Suggestions for Your Nonparametric Statistics Course

Abstract

Nonparametric methods form an integral part of many degree programs and concentrations in statistics. In this article a number of useful approaches are suggested to aid the instructor of a nonparametric statistics course. These include ideas for classroom presentations, projects, writing components, student-generated data, and computing. Each suggestion is discussed in the context of nonparametric methods instruction. These techniques help students develop an appreciation for the field of nonparametric statistics and the broad range of its applications in practice. Appendices include a partially annotated bibliography of textbooks and monographs from the field of nonparametric statistics and a collection of Minitab macros.

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher's website.

• Assumptions
• Computing
• Distribution-free
• Pedagogy
• Rank-based procedures
• Projects
• Software for teaching statistics
• Student-generated data
• Writing

Acknowledgements

The author expresses appreciation to his students for their valuable contribution to the material presented here. Special recognition also goes to Walter R. Pirie and Jeffrey D. Vest for their assistance in developing and testing, respectively, the programs in Appendix B, and for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The editor of the Journal of Statistics Education and three referees made suggestions which invigorated an earlier version of this article.