Patrick Runkel

Statistical communication specialist, teacher, author

Patrick Runkel is a statistical communication specialist at Minitab LLC. He’s spent most of his professional life teaching and writing about mathematics—from helping kids divide fractions in elementary school to helping Ph.D. researchers apply logistic regression analysis in their fields. In The Minitab Blog he likes to focus on mining and presenting statistical “gems” giving you quick practical insights about statistics.

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 12:02
Benthic Invertebrates Gone Wild! Case study: Using statistics to estimate stream quality
Tue, 04/16/2013 - 10:53
As we click, flip, and scroll through hundreds of sites and channels, cruising for our daily dose of e-thrills, it’s easy to forget there’s a beautiful, wild, creative universe right in our backyards. I had the chance to experience a tiny part of…
Rethinking the Obvious How data analysis and diagrams can upend conventional wisdom
Thu, 03/21/2013 - 09:51

Has this happened to you? You organize a brainstorming session to analyze your process. At the kick-off meeting, several people sit with arms crossed, lips pursed, eyes cast downward. Frequently, they’re the ones who’ve worked at the process…
What Makes Great Presidents and Good Models? It depends on predictors, correlation—oh, and your opinion
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 10:39
If the title of this post made you think you’d be reading about Abraham Lincoln and Tyra Banks, you’re only half right. A few weeks ago, statistician and journalist Nate Silver published an interesting post on how U.S. presidents are ranked by…
Violations of the Assumptions for Linear Regression, Part 3 Day 3: The trial of Lionel Loosefit
Mon, 01/21/2013 - 16:54
Lionel Loosefit is on trial for violating the assumptions of regression analysis. During day one the prosecution presented evidence showing that the errors in Loosefit’s model were not normally distributed. During day two, the evidence was put to…
Violations of the Assumptions for Linear Regression, Part 2 Day 2: The trial of Lionel Loosefit
Tue, 01/08/2013 - 12:06
In this multi-part transcript from a hypothetical trial, we find Lionel Loosefit standing before a court and facing charges of gross statistical misconduct when performing a regression analysis. Day one featured testimony by the prosecutor; during…
Violations of the Assumptions for Linear Regression, Part 1 Day 1: The trial of Lionel Loosefit
Tue, 01/08/2013 - 11:55
In this three-part transcript from a hypothetical trial, we find Lionel Loosefit standing before a court and facing charges of gross statistical misconduct when performing a regression analysis. Day one features testimony by the prosecutor; during…
Probit Analysis: Down Goes the Meathouse! Everything has its breaking point
Mon, 12/03/2012 - 13:26
Whenever something suddenly fell apart, my grandfather used to exclaim, “Down goes the meathouse!” I don’t know where that expression came from—as a child I often pictured a flabby house of raw meat caving in on itself. This was decades before Lady…
Teach Yourself to Fish Using Sample Data Sets Two methods for quick and useful results
Thu, 09/27/2012 - 16:42
You know the famous proverb: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." It's especially true when you're casting your line for statistics. When I first started using Minitab Statistical…
Mayberry, Ppk: Episode 1 Making intuitive sense of capability output
Mon, 08/27/2012 - 11:32
In this episode, Sheriff Andy Taylor uses cars and parking spaces to explain process capability to Deputy Barney Fife.
Sheriff Taylor: What's wrong, Barney?
Barney: Someone spilled alphabet soup all over my capability output! Wait till I…
Trashmaniacs! Plotting Against Waste With time series, Pareto, and pie charts
Wed, 08/01/2012 - 11:45
Muntasir Mamun and Mohammad Ujjal are riding across the United States on a bicycle built for two. As they pedal in sync from Seattle to New York, they’re not only gazing at our purple mountains’ majesty and amber waves of grain. They’re also keeping…