Stat-403/Stat-650 : Intermediate Sampling and Experimental Design ...
Stat-403/Stat-650 : Intermediate Sampling and Experimental Design ...
Stat-403/Stat-650 : Intermediate Sampling and Experimental Design ...
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session where both could modify inputs to an animated graphicaloutput that was the solution of a set of equations. Collaborationon statistical modeling at a distance would be a similar task.Although many statstical packages provide a form of spreadsheetfor data entry <strong>and</strong> manipulation, these are often poor imitationsof general spreadsheet capabilities. Using st<strong>and</strong>ardizedfile formats, members of a team of users should be able eachto choose the tools they find most suited to their needs <strong>and</strong>tastes without fearing platform or file-format conversion difficulties.Dissociating information content from the tools usedto process it allows customization for individual productivitywhile maintaining group progress. For example, using ssconvertfrom Gnumeric allows me to move datasets <strong>and</strong> outputsback <strong>and</strong> forth easily between spreadsheets <strong>and</strong> R.The growth of Web-based applications <strong>and</strong> interfaces permitsmultiple, small, easily linked statistical applications to work onst<strong>and</strong>ardized files. The building blocks exist now, are relativelystraightforward to program, <strong>and</strong> are usually platform independentas a bonus. Even on a local machine a Web interface is aconvenient way to build a graphical front-end to a set of simple,possibly non-windowed applications (Nash <strong>and</strong> Wang 2003).The three themes here—collaboration over distance <strong>and</strong> time,st<strong>and</strong>ardized files, <strong>and</strong> Web interfaces—are complementary toeach other <strong>and</strong> to spreadsheet use for selected statistical purposes.7. CONCLUSIONMy goal has been to highlight several technological developmentsin spreadsheets <strong>and</strong> computational practice that promiseimprovement in statistical data processing. A decade ago, Iwarned against spreadsheet use for any statistical application.Now I see the possibility of some useful, low-risk statisticalapplications of spreadsheets. Furthermore, statisticians, ratherthan complaining about the faults of spreadsheets, can becomeinsiders to open-source software projects that let them improvetheir own tools <strong>and</strong> the ways they use them.REFERENCESAdler, A., <strong>and</strong> Nash, J. C. (2004), “Knowing What was Done: Uses of aSpreadsheet Log File,” Spreadsheets in Education. Available online at http:// www.sie.bond.edu.au/ articles/ 1.2/ AdlerNash.pdf .Adler, A., Nash, J. C., Noël, S. (2006), “Evaluating <strong>and</strong> Implementing a CollaborativeOffice Document System,” Interacting with Computers, 18, 665–682.Brethour, P. 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