Sunday, December 27, 2009

True Experimental Design


R O1 X O2
R O1 -- O2

There once was a research design
That look, on first glance, oh so fine
Yet it is stupidity
To view its validity
As chaste due to Rs on each line

For one thing, mere randomization
That's done to gain equalization
Of Es versus Cs
Gives no guarantees
That you'll have good gen'ralization

Results may, for instance, show all
That Es topped the Cs (with p small)
But if that full troop
Ain't your "target" group
Wide claims will lead to your downfall

Or X may work well for just some
While others to it are quite numb
The treatment's true fate
Depends on the trait
One needs if gains from X shall come

The one who rates subjects may know
Which Ss got treatment -- and so
Effect Rosenthal
May ruin it all
And truth from your study won't flow

If treatment is novel, each E
May first say "It's super for me!"
But as time goes by
E may think and sigh . . .
"No value in X do I see."

Or just the reverse can occur
With X thought at first to deter
But once acclimated
Es may be elated
And to X high marks they'll confer

Should hist'ry and X interact
'Tis true there is no artifact
But if replicated
You'll be decimated
By findings that prove inexact

The IV or DV may be
Reported not sufficiently
If later one tries to
Your study to redo
New findings may be what you'll see

If two or more studies are done
With Ss not used in just one
A treatment . . . its "grade"
May strengthen or fade
If only one study is done

A pretest or posttest may make
The E-group to X wide awake
O leads to creation
Of sensitization
And sans O the treatment won't take

The time from the X till O2
Is worthy of careful review
For if it's revised
When new plans devised
Fresh findings may seem quite askew

The subjects may be told or know
Observers are watching . . . and so
They'll work with great skill
But only until
The watchers stop watching and go

Or what if the subjects perceive
What YOU hope and want and believe
Unconscious or not
Like robots they'll trot
And data you want you'll receive

I hate now to sound so paternal
But we must move past threats "external"
More pitfalls there are
To rip, maim, and scar
And keep your work out of a journal

Should either X or O be thought
To deal with a construct that's "caught"
When such is not true
With "fit" that's askew
One's main claims won't be what they ought

Moreover, one should not assume
That stat work can't add to the gloom
Assumptions may be
False prima facie
And that makes the truth not illume

Or what if there's meager precision
Strong Xs you'll miss for poor "vision"
The Error Type II
Will hide truth from view
And you'll make an inapt decision

But what of those "internal" threats?
Are all tamed, like nicely trained pets?
If that rings as true
You've got learnin' to do
For Rs catch just some in their nets

For instance, take treatment diffusion
Which can make for lots of confusion
Should E give to C
All X that there be
You'll come to a faulty conclusion

Or what if the folks in the C-group
Think that they were put in a "B" group
They're demoralized
And you victimized
By "findings" as murky as pea soup

The converse may also take place
Cs saying, "We will win the race!"
Each tries like a kid
(John Henry once did!)
Yet this can one's findings debase

And what if there's subject attrition
Related to the X condition
It may just appear
That X was "in gear"
When that's just a sad apparition

Of course, there is further the chance
That someone may try to enhance
The plight of those in
The C-group wherein
Such help is a foul circumstance

And lastly consider the stew
You're in if on post Es construe
On DV their standing
As not so commanding
'Cause X brought respect for O2

By "lastly" I sure don't intend
To mean that one need not attend
To problems that have now
No label, yet somehow
They could wreck one's work in the end

The moral, I hope, is quite clear
The word "true" doth make it appear
That problems of import
Are all on the backcourt
When really they may lurk quite near!!!

--

Schuyler W. Huck

(1992)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

EVOLUTION

This is the 200th year after the world famous Darwin's theory of evolution was proposed. On this occasion, our department has conducted and is still conducting a series of lectures on this topic.

Whenever we go to Bangalore, we try to attend these lectures. (it is a different issue that we dont understand most of these lectutes!!) :(

This time, we were in Bangalore for Silver Jubilee Symposium of our department. Many alumni's, many former professors were gathered in the institute on this occasion. So many times, referance to the Darwin's theory of 'Evolution' in their talks was unavoidable.

As a consequence of this, we were constantly getting bombarded by all these concepts and terminologies and on the dining table also we used to discuss about all these talks and evolution theory. This leaded my friend to modify Darwin's theory of evolution.

So one day we were having discussion about something and all of a sudden she put this new approach in front of me which I would like to mention in her own words:

She said: " Look, millions of years ago, human being was taller than the human being today (today's human is said to be more evolved) as well as he was stronger; i.e, he must had more weight than the human today. And now, as I am shorter than you, and my weight is also low. So what does that mean???? It simply meand that I am more evolved than you!!!!!"

Then onwards, I always have to take a step back in case any argument starts, simply because I am less evolved than her!! :(

Saturday, September 19, 2009

SPECIAL.... JUST LIKE THAT !!!

19 sept '09
@ 10.30 am

काही काही दिवस असेच असतात. काहीच विशेष घडत नाही.. साधे सरळ ... तरीही खूप छान.. प्रसन्न !!!!आजचाही दिवस तसाच आहे. आताशी सकाळचे साडेदाहाच वाजताहेत.. पण तरीही खूप वेळ गेल्यासारखा वाटतोय.

कालच मीरा इकडे परत आलीये. गेल्या आठवडाभर ती नव्हती. त्यामुळे खूप वेगळंच वाटत होत. किती पटकन सवय होते न माणसाच्या असण्या किंवा नसण्याची?

आज आम्ही सक्काळी सक्काळी मारवाखंडी वर फिरायला गेलो. बऱ्याच दिवसानंतर तिकडे चक्कर टाकली. नेहमीप्रमाणे आजही मारवाखंडीने आम्हाला निराश केले नाही. प्रत्येक वेळचा देखावा वेगळा असतो.. प्रत्येक अनुभव नवा असतो.. तसाच आजचाही.. तसा नेहमी आम्ही संध्याकाळच्या वेळी जातो तिकडे फिरायला. कारण त्यावेळी प्राण्यांचे दर्शन होण्याशी शक्यता जास्त असते. पण गेले काही दिवस इथे दुपारनंतर इतका मुसळधार पाऊस पडतोय की बाहेर पडणं अशक्यच झालं होत जणू.. पण आज आता मस्तपैकी ऊन पडलंय.. पण वातावरणातला ओलावा अजूनही तसाच आहे..त्यामुळेच कदाचित आणखी छान, प्रसन्न वाटतंय ...!! म्हणूनच आम्ही आमची नेहमीची प्रथा मोडून सकाळी सक्काळी आमची पावले त्या दिशेला वळवली.

आज सगळी झाडे हिरवीगार वाटत होती.. तळ्यातल पाणी नितळ..स्वच्छ.. समोरचा निलगिरी धीरगंभीर.. शांत..ढग उतरले होते खूप.. ढगांमध्ये तो निम्मा अर्धा हरवून गेला होता जणू.. ध्यानस्थ ऋषीमुनींना आजूबाजूचं भान नसाव ना.. तसं..तो आपला आहे तसाच अचल, स्थिर.. सूर्यकिरणांमुळे एक आगळं तेज मिळालेलं सगळ्या देखाव्याला.. अचानक आम्हाला दूरवर काहीतरी दिसल.. थोडीशी हालचाल जाणवली. पाणवठ्यावर कुणीतरी आल होत. हरीण? नक्की नाही.. कारण एक म्हणजे हरणे शक्यतो कळपाने वावरतात. एकटीदुकटी हरणे आम्ही अजून तरी पहिली नाहीत. दुसरं म्हणजे त्याची चालही हरणासारखी भासली नाही (हरणे जशी तुरुतुरु आणि उड्या मारत चालतात तसा काही जाणवलं नाही) त्यामुळे तो बिबट्या किंवा वाघ असावा. जवळपास आठ दहा मिनिटे तो तिथे होता. पाणी पिऊन त्याने इकडे तिकडे केल.. आणि निवांतपणे चालत परत झाडीत शिरला.. आमच्याकडे नेमकी दुर्बीण नव्हती.. नाहीतर असं अंदाज बांधत नसत बसाव लागल! शेवटी तो निधून गेला आणि " आम्ही आज काहीतरी पाहिलं !! (?) " या आनंदात आम्ही परत फिरलो.

येतायेता नेहमीप्रमाणे गणपतीच्या देवळात गेलो. आज घट बसताहेत. आजपासून नवरात्र सुरु! म्हणून की काय कोण जाणे पण आज देवळात पण पूजा होती कसलीतरी. आज त्यांनी नवीन मुखवटा बसवला होता गणपतीला . फुलांनी, हारांनी सजवलेला गणपती जाताजाता आणखी मन प्रसन्न करून गेला. जणूकाही आजचा दिवस आनंदात जावो असा आशीर्वादच दिला त्याने!!

म्हणूनच तर.. फार काही special नसलेला, पण तरीही खास असा आजचा दिवस.. रोजचा दिवस असाच असता तर???????

Sunday, August 30, 2009

|| DREAMS ||

It happens with me all the time… I plan something about a particular thing or particular way… And that doesn’t happen at all.

And recently this happened again… And this time it is ‘MY FIRST SALARY’.

When I was a student (Well, I am still a student, I think!) I used to dream a lot about what I will do with my first salary, how I will spend it and for what. That’s the other thing that this planning used to change from time to time. But still, I decided many things with my first salary…

And now, when it is in my hand, I did nothing according to earlier planning. Why?

The strangest part is I did not have money in my hand immediately (of course from my salary) after it was actually deposited in the bank. I withdrew some money almost after 15 days!! And even after that I haven’t spent a single rupee from that for myself. Because I am back to Mudumalai’s jungle!

All my dreams, all my planning, have remained as a dream only.

“Life is something that happens to us while we were busy with planning other things!!’

Isn’t it very true?

Friday, August 14, 2009

about name..

The name which I have given to this blog is actually stolen (you can say derived) from a book named ‘MONKEY IN THE MIRROR’. Well, I will write about this book later because I haven’t read it completely.. and the key word ‘EVOLUTION’ which is what this book is all about, is still very difficult for me to digest. So let me have some more time for that.

Guess what!! This name which I like very much; gives me a funny imagination that I am looking into the mirror and my image in the mirror is very odd… like monkey itself.. exactly on the similar lines which is there on the front page of ‘MONKEY IN THE MIRROR’. (well, that’s about imagination, and I can still see my original image when I am actually in front of a mirror :D).

So this is all about the name of my blog. I wish I could scribble in it regularly and hope to improve my writing. (I just overheard that somebody said ‘my spellings are excellent but my typing is terrible’; so on similar lines I would say ‘thoughts which strike my mind are well but my English is terrible!!)