TED talks about statistics and research methods

There are a number of TED talks that apply to research methods and statistics classes.

First, there is this TED playlist entitled The Dark Side of Data. This one may not be applicable to a basic stats class but does address broader ethical issues of big data, widespread data collection, and data mining. These videos are also a good way of conveying how data collection (and, by extension, statistics) are a routine and invisible part of everyday life.

This talk by Peter Donnelly discusses the use of statistics in court cases, and the importance of explaining statistics in a manner that laypeople can understand. I like this one as I teach my students how to create APA results sections for all of their statistical analyses. This video helps to explain WHY we need to learn to report statistics, not just perform statistics.

Hans Rosling has a number of talks (and he has been mentioned previously on this blog, but bears being mentioned again). He is a physician and conveys his passion for data-driven decisions regarding global public health issues via several talks. In addition to his talks, you and your students can play with his public health statistical visualization software at www.gapminder.org/.

This short video describes gold-standard research for the pharmaceutical industry but the research lessons apply across disciplines. It is also a nice way to introduce the reasoning behind independent and paired t-tests (the video emphasizes control vs. experimental research).

This video describes equal likelihood outcome probability and instances when outcomes are counter-intuitive. It includes probability calculations and touches on the fact that outcome frequencies that are dictated by mathematics only reveal themselves over MULTIPLE iterations of the event (for instance .5 probability of getting tails when you flip a coin).

For other TED and non-TED statistics videos, check out the video label for this blog.

UPDATE: 10/16/15

This talk by Dr. Alyson McGregor discusses how prescription drug trials typically use only male samples (due to fluctuations in female hormones over the a month). However, 80% of drugs that are recalled are recalled due to negative side effects in women. I think this is a good example for research methods, efficacy research, and sampling error.

UPDATE: 1/20/16

The TED-Ed talk illustrates Simpson's Paradox.

UPDATE: 2/3/16

Data-driven decisions! This video begins soft with examples of data-driven decisions made by Netflix in order to figure out what shows to develop, but gets real with examples of using data to make parole decisions and the Google Flu debacle.

UPDATE: 2/24/17

New playlist from TED, entitled "Statistically speaking..."

UPDATE: 10/30/18

Alan Smith's "Why you should love statistics." GREAT first-day-of-class video.

Update: 10/31/18

Steve Wang's 180 Degrees: A great talk about a more nuanced approach to REALLY understanding your data set.

Ways to use funny meme scales in your stats classes

Have you ever heard of the theory that there are multiple people worldwide thinking about the same novel thing at the same time? It is the multiple discovery hypothesis of invention . Like, multiple great minds around the world were working on calculus at the same time. Well, I think a bunch of super-duper psychology professors were all thinking about scale memes and pedagogy at the same time. Clearly, this is just as impressive as calculus. Who were some of these great minds? 1) Dr. Molly Metz maintains a curated list of hilarious "How you doing?" scales. 2) Dr. Esther Lindenström posted about using these scales as student check-ins. 3) I was working on a blog post about using such scales to teach the basics of variables. So, I decided to create a post about three ways to use these scales in your stats classes: 1) Teaching the basics of variables. 2) Nominal vs. ordinal scales. 3) Daily check-in with your students. 1. Teach your students the basics...

Using pulse rates to determine the scariest of scary movies

The Science of Scare project, conducted by MoneySuperMarket.com, recorded heart rates in participants watching fifty horror movies to determine the scariest of scary movies. Below is a screenshot of the original variables and data for 12 of the 50 movies provided by MoneySuperMarket.com: https://www.moneysupermarket.com/broadband/features/science-of-scare/ https://www.moneysupermarket.com/broadband/features/science-of-scare/ Here is my version of the data in Excel format . It includes the original data plus four additional columns (so you can run more analyses on the data): -Year of Release -Rotten Tomato rating -Does this movie have a sequel (yes or no)? -Is this movie a sequel (yes or no)? Here are some ways you could use this in class: 1. Correlation : Rotten Tomato rating does not correlate with the overall scare score ( r = 0.13, p = 0.36). 2. Within-subject research design : Baseline, average, and maximum heart rates are reported for each film. 3. ...

Andy Field's Statistics Hell

Andy Field is a psychologist, statistician, and author. He created a funny, Dante's Inferno-themed web site that contains everything you ever wanted to know about statistics. I know, I know, you're thinking, "Not another Dante's Inferno themed statistics web site!". But give this one a try. Property of Andy Field. I certainly can't take credit for this. Some highlights: 1) The aesthetic is priceless. For example, his intermediate statistics page begins with the introduction, "You will experience the bowel-evacuating effect of multiple regression, the bone-splintering power of ANOVA and the nose-hair pulling torment of factor analysis. Can you cope: I think not, mortal filth. Be warned, your brain will be placed in a jar of cerebral fluid and I will toy with it at my leisure." 2) It is all free. Including worksheets, data, etc. How amazing and generous. And, if you are feeling generous and feel the need to compensate him for the website, ...

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