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Activity Number:
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316
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences
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| Abstract - #304121 |
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Title:
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Use of Interesting Examples in Teaching an Introductory Biostatistics Course: 3 Controversies and 2 Parodoxes
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Author(s):
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Harry J. Norton*+ and George Divine
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Companies:
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Carolinas Medical Center and Henry Ford Hospital
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Address:
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5500 Lansing Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28270,
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Keywords:
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Teaching ; Statistical Education ; Introductory Biostatistics ; Controversies Involving Statistics ; Paradoxes
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Abstract:
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Keeping undergraduate biology students and medical residents interested in statistics, when most are taking the class as a requirement can be challenging. We attempt to accomplish this goal by using real-life and engaging examples. Our examples include 3 controversies involving statistics and 2 statistical paradoxes. Paradoxes, by their very nature, are interesting and non-intuitive. We will present medical examples for Simpson's paradox and the Will Roger's Phenomenon. The 3 controversies include 2 legal cases where improper use of statistics led to convictions that were later overturned on appeal, as well as the question of whether Mendel's data was too good to be true. One of the legal cases concerned a mother convicted of murdering her child after a physician's improper statistical analysis convinced the jury it was unlikely 2 sons could have both died of SIDS.
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