Statistics: some of us love it, most of us don’t. But don’t worry, because in light of yesterday’s National Statistics Day (yes, there’s a special 
day for everything), I will share 5 tips with you on how to survive statistics. These tips will help you ace that Quantitative Methods exam or, for first years, start the Introduction to Statistical Analysis course prepared! I myself am a first year student at IBCoM, and therefore don’t really have any advice yet. So I asked professor R.S. Jacobs and some of my IBCoMagazine members to help us all out. With these tips you will hopefully 1) get a laugh, and 2) be more confident when tackling your Statistics course.
Here we go…!
1. Details matter
Details, details, details. Decimal places are the single most important things in the world; more important than Netflix. Remember to check the little things, as they play a huge role in determining your grade! (Professor R. S. Jacobs)
2. Make it relevant
When tackling statistics, think of how you can benefit from it in real life. The course is meant to serve as a tool to help us further on, so try to look past the numbers and think of how it might actually be useful to you. For example when going to a casino, or when you want to calculate the chance of you passing the tests! (Sophie Defaix, BA-3)
3. SPSS is your friend
Think of SPSS as your friend. Your smart but incredibly neurotic friend who is super-picky about what you two talk about, and who only answers in vast, incomprehensible tables of numbers. (Professor R. S. Jacobs)
4. Study together
With statistics, it’s not about learning facts by heart; it’s about understanding what you need to do and why. When you study together with friends, you can help each other understand what you don’t get, as well as increase your understanding of the things you do get by explaining them to others. Also, chocolate and tea help, but that counts for every course. (Yanniek van Dooren, BA-3)
5. Don’t panic
Lastly, don’t panic! You always have time to double-check your results and analyses. Just breathe in and out and take a second look, then you’ll do just fine. (Professor R. S. Jacobs)
I hope you enjoyed reading these tips and got something from them! If you have any useful tips that have not been mentioned yet, feel free to leave a reply to help each other out. Good luck everyone!
– Nikki