Dr Nicky Cashman, Aberystwyth University [email protected]@aber.ac.uk Gregynog, 2010.
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Transcript of Dr Nicky Cashman, Aberystwyth University [email protected]@aber.ac.uk Gregynog, 2010.
Dr Nicky Cashman, Aberystwyth University [email protected], 2010
Use of data Formatting Ethical issues Where to start Gathering information Creating the document Surveys and other forms of reporting Conclusion
Descriptive: Statistics that merely describe the group they belong to, e.g. the class did well on its first exam, with a mean (average) score of 89.5%
…and inferential. These are statistics used to draw conclusions about a larger group of people, e.g. our research indicates that only 33% of people like purple cars
Any statistical investigation produces an output data that needs to be analysed. So, organise it, study it under different circumstances and control the data as required
This data needs to be modified in a presentable form so that further conclusions and inferences can be drawn
Tables – much easier to read than a block of text. It can help to sort the information/group comparisons etc for both you and your audience
Group A Group B Group C Group D
Mean 10.5 12.3 15.9 21.3
S.D.(standard deviation)
2.1 1.2 1.8 2.5
Pie chart – to give a general indication of percentages/groups etc via each ‘slice’
Bar chart – a way of representing absolute numbers
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5 Category 6
Series 1
Histogram – a way of encapsulating data that can be summarised on an interval scale
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
44.5
5
January February March April
Page Views
Visits
Items archived
Scatter Plot – to illustrate the degree of correlation (not causation) between two variables
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Age
of
Child
Time watching Tv
Line graph – to demonstrate a continual stream of data which could indicate growth, decline, peaks and troughs
Early years educationNumber of three and four-year-olds at school triples
Failure to deal honestly with readers about non-random error (bias)
Inappropriate statistical tests and other statistical procedures
Fragmentation of reports Low statistical power Suppressing, trimming, or
“adjusting” data Selective reporting of findings
www.flickr.com
The task in all of this is to do the best job possible to assure that the numbers represent the actual population or process. Anything which distorts the true depiction of the original population or process might lead to false conclusions, which is an ethical problem
Costly waste of resources Difficult statistical analysis Data for which interpretation is
controversial Research which is precise but
which answers the wrong questions
Determine beforehand what sort of information is required
Remember that the order or arrangement of the data does not matter
You have the freedom to organise the subject under study – consider keeping subjective material
Creating a statistical data set is only the first step in research. The interpretation and validity of the inferences drawn from the data is what is most important
www.flickr.com
Who has asked for this report? Who is likely to read this report? What do you think they want to know
about? What do you want to highlight? Do you need to collaborate with colleagues? What is the eventual purpose of the report? Should it be monthly, bi-annual and/or
annual?
http://www.mindwaveglobal.com/Profile.html
http://www.google.com/analytics/ with repository statistics [IR Stats with E-Prints]• Top articles• Top theses• Most searched departments• Number of visits/hits & from where in the world
Asking individual academics for comments
Listing past, present & future repository projects & collaborations
TRY SOME VARIATION…SOME COLOUR…DIFFERENT FORMATS…
General Overview
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN Total
Items Archived
49 25 41 40 202 96 453
Page views 17,590 20,649 25,787 21,603 26,462 22,616 134,707Visits 4,585 5,349 7,368 7,054 7,307 6,168 37,831
VISITS: JAN-JUNE 09 WORLD-WIDE PERCENTAGE
UK - 13,570 35.87%US - 6,026 15.93%Ind - 1,819 4.81%Can - 1,128 2.98%Aus - 936 2.47%Ger - 916 2.42%Spa - 856 2.26%Chi - 714 1.89%Ita - 563 1.49%Fra - 519 1.37%
TRAFFIC SOURCES OVERVIEW
Search Engines (55.79%)
Referring Sites (33.34%)
Direct Traffic (10.87%)
TOP 10 COUNTRIES
1. UK
2. US
3. India
2. Canada
5. Australia
6. Germany
7. Spain
8. China
9. Italy
10. France
CADAIR: STATISTICAL REPORT – JANUARY - JUNE 2009
Top 3 articles across Aberystwyth University
Top 3 theses Main contributors (departments) Projects Collaborations
Thank you for the invitation to add papers on Cadair. Prof Michael Hambrey, IGES.
That’s all looking very good. Thanks for addressing it so quickly. Prof David Ian Rabey, TFTS
'I have found CADAIR to be a most effective and efficient way of publicising my work’. Prof Nicholas Wheeler, InterPol.
“I think CADAIR is a vital resource for the University, and should be the default used to accurately record and assess research output. My view is that it should record only published outputs: preprints should be discouraged as there are servers available for this purpose elsewhere. It should be used internally for consideration by committees such as Awards and Titles, post-graduate competitions, departmental research monitoring, etc. Externally, it fulfils the role of dissemination of published research now required by the Research Councils. It is easy to use and compares favourably with other repositories. There is no reason why CADAIR should not become mandatory, and act as the definitive source of information on published research output for Aberystwyth”. Prof John Gough, IMAPS
“I think that Cadair represents a very helpful new development in the services provided by the university. The internet is a most powerful research tool – increasingly papers are being accessed first in this way. From my perspective Cadair provides an opportunity to give access to work that is no longer available elsewhere and also links to more recent work which is available in print or internet form”. Prof Howard Williams, Department of International Politics.
11,885 visits from US cities
New York
Atlanta
Washington
Columbus
Seattle
Chicago
Los Angeles
Houston
Austin
San Francisco
27, 074 visits from UK cities.London
Aberystwyth
Birmingham
Manchester
Cardiff
Glasgow
Bristol
Edinburgh
Sheffield
Leeds
Nottingham
Cambridge
Swansea
Oxford
MOST SEARCHED DEPARTMENTS: Information Studies – 677 timesIBERS – 422 timesComputer Science – 363 timesHistory and Welsh History – 340 timesInternational Politics – 305 times
50 universities and their e-theses mandates were surveyed – questions via email to UKCoRR discussion list + hard copy forms (survey monkey another option)
There are 166 universities in the UK (Universities UK 04/05/2010)
Therefore, this inferential survey shows 30.1% of them all (50÷166x100)
Organise data under appropriate headings Plot information initially on an Excel spreadsheet
if you are comfortable with this format
http://pinoyelections.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/survey.jpg
Proposal to AU Research Degree Board to move to an opt-out mandate
Of 50 UK HEIs, 34 have opt-out mandates, 8 opt-in, 8 none at all
Headings included:• What mandate does AU
presently have? • What have been the problems
faced? • What mandates do other UK
HEIs have? • Why choose opt-out?• How can we address potential
issues?• What do we do next?
TOP 5 THESES IN AU Depts. No of hits
Postmodern Nihilism English 3038
Poetics of the Past English 2332
Management Control Systems
SMB 2210
A Library of our Own DIS 1718
Consonantal System of Cornish
Welsh 1626
For individual academics – how many hits an article has received/where in the repository list
For departments – impact of articles/items submitted to repository/impact of postgraduate theses
To your own department – external visits to the repository etc
Personal portfolio – detailed examples of work achieved/courses attended/presentations given
http://www.aecsoftusa.com/picElements/2TierReporting.jpg
PRESENTATIONSCONFERENCES & EVENTSINDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED TRAINING & WORKSHOPSINTENAL/REPOSITORY MEETINGSEXTERNAL MEETINGSCOURSES ATTENDEDONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS WITH ACADEMICSI.S. RELATED ACTIVITIESREPOSITORY PROJECTSMEMBERSHIPS/ASSOCIATIONSREPORTS/PUBLICATIONS & ADVOCACY
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC300001821033.aspx?CategoryID=CT101043361033
Were the original questions important? Were the assumptions from which the original
questions emerged valid? Was there adequate precision and planning?Was there the proper degree of generality?Was the research overambitious?Have there been proper control checks?Was there an extension of the purpose of the
research after it was planned, for another function?
Know who the information is for Gather relevant data Decide on appropriate formats Use a variety if possible Ask for opinions Make sure data is correct
Bailar, J. C. (1997) Science, Statistics and Deception, in Research Ethics: A Reader (Deni Elliott and Judy E. Stern, eds., Hanover University Press: of New England, 104.
Brown, J. (n. d.)Literature review of research into attitudes towards electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). London E-Prints Access Project, http://www.sherpa-leap.ac.uk/
Greig, M. (2005) Implementing electronic theses at the University of Glasgow: cultural challenges. Library Collections, Acquisitions and Technical Services, 29, 326-335.
Nelson, L. A., Crotty, M. (n. d.) The Ethical Use Of Statistics in Research. North Carolina State University. Initial draft.
Pickton, M.J., McKnight, C. (2006) Research students and the Loughborough institutional repository. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 38, (4), 203-219.
Office for National Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/glance/ American Statistical Association: http://www.amstat.org/publications/sadm.cfm International Statistical Institute: http://isi.cbs.nl/ethics.htm
Unless otherwise referenced, all images from Word Clip Art or my own charts and data.
Nicky Cashman, Gregynog 2010 [email protected]