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PhD Proposal by Jared Batterman

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Name: Jared Batterman

School of Psychology Dissertation Proposal

Date: Monday, October 30, 2017

Time: 3:00 pm

Location: JS Coon bldg. 150

 

 Advisor:

Professor Bruce Walker, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

 

Dissertation Committee Members:

Professor Richard Catrambone, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Professor Jamie Gorman, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Professor Camille Peres, Ph.D. (Texas Tech)

Professor John Stasko, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Title: Understanding the Misunderstanding: Why Confidence Intervals are Poorly Understood and Evaluating Proposed Solutions across Sensory Modalities

The error bar representation of a confidence interval is the most ubiquitous display of uncertainty in statistical analysis.  However, despite this, it is poorly understood even by seasoned scientists and researchers across disciplines.  The root of this misunderstanding is not known, but researchers have posited several hypotheses ranging from the structure of the display itself to how it is presented in the classroom.  Studies have thus far been either incomplete or inconclusive, leading some to call for the elimination of the display entirely.  However, research into statistics education (suggesting the error bar representation may not even be taught in contemporary classrooms) demonstrates that a lack of exposure in an educational setting may contribute to the displays’ poor level of discernment.  Furthermore, promising research into auditory uncertainty displays suggests that it may be that sound is a better medium to present this information than vision.  The proposed studies will investigate the efficacy of the error bar representation of the confidence interval, the effect of exposure to the display, and the viability of potential visual and auditory alternatives derived from a thorough review and application of the literature.  Additionally, the studies will evaluate participants’ confidence and level of statistical experience to determine what, if any, effect that has on their performance.  Finally, the auditory uncertainty displays created will be evaluated with participants with visual impairments to investigate their ability to convey similar information to that presented in visual confidence interval representations.

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Tatianna Richardson
  • Created:10/25/2017
  • Modified By:Tatianna Richardson
  • Modified:10/25/2017

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