Predicting the probability that something or someone will belong to a certain category (classification problems) is perhaps the oldest type of problem in analytics. Consider the category “repays loan.” Equifax, the oldest of the agencies that provides credit scores, was founded in 1899 as the Retail Credit Company by two brothers, Cator and Guy Woolford. Continue reading “Lift and Persuasion”
Blog
Going Beyond the Canary Trap
In 2008, Elon Musk was concerned about leaks of sensitive information at Tesla Motors. To catch the leaker, he prepared multiple unique versions of a new nondisclosure agreement he asked senior officers to sign. Whichever version got leaked would reveal the leak source. This is known as a “canary trap.” The canary trap only worksContinue reading “Going Beyond the Canary Trap”
Statistics.com Acquired by Elder Research
Feb 3: Statistics in Practice
In this week’s blog, we discuss our recent acquisition by Elder Research Inc. We also look at the “Canary Trap” and its connection to text mining. Our course spotlight is on Jan 31 to Feb 28: Text Mining using Python (still open for registrations, first assignment due in a week) Feb 28 -Mar 27: NaturalContinue reading “Feb 3: Statistics in Practice”
PRESS RELEASE: STATISTICS.COM ACQUIRED BY ELDER RESEARCH
Choosing the Right Analytics Problem
The “streetlight effect:” A man is looking for his keys under a streetlight. Policeman: “Where did you lose them?” Man: “In the alley, near the door to the bar.” Policeman: “Why are you looking here?” Man: “The light’s better.” This is related to the more general “Statistical Type 4 Error” – asking the wrong question, andContinue reading “Choosing the Right Analytics Problem”
Book Review: Mining Your Own Business by Gerhard Pilcher and Jeff Deal
This is a short book, Mining Your Own Business: A Primer for Executives on Understanding and Employing Data Mining and Predictive Analytics” befitting its intended audience – managers and executives with responsibility for data science and analytics projects. It outlines the requirements for success – not technical model success, but rather successful implementation in a way that buildsContinue reading “Book Review: Mining Your Own Business by Gerhard Pilcher and Jeff Deal”
Jan 29: Statistics in Practice + Announcement
This week we discuss the importance of choosing the right analytics problem, with a guest blog from Elder Research, Inc., a data science and analytics consulting and training company, with whom we have just joined forces. Our course spotlight is on: Feb 14 – Mar 13: Design of Experiments See you in class! – Peter Bruce, FounderContinue reading “Jan 29: Statistics in Practice + Announcement”
Jan 20: Statistics in Practice
This week’s Brief takes a look at ethical dilemmas in data science. Our course spotlight is on Feb 21 – Mar 20: Network Analysis See you in class! – Peter Bruce, Founder and President The Institute for Statistics Education at Statistics.com Ethical Dilemmas in Data Science Know those ads that follow you around the web,Continue reading “Jan 20: Statistics in Practice”
Ethical Dilemmas in Data Science
Know those ads that follow you around the web, as a result of tracking cookies? Many see them as an invasion of privacy, and EU rules made them subject to user consent. Google recently announced that Chrome will eventually stop supporting these cookies. A win for the consumer? Perhaps, but there is another side toContinue reading “Ethical Dilemmas in Data Science”
Kernel function
In a standard linear regression, a model is fit to a set of data (the training data); the same linear model applies to all the data. In local regression methods, multiple models are fit to different neighborhoods of the data. A kernel function is used to determine the contribution of the “neighborhood data” to theContinue reading “Kernel function”
Jan 13: Statistics in Practice
In this Brief, we look at prosaic, but lucrative applications of predictive analytics and forecasting to the automotive industry. Our spotlight is on our 3-course Predictive Analytics Mastery Series. Start this week with: Jan. 10 – Feb 7: Predictive Analytics 1 See you in class! – Peter Bruce, Founder and President The Institute forContinue reading “Jan 13: Statistics in Practice”
Industry Spotlight: Clinical Trials
“Complete Your Clinical Trial With Our File Data” Clinical trials that support new drug development can cost over a billion dollars. A new industry has popped up – data collectors and aggregators that provide digital data from their files as evidence in pharmaceutical clinical trials. The gold standard in a clinical trial is the randomizedContinue reading “Industry Spotlight: Clinical Trials”
Not Glamorous, But Lucrative
What do stormy days, weekend evenings, and the last day of the month have in common? They are all good times to negotiate a good price for a new car. Inclement days yield less customer traffic in auto showrooms, which is good for the buyer. Weekend evenings, just before closing time, may make sales peopleContinue reading “Not Glamorous, But Lucrative”
Jan 6: Statistics in Practice
Happy New Year! We are grateful for your continued support and appreciate your interest in learning more about statistics, analytics, and data science. In this new year, think of your learning as an investment both in the future of your company and your career. Below are courses, certificates, and pathways to help you get started. We’re available to help youContinue reading “Jan 6: Statistics in Practice”
Dec 30: Statistics in Practice
In this Brief, we take a look at the use of simulations as a tool to help sales people with a complex sale (high value, multiple aspects to consider). Our spotlight is on the 3-course Mastery Series in Optimization Research, which starts January 10 with: Jan 10 – Feb 7: Optimization with Linear Programming SeeContinue reading “Dec 30: Statistics in Practice”
Historical Spotlight: Statistical Analysis and Human Rights
Artificial intelligence and analytics have gotten some bad press recently, from the role that social media has played in fracturing and heightening divisions in democratic society to the “big brother” role that data mining and image recognition have played in China’s suppression of minorities. But statistical analysis has also long played a role in documenting,Continue reading “Historical Spotlight: Statistical Analysis and Human Rights”
Simulating the Complex Sale
Every 30 minutes a new business book is published; many of them purport to teach effective selling. Most of them make sense, but solid quantitative analysis is rarely on the front burner. This is strange, because effective selling requires demonstrating value. Sales professionals are taught to show components of value such as cost savings orContinue reading “Simulating the Complex Sale”
Historical Spotlight: Bell Labs and Statistics
95 years ago, Bell Labs was founded as a joint project of AT&T and Western Electric. Its primary mission was R&D for its parents’ fast-growing telecommunications businesses. Since that time, Bell Labs became a fabled American research institution, but also suffered the vicissitudes of trying to reconcile its orientation to basic research with the needsContinue reading “Historical Spotlight: Bell Labs and Statistics”
Analytics Meets the Cardboard Box
“Do you have a bag?“ or “Would you like a bag?” have become common parts of the brick-and-mortar retail transaction. Reusable bags, or simply doing without, have reduced the flow of plastic and paper into recycling. E-commerce is a different matter. I just unpacked a box of wine, and dealing with the protective spacers andContinue reading “Analytics Meets the Cardboard Box”