Statistical artifacts in the ratio of discrete quantities.

From: The American Statistician | Date: August 1, 1995| Author: | Copyright information

The ratio is, a familiar statistic, but it is often misused. One frequently overlooked problem occurs when ratioing two discrete (digitized) variables. Fine structure appears in the histogram of the ratio that can be very subtle, or can sometimes even dominate the histogram. It disappears when the numerator and/or denominator become continuous. This statistical artifact is not a binning error, nor is it removed by taking more data. It is important to be aware of the artifact in order to avoid misinterpretation of ratio data. We provide examples of the statistical artifact (including one from ...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

Is basic law of physics changing?
; ...values in physics: the arcane- sounding "fine structure constant," which measures how subatomic...have proposed that the value of the fine structure constant, a k a "alpha," has changed...dimensions change shape, they change the fine structure constant. But skeptics, citing ...
Corn dry-milled grit and flour fractions exhibit differences in amylopectin fine structure and gel texture
; ...Exhibit Differences in Amylopectin Fine Structure and Gel Texture1 ABSTRACT Corn starch amylopectin (AP) fine structure and gel textural properties of...size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). Fine structure was characterized by SEC after...
Challenge to a 'Constant' Shakes Modern Physics
; ...result. If the number known as the fine structure constant -- alpha - - was, in fact...and not in an actual change in the fine structure constant." "This has by now become...is proportional to the square of the fine structure constant. By comparing spectra from...
Do Smaller Schools Really Reduce the "Power Rating" of Poverty?
; ...that this finding is in part a statistical artifact of the lower reliability of school-aggregat...schools. Rather, I suspected a statistical artifact at play. Just what is a statistical artifact? It is where a research result...
Fine structure mapping of the species cytoplasmic specific gene. (Collegiate Communications--Undergraduate).(Brief Article)
; ...euplasmic durum, may increase fertility beyond normal control. A fine structure map of the region surrounding the scs gene will be created...for scs. The scs genotype is determined by test crossing. Fine structure mapping is needed for positional cloning of the scs gene...
Signal coding in cochlear implants: Exploiting stochastic effects of electrical stimulation
; ...to poor representation of temporal fine structure by current speech processing strategies...information in speech rather than temporal fine structure. There are two good reasons for this...has yet been able to encode temporal fine structure in the neural response.9 It has been...
STATISTICAL ARTIFACT
; ...Statistics declared that life expectancy in Israel is among the world's highest. This does not reflect fact but rather a statistical artifact arising from a large influx of immigrants. A thirty-year-old immigrant, for example, could not have died at an earlier...
Debranching of [beta]-Dextrins to Explore Branching Patterns of Amylopectins from Three Maize Genotypes
; ...pattern is a fundamental feature of AP fine structure but a little-studied one. In this work...approach to characterize amylopectin (AP) fine structure. However, the CL distribution does...limitation on the understanding of AP fine structure has received relatively little attention...
Reader Hails California System of Imposing High Fines for Traffic Violations
; ...Northern California and could not help but notice the greater fine structure. Violating toll booth fares ensured a minimum fine of $100...are here. David W. Jernigan Lovettsville The key here is a fine structure that is so severe it nearly eliminates violators, as in...
The Fe^sup 2+^ Site of Photosynthetic Reaction Centers Probed by Multiple Scattering X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy: Improving Structure Resolution in Dry Matrices
; ABSTRACT We report on the x-ray absorption fine structure of the Fe^sup 2+^ site in photosynthetic...contributions to the x-ray absorption fine structure function, we improved the structural...steps of the RC. The X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) represents the method of choice...