • Interaction and Association
  • Crossed and Nested Factors
  • Truncated and Censored Data
  • Eta Squared and Partial Eta Squared
  • Missing at Random and Missing Completely at Random Missing Data
  • Model Assumptions, Inference Assumptions, and Data Issues
  • Model Building in Explanatory and Predictive Models

Stage 3 Statistical Concepts

The Difference Between:

  • Relative Risk and Odds Ratios
  • Logistic and Probit Regression
  • Link Functions and Data Transformations
  • Clustered, Longitudinal, and Repeated Measures Data
  • Random Factors and Random Effects
  • Repeated Measures ANOVA and Linear Mixed Models
  • Principal Component Analysis and Factor Analysis
  • Confirmatory and Exploratory Factor Analysis
  • Moderation and Mediation

Are there concepts you get mixed up? Please leave it in the comments and I’ll add to my list.

Tagged With: confusing statistical terms, easy to confuse statistical concepts

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  • The Difference Between Crossed and Nested Factors
  • The Difference Between Interaction and Association
  • Confusing Statistical Term #13: Missing at Random and Missing Completely at Random
  • Six terms that mean something different statistically and colloquially

Member Training: Confusing Statistical Terms

by guest contributer 

Learning statistics is difficult enough; throw in some especially confusing terminology and it can feel impossible! There are many ways that statistical language can be confusing.

Some terms mean one thing in the English language, but have another (usually more specific) meaning in statistics.  [Read more…] about Member Training: Confusing Statistical Terms

Tagged With: ancova, association, confounding variable, confusing statistical terms, Correlation, Covariate, dependent variable, Error, factor, General Linear Model, generalized linear models, independent variable, learning statistics, levels, listwise deletion, multivariate, odds, pairwise deletion, random error, selection bias, significant

Related Posts

  • Series on Confusing Statistical Terms
  • Six terms that mean something different statistically and colloquially
  • Confusing Statistical Term #8: Odds
  • The Difference Between Association and Correlation

Confusing Statistical Term #8: Odds

by Karen Grace-Martin  Leave a Comment

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: [Read more…] about Confusing Statistical Term #8: Odds

Tagged With: confusing statistical terms, odds, probability, statistical terminology

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  • Six terms that mean something different statistically and colloquially
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Confusing Statistical Term #7: GLM

by Karen Grace-Martin  7 Comments

Like some of the other terms in our list–level and  beta–GLM has two different meanings.

It’s a little different than the others, though, because it’s an abbreviation for two different terms:

General Linear Model and Generalized Linear Model.

It’s extra confusing because their names are so similar on top of having the same abbreviation.

And, oh yeah, Generalized Linear Models are an extension of General Linear Models.

And neither should be confused with Generalized Linear Mixed Models, abbreviated GLMM.

Naturally. [Read more…] about Confusing Statistical Term #7: GLM

Tagged With: confusing statistical terms, General Linear Model, generalized linear mixed model

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