Re:“Is there a heuristic we might use to identify and flag q...
by jstanley on Sunday August 28, 2022 @02:52PM
(#32630924)
Good idea (for integer-valued measurements), but you can do it without having to bother calculating all fractions with denominator N.
Let's say the reported mean is called m and the sample size is N. Multiply m and N together. Ideally mN should be almost an exact integer. Find ceil(mN)/N and floor(mN)/N and see if they're the same as the reported m, within precision limits.
Example: m=6.24, N=13
mN = 81.12 (exact)
81/13 = 6.231
82/13 = 6.308
So there is no integer numerator (for denominator 13) that gives 6.24, to 2 decimal places, so 6.24 is a mistake or a lie.
Let's say the reported mean is called m and the sample size is N. Multiply m and N together. Ideally mN should be almost an exact integer. Find ceil(mN)/N and floor(mN)/N and see if they're the same as the reported m, within precision limits.
Example: m=6.24, N=13
mN = 81.12 (exact)
81/13 = 6.231
82/13 = 6.308
So there is no integer numerator (for denominator 13) that gives 6.24, to 2 decimal places, so 6.24 is a mistake or a lie.