Talk:Calc/To-Dos/Statistical Data Analysis Tool

some discussions about the content:

How to structure the content of the page

first, it should be discussed how it is structured. many of these tools will have more than a number as output. they will require some input, based on dialogs. .. and much more

Should it consist of multiple separate dialogs, or one dialog with tabbed pages? I personally prefer the multiple separate dialogs for different types of analyses. --Kohei 02:44, 24 June 2006 (CEST)

Which Methods?

• Tests
  • t-test
  • ANOVA
• Certain Distributions?
  • Poisson distribution
  • Gaussian distribution

Models

• linear

Comment from a User

Hi. I'm a biologist and a teacher. I am somewhat concerned by the plan shown in the Statistical Data Analysis Tool article. It looks like heavy emphasis is to be put on "modern methods." I have two concerns with this approach:

1. While it would be nice to have these implemented, I would hate to see them hold up production. The fact is that most users who turn to a spreadsheet for stats don't want to use "the latest."

Currently, the spreadsheet of choice for Introductory Statistics students is (naturally) MS Excel. Why? Because it handles all the basic tests, measures and procedures. Currently, OOO does not. As a result, Professors are making students go out and buy MS Office, when they should be showing them how cool OOO is!

In my humble opinion, the priority should be catching up with the functionality of Excel. We can work on advanced Bayesian Stats later. We also should focus equally on parametric and non-parametric methods, because they are both important. Each has its own utility.

2. Similarly, there is a suggestion that the help function should steer people away from the mean in favor of the median. I'm not sure that this is appropriate. Each has its use. We should try to indicate when each is useful, and when each is prone to error.

I must admit that I am not a programmer, but I do support OOO by using and recommending it. I cannot do this if the app does not perform the functions that are needed. I hope that this edit will be taken as constructive criticism, and as a plea for more good work. Thank you! --ericpaulkatz