[nabs-l] Statistics Course

Sun Nov 13 04:33:34 UTC 2011

Katie,
Do you know what the specific Excel formula is to compute a critical
value? I didn't know Excel could do that, but that could be a useful
command for many blind stats students. Of course, I don't recommend
that blind students use Excel to do things the sighted students need
to do by hand (like computing means and standard deviations) but Excel
could be a useful workaround when the sighted students have to look up
values in a table, since these tables aren't always fully accessible.
Best,
Arielle

On 11/12/11, Katie Wang <bunnykatie6 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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