Quantitude

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg talk about creating collectible trading cards for some of our favorite philosophers of science and the impact each has had on how we think about the practice of research. Along the way, they also discuss goose mating calls, collapsed sinuses, Riverdance!, Comfortably Numb, Pikachu and Jigglypuff, the back of Andrea Howard’s car, pseudoscience, ad hoc immunizing maneuvers, Well duh, read...

In this In the Wild episode, Patrick and Greg conclude their unexpected cluster of college-themed conversations by turning their Quantitude loose on the ultimate question: is college worth it. In particular, they discuss how the multi-layered, individualized, and ever-changing nature of a college education make this question especially tricky to answer. 

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In this week's episode Greg and Patrick have a wonderful time talking about qualitative research methods with Emily Namey. Emily has dedicated her entire career to qualitative research and she helps them better understand what it is, what it can do, and how it plays a critical role in understanding the complexities of human behavior. Along the way they also discuss rushing to and from LA, human heads, social props, gold stars, cut ...

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick follow-up their previous discussion of time-varying covariates with a conversation about methods for modeling the simultaneous development in two or more constructs over time. Along the way, they also discuss back tattoos, right lane closures, 49.5 lb luggage, Clear, the United lounge, Sharpies, Neo, the Urfdedurfdedingerdonger, living with mommy or daddy, Hairballs of Science, selfish bastar...

In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick have great fun talking about the inclusion of time-varying covariates within growth models. They differentiate time invariant from time varying predictors, explore how these are differentially incorporated in the MLM and SEM, and conclude with both the strengths and the limitations of these models in practice. Along the way they also discuss Herb Alpert, incessant complaining, downtown Charl...

In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick magically find themselves at trivia night in the Rusty Mackerel pub in Teelin, Ireland, where a secret celebrity trivia master puts them on the spot to test their knowledge of statistics and statisticians. Along the way they also discuss St. Paprikash, no back story, Hooker Oklahoma, The Karate Kid 2 soundtrack, the fourth wall, magically delicious, tau or taw, taco inception, Ted 2, the ESP...

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg talk with Ken Bollen who is a Professor of Psychology and Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to exploring topics including home made rockets, sitars, and Jimi Hendrix, Ken talks with them about his brand new book Elements of Structural Equation Models and how he aspired to capture the many recent developments in SEM that have occurred since his monumenta...

In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick discuss the decades-old method of the regression discontinuity design and describe how, when properly applied, this approach can strengthen our causal inferences when using quasi-experimental data. Along the way they also discuss Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor, playing barefoot darts, gaming the system, I see dead people, Googling age cut-offs, Van Halen's "Jump", Zoom calls in class, senior disco...

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick talk, for the third time, about power analysis, drawing on a recent paper by Greg and Yi Feng at UCLA, that reminds us how little we actually know when sample size planning, and then offers a concrete, cautious strategy for planning in the face of that uncertainty. Along the way they also mention Punxsutawney Phil, acknowledgments, bold ass titles, dark matter, driving angry, crystal balls, N...

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg explore the incredibly cool possibilities offered by the time-varying effects model as a non-parametric alternative to the more restrictive time-varying covariate model. Along the way they also mention North Dakota, Cal Ripken Jr., pre-gaming, not trying to be funny, left lane guy, Walker Texas Ranger, smelling toast, Bob Ross, hearing sirens, muu-muus, petulant teenagers, two old men, boing ...

This week's episode is the seventh annual Quantitude Holiday Special, but because Greg and Patrick both forgot to get each other something, they frantically regift one another some of their favorite sponsors from prior episodes. Along the way they also discuss Quantitude Studio A, two foot tall porcelain penguins, electric bug zappers, personalized cutting boards, balls dropping, Sir Francis Galton, Brad Pitt, the two people who ac...

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg have fun exploring the questionably valid but always high stakes role of the grade point average, of GPA. They consider the different ways in which grades can be assigned, what they may or may not actually represent, and how they have become increasingly inflated over time. Along the way, they also discuss not being agnostic, math vs. sociology, avoiding homework, eye patches, participation c...

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg talk about latent transition analysis, which embeds latent class analysis within a longitudinal context, allowing us to explore, as well as to formally test, patterns of individual change in latent class membership over time. Along the way they also mention: identity crises, the crossword puzzler, the nihilist, here comes the asteroid, deck chairs and floating doors, grizzled 25-year-olds, bu...

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick discuss the amazing world of the empirical bootstrap. They start with inferential testing using business as usual, describe where that quickly runs into problems, and explore where bootstrapping does and, importantly, does not help move us forward. Along the way they also discuss midnight in Bangkok, the awe of a 747, the Wright Brothers, what's your point, sampling a crappy sample, indulging...

In this week's episode, Patrick and Greg have a lovely conversation with Jeremy Miles, a quantitative methodologist who has worked in both academic and industry settings. Jeremy draws on his own extensive experiences to describe what an industry job is like and how one can prepare to move into this type of position. Along the way they also discuss sub-conning expertise, mystery companies, Americans’ mispronunciations, Quantit...

In this week's episode, as we head into the academic job season, Patrick and Greg offer some well-meaning advice about one of the most important aspects of an on-site interview, the academic job talk. Along the way they also mention the changing of the cactus needles, Colon Blow, big pumpkin, cutting out job ads, the job talk bagel bar, waiting for Wisconsin, y-hat forever, hold my beer, hello Cleveland, toilet inspirations, Olympi...