Week 7

Communicating Statistical Concepts

This week focuses on translating statistical concepts into clear, accessible explanations for collaborators. Effective consultants must communicate results accurately without overwhelming or oversimplifying.

By the end of this week you will be able to:

1. Explain common statistical concepts in clear, non-technical language.
2. Use structured techniques to tailor explanations to a collaborator's level of understanding.

Before Class

Project Progress

👥 Meet with your group and make progress on the following questions about your project:

• Comment on whether your data was in a format that is acceptable for analysis. Check variable names, variable types, and values within variables. Is the data set free of any extraneous information (e.g., notes, color formatting)? How many observations are there?
• Comment on the distributions of the variables you will use, providing measures of variation and central tendency. Comment on outliers or implausible values.
• Comment on any missingness in your variables. If present, how extensive is any missingness? Are missing values clearly denoted?

Communicating Results

📖 The Adept Method (8 minutes)

➤ Use a generative AI tool to explain a biostatistical concept using the ADEPT method.
Post a brief synopsis to the course Slack (no more than a couple sentences) of the concept that was chosen, the analogy that was made, and how well you think this analogy describes the concept.

📖 Communicating Statistics to Nonstatisticians (10 minutes)

➤ Which communication strategy did the author emphasize as most effective?

In Class

In breakout rooms, you will practice explaining statistical concepts using the ADEPT method. Your goal will be clarity — not technical precision.

Reflection

What is one habit you will adopt when explaining statistical results to a collaborator?

Supplemental Readings

📖 Twenty Five Analogies for Explaining Statistical Concepts (19 minutes)