How to ask a statistics question

To get a good answer, you must write a good question. Answering a statistics question without context is like boxing blindfolded. You might knock your opponent out, or you might break your hand on the ring post.

What goes into a good question?

1.Tell us the PROBLEM you are trying to solve. That is, the substantive problem, not the statistical aspects.

2. Tell us what math and statistics you know. If you’ve had one course in Introductory Stat, then it won’t make sense for us to give you an answer full of mixed model theory and matrix algebra. On the other hand, if you’ve got several courses or lots of experience, then we can assume you know some basics.

3. Tell us what data you have, where it came from, what is missing, how many variables, what are the Dependent Variables (DVs) and Independent Variables (IVs) — if any, and anything else we need to know about the data. Also tell us which (if any) statistical software you use.

4. Are you thinking of hiring a consultant, or do you just want pointers in some direction?

5. THEN, and ONLY THEN tell us what you’ve tried, why you aren’t happy, and so on.