Online Program

Bridging the Gap between Ideal and Practical Conditions in the Application of Statistical Methods (302460)

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Keywords: methodology review, methodology audit

In any statistical classroom, examples commonly follow the explanation of a statistical concept to illustrate its use. In order to reinforce the idea being presented, many of these examples use more idealized situations than may be seen in practice. Because of time constraints, more practical examples commonly remain unseen. Statistics is a field that is comfortable with controlled uncertainty, so there are rarely hard and fast rules to determine the answer to: Is it statistically valid? In statistical consulting, this question is asked frequently. Providing an answer, while both remaining practical and keeping confidence in the methods used, is a skill that generally must be learned beyond the classroom. It is also a skill that requires effective communication. Case studies are presented to illustrate the disconnect between ideal and practical conditions. Additionally, some of the conclusions reached by Ernst & Young to bridge the gap in these cases will be discussed.