[nabs-l] Statistics Course

Katie Wang bunnykatie6 at gmail.com
Sun Nov 13 02:39:15 UTC 2011


Hi Greg,
In addition to the on-line resources Arielle referred to, I would also
like to mention that Microsoft Excel actually has a variety of
built-in statistical functions. It doesn't run t-tests or ANOVAs, but
it does allow you to look up the p-value of a particular z-score or
vice versa. You can also use it to look up critical values on the f or
t distribution after inputting the specific degrees of freedom you
want.
Hope this helps!
Katie


On 11/12/11, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Greg,
> I found an online table of critical values for the T-statistic at
> http://www.jeremymiles.co.uk/misc/tables/t-test.html
> That is the most common table you'll use. You can also go to
> www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/index.cfm
> and do the following:
> 1. Select the third option, "statistical distributions and
> interpreting p-vvalues".
> 2. Select the second option, "calculate z, f, t, or chi-square from a
> probability".
> 3. To find the critical value for z, enter your alpha level (it will
> usually be .05) in the "probability" box and click "compute z". To
> find the critical value for a T-test, enter your alpha level in the
> "probability" box as above and your degrees of freedom in the "df"
> box, and then click "compute t".
> If what you are needing to do is to find the probability for a given z
> or t-statistic, go to graphpad as above, select "statistical
> distributions and interpreting p-values" as above. Then select the
> first option, "calculate p from z, t, f, or chi-square". Enter the z
> or t-statistic you have in the relevant box and click "compute p from
> z" or "compute p from t" accordingly. The calculator will tell you the
> probability.
> I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if I misunderstood what you
> need to do with the critical value table or if my suggestions don't
> work.
> Best,
> Arielle
>
> On 11/12/11, Icewolf <icewolf2011 at gtwebdesign.us> wrote:
>> Hello Arielle,
>> I am taking an introductory stats course.  Do you know of a good online
>> source for the critical value table that reads well with JAWS?  The one
>> in my book is kinda hard to follow.  This stats stuff can be confusing.
>> I am onto probabilities at the moment now.
>> Thanks,
>> Greg Wocher
>>
>>
>> Yesterday is forever gone, tomorrow may never come, today is the day of
>> all
>> days.
>>
>>
>> On 11/12/2011 12:49 PM, Arielle Silverman wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>> As I said, I have taken two undergraduate and two graduate statistics
>>> courses. I agree that Braille textbooks are ideal, but I don't think
>>> Braille is the only way to learn the material. In fact, due to
>>> resource limitations at my university and some philosophical
>>> disagreements I had with my DSS office, I never had a Braille stats
>>> textbook, and I still did well in the course. For the first course I
>>> used E-text, and for the second course I used a recorded book from
>>> RFBD (now Learning Ally) on one of those old analog audiocassettes.
>>> Believe it or not, I had a better experience with the audio textbook
>>> than I did with the E-text, because some formulas and equations don't
>>> read properly with JAWS, but the RFBD reader was great at reading
>>> formulas and equations and describing diagrams. The secret when using
>>> an audio textbook is to take detailed notes, preferably in Braille on
>>> a slate or with a refreshable Braille notetaker like a Braille Note or
>>> Pac Mate. Copy down all the formulas you hear verbatim, so you can
>>> make yourself your own Braille equation book or file to study. Don't
>>> worry about proper Nemeth code; the key is to write it down in a way
>>> that makes sense to you, and that you can refer back to later. The
>>> same notetaking method is invaluable to use in class. In
>>> graduate-level stats, the textbook was optional and almost identical
>>> to the lecture material. I had a PDF copy of the text, but never read
>>> beyond the first chapter. (My sighted boyfriend didn't read the
>>> textbook either, and got a better grade in the class than I did :).
>>> I did my stats homework assignments on a regular computer in MS-Word,
>>> but used my Braille Note as a notepad to copy down data sets and to
>>> perform computations. Doing homework assignments on the Braille Note
>>> itself is also an option, although making your answers legible to a
>>> sighted grader requires some computer Braille knowledge, so I
>>> preferred to write my answers on the computer.
>>> Regarding an accessible stats calculator: again, I would recommend
>>> www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/index.cfm
>>> It will do most introductory stat functions, is completely accessible,
>>> and is Web-based, so it can be used on your personal computer without
>>> having to purchase software. Despite the name, it is not graphical. In
>>> fact, I learned about it when I was a TA for a research methods course
>>> and my professor preferred teaching it rather than having our students
>>> learn a software application. If you are about to enroll in stats, I
>>> would suggest asking your professor if you can use Graphpad instead of
>>> whatever software program the rest of the class is using. If you are
>>> doing more advanced statistics work or analyzing your own data, you
>>> may want to invest in a software program. Both SAS and R are
>>> accessible, and R is free. (SPSS is more commonly used, but I have had
>>> some accessibility issues with it myself and I have heard conflicting
>>> things about whether newer versions are accessible). As a graduate
>>> student I got my department to buy and renew my SAS license so I can
>>> analyze my data, and I imagine most departments should be able to
>>> provide this accommodation especially if you are on a graduate student
>>> stipend.
>>> Finally, regarding those pesky graphs and diagrams: In my experience,
>>> graphs and diagrams are just one tool for understanding statistical
>>> concepts. Statistics itself is not a graphical field; performing
>>> statistical analyses requires the application of mathematical formulas
>>> but not the interpretation of graphs. Stats is taught to sighted
>>> students in a graphical way because this is the way many sighted
>>> people prefer to learn, but it is just one way of communicating the
>>> conceptual knowledge. Some blind students find the graphs helpful,
>>> while other blind students prefer to focus on the formulas and the
>>> mathematical side of things. Once you get beyond the first month of
>>> the course, it is mostly about doing a calculation and seeing if the
>>> number you get is greater than or less than another number you find in
>>> a table (called the critical value). This is relatively
>>> straightforward and requires no graphical information. By all means,
>>> though, if you are having trouble following the course or think a
>>> graph would be helpful, you should talk to your professor or teaching
>>> assistant in their office hours, or hire a tutor. Most professors and
>>> TA's would love to get more office-hour visits than they generally get
>>> in a semester.
>>> Again, I would be happy to talk one-on-one with anybody who is doing
>>> statistics or social science research, or to present about techniques
>>> for stats and research (including online and library research) at a
>>> NABS conference call or breakout session. Some of this stuff is better
>>> explained in person, but it is all important and relevant to most
>>> blind college students at some point in your career.
>>> Best,
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>> On 11/8/11, Marsha Drenth<marsha.drenth at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>> I am currently enrolled in a statistics course. My college brailled the
>>>> necessary parts of the book that I needed. I could have not done it
>>>> without
>>>> the book being brailled. So if I were to say the things that will make
>>>> you
>>>> successful in a statistics course, are: brailled book, accessible
>>>> statistic
>>>> calculater, and perhaps a tutor that can help you understand the
>>>> graphics,
>>>> diagrams and the like. I would say, you will need to push your college
>>>> or
>>>> university to Braille the book. Don't give up, because they will and can
>>>> do
>>>> it. Mine said they could not, but I made a good case in that it would
>>>> help
>>>> me understand the materials better.
>>>>
>>>> Good luck!
>>>> Marsha
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf
>>>> Of Miranda Morse
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 2:13 PM
>>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Statistics Course
>>>>
>>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>>
>>>> For those of you have taken statistics, what is the best way to go about
>>>> doing that?
>>>>
>>>> Should I get the book in braille, hire a reader, or has anyone
>>>> successfully
>>>> used a PDF format for this course.
>>>>
>>>> Miranda
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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