Exercises

Here are a few exercises for you to practise and revise the concepts learned in this chapter:

• Read about data-dredging and p-hacking. Why is it dangerous not to formulate a hypothesis, set an alpha level, and set a sample size before collecting data and analyzing results?

• Use the library(help="datasets")command to find a list of datasets that R has already inbuilt. Pick a few interesting ones and form a hypothesis about each one. Rigorously define your null and alternative hypotheses before you start. Test those hypotheses even if it means learning about other statistical tests.

• How you might quantify the effect size of a one-way ANOVA? Look up eta-squared if you get stuck.

• In ethics, the doctrine of moral relativism holds that there are no universal moral truths, and that moral judgments are dependent upon one's culture or period in history. How can moral progress (the abolition of slavery, fairer trading practices) be reconciled with a relativistic view of morality? If there is no...