SIGFY Story Examples Ai-Chu Wu, Ph.D. SSU Math Seminar March 11, 2007

Objective:  Think about a real-life story that demonstrates (SIGFY) “Statistics Is Good For You”.  Show us a power point slide presentation with <10 slides.  Tell us in <5 minutes.  Write it up in <5 pages.

Why did I create SIGFY stories? To show the:  Power  Use  Beauty of Statistics

Why did I create SIGFY stories?  Extra Credit Opportunity  Stories for Publication  Fun in Learning Statistics

How do I choose SIGFY Stories?  Relate to Learning Topic  Close to Home and Heart  Our Own Stories Are The Best!

What is in a SIGFY Story? Follow My Favorite Recipe:  Question  Data  Analysis  Conclusion

What is in a SIGFY Story? Practice Our Text’s Theme:  Think  Show  Tell

The Storyteller Has to: Identify the question (s)he asked. Collect the data needed. Analyze with correct graphs/statistics. Make confident conclusions. Present orally and in writing.

The Audience: What did you like the most? What suggestions can you make?  Listen Attentively  Provide Valuable Feedback

My SIGFY Story Displaying Categorical Data  Q: Which restaurant is dirty?  D: Health Critical Violations of Top 10 Restaurants, TV report  A: Frequency Table & Bar Chart  C: I will avoid these restaurants.

Critical Violations Waffle House594 Ruby's Tuesday514 IHOP513 TGI Fridays490 Apple Bees446 Outback418 Chili's402 Red Lobsters350 Bob Evans315 Denny296 Frequency Table TV Report, 9/26/2004 Suggestion for improvement?

Komron’s Story Displaying Categorical Data  Q: Which toothpaste is most recommended by dentists?  D: Call 30 local dentists  A: Bar Chart/Frequency Table  C: I will take their advice.

Bar Chart & Frequency Table

SIGFY StoryKomron Shahhosseini Dr. Wu, Stats T,Th l0 am I was brushing my teeth the other day when I heard a toothpaste commercial come on the television in the other room. It was a Colgate commercial, which claimed that it had the most recommended toothpaste by dental professionals. I was using Crest brand toothpaste at that moment and wondered if the commercial was really correct in their claim. Incidentally, I was in need of a subject for this project, so I took it upon myself to investigate the statement and prove it as valid. I used the yellow pages to call my sample of thirty local dentists' offices. I rarely spoke to an actual dentist, but the staff was happy to accommodate me. I used four of the leading types of toothpaste and was trying to decide which one was most effective. Colgate Total was chosen an overwhelming 60% of the time with 18 recommendations. Coming in second with 8 recommendations was Crest Extra Whitening with Tartar Protection. Sensodyne had three recommendations and Aquafresh had the least with only one.

Given my sample I was able to conclude that the commercial was correct in stating that Colgate Total is the most recommended brand and type of toothpaste. Certain aspects of my study troubled me after I sat down to put all my data in graph form and analyze it. First was that I wasn't actually talking to Dentists, mostly with their staff. This could result in giving me false recommendations based on non­professional preference. Another aspect that concerned me was the locality of my sample. I kept very local to cut down on long distance charges and because I was lacking a phonebook with national dentists phone numbers! Because this is a national and even international product I would need to take sample data from dentists all over the United States and possibly even the world. Unfortunately I don't have the resources or the time to take on a study of such magnitude. Something tells me that Colgate might have done so before they aired their commercial anyway. When all is said and done, I'm convinced and have switched toothpaste brands. Page 2

My Daughters’ Story Relation Between Two Categorical Variables  Q: Where should we go trick-or-treating? Which place has more and better candies?  D: Places and Types of Candy; 6 W’s  A: Contingency Table and Bar Chart  Conclusion: See for yourself!

The 6 W’s of Data: Why: To decide where to trick-or-treat Who: Candies from trick-or-treat What: Type and Place When: Oct. 31, 1995 Where: School and Home

How:  Two sisters: 12 & 13 years old  Similar looks and heights  Wear the same costumes  Start and end at the same time  Use the same bags for candies  Sort, count, and record in kitchen with mom and brother (8 years old)

Where to go for “Trick or Treat”? Contingency Table Places Candy Types SchoolHome Row Total Star-bust Chocolates Tootsie Rolls Others Column Total

UC Berkeley Story Simpson’s Paradox  Q: Was there gender discrimination?  D: School admission record  A: Contingency tables  C: What do you think?

A: Two-way Contingency Table

A: Three-Way Table (Reason for Simpson’s Paradox) C: Is There Gender Discrimination?

Elizabeth Cozzo Displaying Quantitative Data  Q: How does ozone change over time?  D: Textbook and Source Data  A: Side-by-side Boxplots from text/her  C: Who is right?

Side-by-Side Boxplots: p. 92 of Text

Elizabeth’s Conclusions: Higher ozone level in summer Unit: parts per billion (ppb) not ppm SIGFY: New program at work Praise and pride at work SIGFY Story Sequel: She used two-sample t-tests and was included in NASA’s final report.

What have we learned?  SIGFY Stories show SIGFY. SIGFY Stories  “If you believe in everything in the book, you are better off without the book.” ---Mencius

Summary SIGFY = _______. SIGFY shows the _____ of Statistics SIGFY includes __, __, __, __. SIGFY takes __, __, __. Which story is your favorite? Why? Questions? Feedback?