Clik here to view.
How to Choose the Best Regression Model
Choosing the correct linear regression model can be difficult. After all, the world and how it works is complex. Trying to model it with only a sample doesn’t make it any easier. In this post, I'll...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Are T Values and P Values in Statistics?
If you’re not a statistician, looking through statistical output can sometimes make you feel a bit like Alice inWonderland. Suddenly, you step into a fantastical world where strange and mysterious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 1: Pareto, Pie, and Stacked Bar Charts
In several previous blogs, I have discussed the use of statistics for quality improvement in the service sector. Understandably, services account for a very large part of the economy. Lately, when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 2: Chi-Square and Multivariate Analysis
In my recent meetings with people from various companies in the service industries, I realized that one of the problems they face is that they were collecting large amounts of "qualitative" data: types...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Could Deflated Footballs Have Improved the Patriots' Pass Catching?
In the past week there has been a big commotion over this article that shows since 2007 the Patriots have fumbled at rate that is extremely lower than the rest of the NFL. Why 2007? Because that’s the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Statistics: Another Weapon in the Galactic Patrol’s Arsenal
by Matthew Barsalou, guest blogger. E. E. Doc Smith, one of the greatest authors ever, wrote many classic books such as The Skylark of Space and his Lensman series. Doc Smith’s imagination knew no...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tom Brady Is the Best Super Bowl Quarterback Ever
There’s no shortage of interest this week in whether Tom Brady is the best quarterback to ever play the game of football. As a University of Tennessee alum, I have to recuse myself from that particular...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Understanding Monte Carlo Simulation with an Example
As someone who has collected and analyzed real data for a living, the idea of using simulated data for a Monte Carlo simulation sounds a bit odd. How can you improve a real product with simulated data?...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Angry Birds?
Recently, Minitab’s Joel Smith posted about his vacation and being pooped on twice by birds. Then guest blogger Matthew Barsalou wrote a wonderful follow-up on the chances of Joel being pooped on a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Powerful Am I? Power and Sample Size in Minitab
In my experience, one of the hardest concepts for users to wrap their head around revolves around the Power and Sample Size menu in Minitab's statistical software, and more specifically, the field...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Use Statistical Software to Predict the Exchange Rate
The Minitab Fan section of the Minitab blog is your chance to share with our readers! We always love to hear how you are using Minitab products for quality improvement projects, Lean Six Sigma...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Brownie of Blednoch and Lean Six Sigma Belt Compensation
I typically attend a few Lean Six Sigma conferences each year, and at each there is at least one session about compensating belts. Any number of ideas exist out there, but they commonly include systems...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What’s the Probability that Your Favorite Football Team Will Win?
If you wanted to figure out the probability that your favorite football team will win their next game, how would you do it? My colleague Eduardo Santiago and I recently looked at this question, and in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Little Trash Talk: Improving Recycling Processes at Rose-Hulman, Part II
I left off last with a post outlining how the Six Sigma students at Rose-Hulman were working on a project to reduce the amount of recycling thrown in the normal trash cans in all of the academic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Using Regression to Evaluate Project Results, part 1
By Peter Olejnik, guest blogger.Previous posts on the Minitab Blog have discussed the work of the Six Sigma students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to reduce the quantities of recyclables that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are Big 10 Basketball Referees Biased Towards Winning Teams?
Over the weekend Penn State men's basketball coach Pat Chambers had some strong words about a foul that went against his team in a 76-73 loss against Maryland. Chambers called it “The worst call I’ve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Using Regression to Evaluate Project Results, part 2
In part 1 of this post, I covered how Six Sigma students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology cleaned up and prepared project data for a regression analysis. Now we're ready to start our analysis....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Choosing Between a Nonparametric Test and a Parametric Test
It’s safe to say that most people who use statistics are more familiar with parametric analyses than nonparametric analyses. Nonparametric tests are also called distribution-free tests because they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crossed Gage R&R: How are the Variance Components Calculated?
In technical support, we often receive questions about Gage R&R and how Minitab calculates the amount of variation that is attributable to the various sources in a measurement system.This post will...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Mommy’s Look at Scoliosis…A Study in Correlation
Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis. That was the diagnosis given to my then 8 year old daughter last January. In short, it means that she’s young (under 10), she exhibits an abnormal amount of spinal...
View Article