How to Get Away With Statistics: Gamification of Multivariate Statistics

Figures & data

Table 1 General information about the four games.

#	Title	Topic	Type of interaction	Aim	Score
1	Point Blank 2D	Mean and variance	Identify a dot	Minimizing the score	Variance
2	Point blank revolution	k-means	Identify dots	Minimizing the score	Tot. within Cl. variance
3	Dimensions for descent	PCA	Draw a line	Minimizing the score	Var. orth. residuals
4	Deadly premonition	Linear regression	Draw a line	Minimizing the score	OLS

Fig. 1 Boxplots showing the distribution of the communication design students’ answers.

Table 2 The questions composing the questionnaire given to our communication design students in order to express their opinion regarding the statistical games.

#	Questions	Possible answ.	Average answ.	St. dev.
1	I have always had a negative attitude and a low interest toward statistics and mathematics in general.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	4.02	0.80
2	The games helped me understanding the corresponding statistical methods.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	3.71	1.08
3	During the games, the use of the social media data collected in class increased my interest.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	4.18	0.78
4	The competitive nature of the games caught my attention.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	2.93	1.51
5	The games’ control system was easy and properly explained.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	4.51	0.50
6	When playing the games I started questioning myself about the nature of the games.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	3.73	1.05
7	After this class, I am less afraid of statistics than before.	1 (disagree) to 5 (agree)	3.65	1.07

Fig. 2 Point Blank 2D: the 2D version of Point Blank.

Fig. 3 Point Blank Revolution: the k-means Game.

Fig. 4 Dimensions for Descent: the PCA game.

Fig. 5 Deadly Premonition: the linear regression game.

Table 3 List of questions composing the survey used to collect the data.

#	Questions	Possible answers
1	How many contacts do you have in your mobile phone phonebook?	open answer
2	How many friends do you have on Facebook?	open answer
3	How many followers do you have on Instagram?	open answer