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PubMed1999

A case study report on integrating statistics, problem-based learning, and computerized data analysis.

This paper addresses the pedagogical advantages of teaching statistics not as a stand-alone subject in itself, but rather as a topic integrated into teaching hands-on, problem-based computer-assisted data analysis. For over 10 years, such a two-term course has been taught at Drexel University in lieu of the usual statistics courses formerly taken by undergraduate majors in psychology and sociology. One virtue of the courses as currently implemented is that students seem to learn not just how to perform statistical procedures but how to apply them on their own.

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Physicians' prescriptions of tranquilizers and tranquilizer abuse.

The abuse of tranquilizers is recognized as a major health problem. A substantial number of qualitative studies have suggested that the prescribing practices of physicians are at least partly responsible for the problem. Yet there is still a need to test this contention statistically. This paper tests the strength of the relationship over time between physicians' prescriptions of tranquilizers and tranquilizer abuse. Data on physicians' prescriptions are based on projections calculated by the National Disease and Therapeutic Index (NDTI). Data on tranquilizer abuse are based on emergency room episodes reported to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). The correlation between physicians' tranquilizer prescriptions and tranquilizer abuse is found to be .46 (significant at the .05 level), after controlling for serial correlations in the data.

Adult↗