The first thing one should understand about me is that I am not a fan of numbers. Frankly, numbers frighten me. I can count. In fact, I can do so in English, Japanese, Spanish and American Sign Language, thanks to living in so many different areas as a military spouse.
What I cannot do is take a bunch of numbers, put them in some kind of order, and make it seem as though it makes sense.
I am a current Deaf Education major, and have majored in English in the past. My specialty is in early childhood education, where the most math I have to do is adding two and two.
Imagine my natural apprehension when I was asked to download a trial of STATISTICA data analytics software, watch the first video from Getting Started with STATISTICA series, and recreate and learn from the scenarios that were given.
Immediately, the sweat beaded on my forehead. Writing is my forte. Numbers are, well, a foreign language to me. I am NOT a statistician!
The good news is....I don't need to be a statistician to learn what STATISTICA is all about - even I can do it.
In the first video, I learned the different functions of STATISTICA. I was taught to use data from a “memory experiment,” in which I learned the basic function of a macro, how to find total variables, and convert that data into a graph. The video, being clear and concise in its function, enabled me, a hater of numbers, to easily navigate the software.
I may have possibly had a small celebration for myself during this revelation.
There are nine more videos for me to watch, to gain knowledge from and jot down my experiences. While I may never be a statistician, knowing that I do have the tools and assistance with STATISTICA is a fantastic start.
But, I still think numbers are scary.
Writing about random analytic topics...