一篇据说充满统计谬误的例子

从博文（http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2005/03/lowess_is_great.html）的一段留言中举了一篇包括生态谬误等一系列统计谬误的文章，留言具体如下：

Further Googling of Martin Voracek would have turned up this gem: National intelligence and suicide rate: an ecological study of 85 countries.

Now here's an article that has it all in terms of statistical fallacies. He attempts to argue that intelligence is a causal factor for suicidality using the following methodology: Each country in the world is assigned an IQ and this national IQ is correlated with national reported suicide rates. It's really amazing - he's managed to incorporate the ecological fallacy, reporting bias, selection bias, profound confusion about the definition of IQ (a measure of intelligence relative to a typical individual), unmeasured confounders, terrible measurement methodology and just a generally goofy scientific approach, all in one bogus study! There should be an award for this.

Posted by: js at December 20, 2005 10:43 AM.

还没有细看这篇文章，等有机会好好琢磨一下这个反面教材。