Preface

To the Student

The JMP™ Companion Manual introduces a new statistical technology, JMP, to the Workshop Statistics series. JMP dynamically links statistics and graphics, thereby affording users the opportunity to interactively explore data. Originally developed by the SAS Institute, Inc., for use on the Macintosh platform, subsequent releases of JMP have expanded to accommodate the Windows and Linux platforms. JMP’s functionality across these three platforms as well as its intuitive, easy-to-use graphical interface has made it a popular choice in academic and business environments.

JMP demonstrates a tremendous capacity for managing data sets, an enterprise that represents the bulk of the work done by professional statisticians. In JMP, this ability to manage data sets is coupled with a unique aptitude for simulating statistical processes and illustrating complex concepts graphically. It is important to remember that despite these significant conveniences no statistical software will relieve you of the need to think critically about the results any software package produces.

Supplement Workshop Statistics by Harnessing the Power of JMP

You will note that the whole of the Workshop Statistics parent text is not reproduced in this manual. The JMP Companion Manual really begins with the second Workshop Statistics topic; Topic 2 introduces you to JMP, enabling you to familiarize yourself with the software’s capabilities while using small data sets. The remaining topics included in this manual contain only the in-class and homework activities for which JMP can be used to perform data analysis.

In many cases JMP cannot be utilized to complete the entirety of a Workshop Statistics activity; often only parts of activities require the inclusion of JMP directions. In those cases, only those parts of the activities that profit from the incorporation of JMP have been included. Thus, you will need to refer both to the parent text and the JMP Companion Manual to complete in-class and homework activities. You will, however, need to mark your answers to the activities reproduced in this manual in your parent text. With the exception of Topic 2, this manual includes no space for you to respond to questions already posed in Workshop Statistics. In those few instances where the JMP Companion Manual incorporates questions new to the parent text, space has been provided for you to include your response.

Finally, as you work through the manual it will benefit you to review earlier topics. Many of the JMP functions described early on will be used in a variety of situations throughout the book. Consider noting key functions so that you may easily use them later in the course.

A Note on the JMP Software

The JMP software is available to users in two versions: JMP and JMP In. JMP is licensed annually to businesses, public organizations, and academic institutions. JMP In, on the other hand, is an academic version of JMP sold to students and instructors individually. The difference between the two versions relates to the level of technical support and capacity for upgrades—JMP In retains all the capabilities specific to the JMP software. Because a majority of students will be using the JMP In version of the software, all screen captures included in this Companion Manual have been made in the JMP In environment.

Additional Student Resources

Data files and scripts for the activities included in this manual can be found online at the Workshop Statistics Resource Center, www.keycollege.com/ws. You will also find answers to the in-class activities and a series of Java applets designed to deepen your understanding of statistical concepts at the online Resource Center.

This manual has been developed to familiarize you with an increasingly important statistical technology. It is my sincere hope that it will demonstrate the value of JMP as an ally in the statistical analysis of data while simultaneously deepening your understanding of statistics.

Christopher J. Lacke
Rowan University
Glassboro, New Jersey

To the Instructor

In the preface to the second edition of Workshop Statistics, Allan J. Rossman and Beth L. Chance stress the importance of using technology as a tool for analyzing data and exploring statistical concepts. The graphing calculator, Minitab®, and Fathom Dynamic Statistics™ versions of Workshop Statistics bear this out, attesting to the integral role statistical technology plays in the discovery-driven Workshop approach.

The Workshop Statistics JMP™ Companion Manual furthers the Workshop series’ commitment to the integration of statistical technologies, adapting activities featured in the parent text for use with the JMP software package. As in the Workshop Statistics texts that integrate the graphing calculator and statistical technologies, students are not expected to have previous experience with the technology (JMP). The JMP Companion Manual begins in earnest with Topic 2 of Workshop Statistics, which introduces students to the JMP software package, familiarizing them with the software’s capabilities as a tool for analyzing data. (Topic 1 does not contain any activities adaptable for use with JMP.)

Topics in the JMP Companion Manual correspond directly to those contained in Workshop Statistics, but the Companion Manual reproduces only the second topic from the parent text in its entirety. The remaining topics include only the in-class and homework activities adaptable for use with JMP. Students will therefore need to refer to the parent text as well as the Companion Manual in order to complete all required work.

Data files and scripts for the activities included in this manual can be found online at the Workshop Statistics Resource Center at www.keycollege.com/ws. In addition to the data files and scripts, a password-protected portion of the Resource Center provides instructors with solutions for the activities featured in the manual, as well as an addendum to the Workshop Statistics Instructor Resources, complete with suggestions for using the JMP Companion Manual with your students.

Is This Manual Consistent with the Workshop Approach?

The inclusion of instructions for completing in-class and homework activities with JMP may strike some as inconsistent with the discovery-based approach that distinguishes Workshop Statistics. Mindful of such possible criticism, I’ve been careful to revise activities in such a way that they integrate JMP-specific directions but do not inhibit student discovery.

As in the other technology-specific versions of Workshop Statistics, activities have been adapted to include instructions for using JMP without proscribing a standard approach for completing those activities. Moreover, as students work through topics and their familiarity with JMP grows, the overall amount of instruction decreases. The JMP Companion Manual, then, does not so much inhibit as facilitate student discovery, providing students with an opportunity for using a well-respected statistical technology to further their understanding of statistical concepts.

I hope you find this Companion Manual a useful tool for introducing your students to the JMP software package as well as an indispensable resource for augmenting their understanding of statistical concepts.