One of my daughters gave me a very readable book by economist Charles Wheelan titled “naked statistics, Stripping the Dread from the Data”. She knew this would be too simple for me, but figured I might pick up some ways to explain statistics better, which I really appreciate. However, although I very much liked the way Wheelan keeps things simple and makes it fun, his book never did deliver any nuggets that could be mined for my teachings. Nevertheless, I do recommend “naked statistics” for anyone who is challenged by this subject. It helps that author is not a statistician. ; )
By the way, there is very little said in this book about experiment design. Wheelan mentions in his chapter on “Program Evaluation” the idea of a ‘natural experiment’, that is, a situation where “random circumstances somehow create something approximating a randomized, controlled experiment.” So far as I am concerned “natural” data (happenstance) and results from an experiment cannot be mixed, thus natural experiment is an oxymoron, but I get the point of exploiting an unusually clean contrast ripe for the picking. I only advise continued skepticism on any results that come from uncontrolled variables.*
*Wheelan cites this study in which the author, economist Adriana Lleras-Muney, made use of a ‘quasi-natural experiment’ (her term) to conclude that “life expectancy of those adults who reached age thirty-five was extended by an extra one and a half years just by their attending one additional year of school” (quote from Whelan). Really!?