In-house restaurant dining is related to increases in COVID-19 cases: Illustrates correlation, regression, and good science reporting

Niv Elis, writing for The Hill, summarized a report created by JP Morgan analyst Jesse Edgerton. The report found a link between in-restaurant spending from three weeks ago and increases in new cases of COVID-19 in different states now. Data for the analysis came from 1) J.P. Morgan/Chase in-restaurant (not online/takeout) credit card purchases and 2) infection data from Johns Hopkins.

How to use in class:

1. Correlation/regression: This graph, which summarizes the main findings from the report, may not include my beloved APA axis labels, but it does include an R2 and is a good example of a scatterplot.

ALSO: The author of The Hill piece was careful to include this information from the study's author, which clarifies that correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation.

Quote from original piece, which describes that correlation doesn't equal causation.

2) Creativity in data analysis: Often, in intro psych stats, we use examples rooted in traditional social science research. We should use such an example. But we MUST also use examples that demonstrate how data scientists can use the ENORMOUS data sets that are created by virtue of credit card usage, disease tracking, etc. in research.

3) This is an example of good science reporting. This story was widely reported, but The Hill's coverage included the full graph and made sure to state that this relationship does not imply causality.

4) Includes a video, and videos are a nice way to switch stuff up in class, aren't they?

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...

Leo DiCaprio Romantic Age Gap Data: UPDATE

Does anyone else teach correlation and regression together at the end of the semester? Here is a treat for you: Updated data on Leonardo DiCaprio, his age, and his romantic partner's age when they started dating. A few years ago, there was a dust-up when a clever Redditor r/TrustLittleBrother realized that DiCaprio had never dated anyone over 25. I blogged about this when it happened. But the old data was from 2022. Inspired by this sleuthing, I created a wee data set, including up-to-date information on his current relationship with Vittoria Ceretti, so your students can suss out the patterns that exist in this data.

Logical Fallacy Ref Meme

So, I love me some good statsy memes. They make a brief, important point that sticks in the heads of students. I've recently learned of the Logical Fallacy Ref meme. Here are a couple that apply to stats class:

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