On Feb 28, 2015, at 6:28 PM, Jim Clark <j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca> wrote:
> One lesson I take away from Jeff`s original post (i.e., that even a simple > coin toss probability is a challenge to determine) is that we should not > worry too much by such minutia as whether all the abstract assumptions for > statistical tests are met. The real world is so messy that such contributions > to the correctness of our conclusions are probably minimal and in an > uncertain direction. Yes, that's an excellent point. I also was thinking about several other issues that these studies might help to clarify for students. One is the issue of internal versus external validity (and yes, ecological validity also could be mentioned, although that isn't what concerns me with coin tossing). Based on what I was able to understand of their conclusions, both groups of researchers seemed to be stating that their findings had high internal validity, but they didn't think they would generalize to the types of situations in which coins typically are tossed. I thought this would be an easy–to–understand example to use when I discuss validity—as long as I leave the math out!!! Best, -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scottsdale Community College 9000 E. Chaparral Road Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 Office: SB-123 Phone: (480) 423-6213 Fax: (480) 423-6298 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=42397 or send a blank email to leave-42397-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
