Patrick Runkel

Statistical communication specialist, teacher, author

Patrick Runkel is a statistical communication specialist at Minitab LLC. He’s spent most of his professional life teaching and writing about mathematics—from helping kids divide fractions in elementary school to helping Ph.D. researchers apply logistic regression analysis in their fields. In The Minitab Blog he likes to focus on mining and presenting statistical “gems” giving you quick practical insights about statistics.

Tue, 01/17/2012 - 12:56
Cp and Cpk: Two Process Perspectives, One Process RealityAvoid getting too fixated on any single statistic
Wed, 08/09/2017 - 12:02
It’s usually not a good idea to rely solely on a single statistic to draw conclusions about your process. Do that, and you could fall into the clutches of the “duck-rabbit” illusion shown below. If you fix your eyes solely on the duck, you’ll miss…
So Why Is It Called ‘Regression,’ Anyway?There’s nothing particularly regressive about it
Wed, 03/22/2017 - 12:02
Did you ever wonder why statistical analyses and concepts often have such weird, cryptic names? One conspiracy theory points to the workings of a secret committee called the ICSSNN. The International Committee for Sadistic Statistical Nomenclature…
Quality Improvement Trends in HealthcareWhat are the statistical ‘soft spots?’
Wed, 07/13/2016 - 09:55
It’s been called a “demographic watershed.” During the next 15 years alone, the worldwide population of individuals aged 65 and older is projected to increase more than 60 percent, from 617 million to about 1 billion, according to a U.S. Census…
The Life You Improve May Be Your OwnHoning healthcare with statistical data analysis
Thu, 06/16/2016 - 17:52
What does the eyesight of a homeless person have in common with complications from dental anesthesia? Or with reducing side-effects from cancer? Or monitoring artificial hip implants? These are all subjects of recently published studies that use…
Novel Uses of the Pareto Chart Through Human HistoryAll of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again
Wed, 05/25/2016 - 16:45
The Pareto chart is a graphic representation of the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle. If you’re a quality improvement specialist, you know that the chart is named after the early 20th-century economist Vilfredo Pareto, who discovered…
What Are Degrees of Freedom in Statistics?Forget about statistics. Imagine you love wearing hats...
Thu, 04/21/2016 - 14:30
About a year ago, a reader asked if I could try to explain degrees of freedom in statistics. Since then, I’ve been circling around that request very cautiously, like it’s some kind of wild beast that I’m not sure I can safely wrestle to the ground…
Do Those Who Work Less, Work Best?Some interesting trends using the subset interface in Minitab
Tue, 03/29/2016 - 14:15
I live with a German national, who often tells me that we Americans spend way too much of our lives at work. He also frequently comments that we work much less efficiently than Germans do, during the increased time we’re at work. Which reminds me—…
So Why Is It Called ‘Regression,’ Anyway?Cutting through the confusion
Mon, 11/23/2015 - 11:16
Did you ever wonder why statistical analyses and concepts often have such weird, cryptic names? One conspiracy theory points to the workings of a secret committee called the International Committee for Sadistic Statistical Nomenclature and…
Design of Experiment: Searching for a Selfie Fountain of YouthManipulate the variables to create a younger you
Thu, 06/11/2015 - 13:11
I’ve never understood the fascination with selfies. Maybe it’s because I'm over 50. After surviving the slings and arrows of a half a century on Earth, the minute or two I spend in front of the bathroom mirror each morning is more than enough…
Cp and Cpk: Two Process Perspectives, One Process RealityLearning to see the duck as well as the rabbit
Thu, 06/04/2015 - 16:15
It’s usually not a good idea to rely solely on a single statistic to draw conclusions about your process. Do that, and you could fall into the clutches of the “duck-rabbit” illusion shown below. If you fix your eyes solely on the duck, you’ll miss…