The Method of Multiple Hypotheses


Book Description

This book illustrates the method of multiple hypotheses with detailed examples and describes the limitations facing all methods (including the method of multiple hypotheses) as the means for constructing knowledge about nature. Author Charles Reichardt explains the method of multiple hypotheses using a range of real-world applications involving the causes of crime, traffic fatalities, and home field advantage in sports. The book describes the benefits of utilizing multiple hypotheses and the inherent limitations within which all methods must operate because all conclusions about nature must remain tentative and forever subject to revision. Nonetheless, the book reveals how the method of multiple hypotheses can produce strong inferences even in the face of the inevitable uncertainties of knowledge. The author also explicates some of the most foundational ideas in philosophy of science including the notions of the underdetermination of theory by data, the Duhem-Quine thesis, and the theory-ladenness of observation. This book will be important reading for advanced undergraduates, graduates, and professional researchers across the social, behavioral, and natural sciences wanting to understand this method and how to apply it to their field of interest.




The Method of Multiple Hypotheses


Book Description

This book illustrates the method of multiple hypotheses with detailed examples and describes the limitations facing all methods (including the method of multiple hypotheses) as the means for constructing knowledge about nature. Author Charles Reichardt explains the method of multiple hypotheses using a range of real-world applications involving the causes of crime, traffic fatalities, and home field advantage in sports. The book describes the benefits of utilizing multiple hypotheses and the inherent limitations within which all methods must operate because all conclusions about nature must remain tentative and forever subject to revision. Nonetheless, the book reveals how the method of multiple hypotheses can produce strong inferences even in the face of the inevitable uncertainties of knowledge. The author also explicates some of the most foundational ideas in philosophy of science including the notions of the underdetermination of theory by data, the Duhem-Quine thesis, and the theory-ladenness of observation. This book will be important reading for advanced undergraduates, graduates, and professional researchers across the social, behavioral, and natural sciences wanting to understand this method and how to apply it to their field of interest.




Complex Population Dynamics


Book Description

Why do organisms become extremely abundant one year and then seem to disappear a few years later? Why do population outbreaks in particular species happen more or less regularly in certain locations, but only irregularly (or never at all) in other locations? Complex population dynamics have fascinated biologists for decades. By bringing together mathematical models, statistical analyses, and field experiments, this book offers a comprehensive new synthesis of the theory of population oscillations. Peter Turchin first reviews the conceptual tools that ecologists use to investigate population oscillations, introducing population modeling and the statistical analysis of time series data. He then provides an in-depth discussion of several case studies--including the larch budmoth, southern pine beetle, red grouse, voles and lemmings, snowshoe hare, and ungulates--to develop a new analysis of the mechanisms that drive population oscillations in nature. Through such work, the author argues, ecologists can develop general laws of population dynamics that will help turn ecology into a truly quantitative and predictive science. Complex Population Dynamics integrates theoretical and empirical studies into a major new synthesis of current knowledge about population dynamics. It is also a pioneering work that sets the course for ecology's future as a predictive science.




Understanding Statistics and Experimental Design


Book Description

This open access textbook provides the background needed to correctly use, interpret and understand statistics and statistical data in diverse settings. Part I makes key concepts in statistics readily clear. Parts I and II give an overview of the most common tests (t-test, ANOVA, correlations) and work out their statistical principles. Part III provides insight into meta-statistics (statistics of statistics) and demonstrates why experiments often do not replicate. Finally, the textbook shows how complex statistics can be avoided by using clever experimental design. Both non-scientists and students in Biology, Biomedicine and Engineering will benefit from the book by learning the statistical basis of scientific claims and by discovering ways to evaluate the quality of scientific reports in academic journals and news outlets.




Wavelets and Statistics


Book Description

Despite its short history, wavelet theory has found applications in a remarkable diversity of disciplines: mathematics, physics, numerical analysis, signal processing, probability theory and statistics. The abundance of intriguing and useful features enjoyed by wavelet and wavelet packed transforms has led to their application to a wide range of statistical and signal processing problems. On November 16-18, 1994, a conference on Wavelets and Statistics was held at Villard de Lans, France, organized by the Institute IMAG-LMC, Grenoble, France. The meeting was the 15th in the series of the Rencontres Pranco-Belges des 8tatisticiens and was attended by 74 mathematicians from 12 different countries. Following tradition, both theoretical statistical results and practical contributions of this active field of statistical research were presented. The editors and the local organizers hope that this volume reflects the broad spectrum of the conference. as it includes 21 articles contributed by specialists in various areas in this field. The material compiled is fairly wide in scope and ranges from the development of new tools for non parametric curve estimation to applied problems, such as detection of transients in signal processing and image segmentation. The articles are arranged in alphabetical order by author rather than subject matter. However, to help the reader, a subjective classification of the articles is provided at the end of the book. Several articles of this volume are directly or indirectly concerned with several as pects of wavelet-based function estimation and signal denoising.




Large-Scale Inference


Book Description

We live in a new age for statistical inference, where modern scientific technology such as microarrays and fMRI machines routinely produce thousands and sometimes millions of parallel data sets, each with its own estimation or testing problem. Doing thousands of problems at once is more than repeated application of classical methods. Taking an empirical Bayes approach, Bradley Efron, inventor of the bootstrap, shows how information accrues across problems in a way that combines Bayesian and frequentist ideas. Estimation, testing and prediction blend in this framework, producing opportunities for new methodologies of increased power. New difficulties also arise, easily leading to flawed inferences. This book takes a careful look at both the promise and pitfalls of large-scale statistical inference, with particular attention to false discovery rates, the most successful of the new statistical techniques. Emphasis is on the inferential ideas underlying technical developments, illustrated using a large number of real examples.




Lean UX


Book Description

UX design has traditionally been deliverables-based. Wireframes, site maps, flow diagrams, content inventories, taxonomies, mockups helped define the practice in its infancy.Over time, however, this deliverables-heavy process has put UX designers in the deliverables business. Many are now measured and compensated for the depth and breadth of their deliverables instead of the quality and success of the experiences they design. Designers have become documentation subject matter experts, known for the quality of the documents they create instead of the end-state experiences being designed and developed.So what's to be done? This practical book provides a roadmap and set of practices and principles that will help you keep your focus on the the experience back, rather than the deliverables. Get a tactical understanding of how to successfully integrate Lean and UX/Design; Find new material on business modeling and outcomes to help teams work more strategically; Delve into the new chapter on experiment design and Take advantage of updated examples and case studies.




Psychology of Intelligence Analysis


Book Description

In this seminal work, published by the C.I.A. itself, produced by Intelligence veteran Richards Heuer discusses three pivotal points. First, human minds are ill-equipped ("poorly wired") to cope effectively with both inherent and induced uncertainty. Second, increased knowledge of our inherent biases tends to be of little assistance to the analyst. And lastly, tools and techniques that apply higher levels of critical thinking can substantially improve analysis on complex problems.




Multiple Testing Problems in Pharmaceutical Statistics


Book Description

Useful Statistical Approaches for Addressing Multiplicity IssuesIncludes practical examples from recent trials Bringing together leading statisticians, scientists, and clinicians from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and regulatory agencies, Multiple Testing Problems in Pharmaceutical Statistics explores the rapidly growing area of multiple c




Introduction to Robust Estimation and Hypothesis Testing


Book Description

"This book focuses on the practical aspects of modern and robust statistical methods. The increased accuracy and power of modern methods, versus conventional approaches to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression, is remarkable. Through a combination of theoretical developments, improved and more flexible statistical methods, and the power of the computer, it is now possible to address problems with standard methods that seemed insurmountable only a few years ago"--