Should I graduate from Big Class.jmp?This is a sensitive topic. If you feel so, please tell me, e-mail to me (Yusuke.Ono@jmp.com), or tell indirectly to someone (if you want to tell me anonymously). I will remove this entry.
When I check some features in JMP, I almost always use Big Class.jmp at first.
But I personally come to think this dataset is not a good sample data for beginner.
(1) Human physical data may be inappropriate ethically. Modern statisticians like Galton, K. Pearson and R.A. Fisher gathered human’s physical and mental data for “race” improvement. The “scientific” movement is called “eugenics”. From the current points of view, this movement is unacceptable.
Some people even deny using Fisher’s Iris data. Please see the following blog and comments.
https://armchairecology.blog/iris-dataset/
https://www.meganstodel.com/posts/no-to-iris/
(2) Big Class.jmp is a fictional dataset, but some people might think that this is a real dataset. It may be a questionable research practice (QRP) not to say a dataset is a faked one even if it’s so.
Re: Should I graduate from Big Class.jmp?Thank you for bringing this up @yusuke_ono! The BigClass dataset makes me uncomfortable, I don't use it. Although the data is artificial I can't help but consider how I'd feel if my own kids were a part of a study like this, or if a note came home from school asking if they could participate. All statistics aside, it feels invasive.
Re: Should I graduate from Big Class.jmp?Thank you very much for your response, @MikeD_Anderson -san
I agree that this kind of physical measurement data sets are useful for explaining basic statistical methods for beginners. I guess it's because many basic "modern" statistical tools (like histogram, variance, coefficient of variation, IQR, correlation, regression,...and so on) have been developed and customized for analyzing such datasets. But I also think that usefulness is different from ethics.
Even when Big Class.jmp is useful for explaining statistics intuitively, it might be ethically inappropriate to use it.
As far as I know, it is relatively recent for many statisticians to look back at negative history in statistics. In 2021, the session for “R.A. Fisher and Eugenics” have been held in JSM. In 2020, COPSS dropped Fisher's name form their award. In 2021, UCL released inquiry into the history of eugenics at UCL. In 2020, Cambridge university removed stained glass window of Fisher's Latin square.
Statistics must be useful for eugenics, and physical measurement data must be useful for explaining "modern" statistics. But it might be against ethics.
This is just my personal highly biased opinion, and it's not popular.
Re: Should I graduate from Big Class.jmp?Thank you very much for your reply, @Phil_Kay-san
I don't know the history of Big Class.jmp well, but I guess it comes from "SASHELP.CLASS", a sample dataset in SAS System. SASHELP.CLASS has 19 rows. (Big Class.jmp has 40 rows.)
In the documentation of SAS sample datasets (SAS document), the following explanation is written.
The Sashelp.Class data set provides information about a small fictitious class of students. Variables include Sex, Age, Height, and Weight. This data set is frequently used in SAS documentation to illustrate basic SAS coding. ...
As far as I remember, SASHELP.CLASS has already existed in around SAS Version 6.03. When I was an instructor for SAS training, I always used this dataset in the statistics course.
The dataset has a long history, so it might not be easy to graduate from it (at least for me).
Re: Should I graduate from Big Class.jmp?I haven't had anyone complain about it. It is a useful data set in that we can send it to customers and they can prototype questions back to us without issues. It's also simple, approachable, and incredibly flexible.
That said, if you're uncomfortable, then you don't have to use it. The only times that I use it these days is when I need something to just show the mechanics of something (which it is really good for). I know other SE's just change the column names and recode where necessary to use it in other contexts. Since it's synthetic, it's fine to tinker with the data set however you want.
If you have an alternative data set that you think we could use in place of Big Class, you should approach product management and they can help you get the process started to have it reviewed. I felt strongly enough about Fisher's Iris data that I did just that.
Fisher's Iris data has been losing popularity because of his views (which you mentioned). I've been using the palmer penguin data as a stand in for Iris because I was uncomfortable with the association. Along the way, I found out that Palmer Penguins is probably a superior data set in many respects. It would also be a good stand in for Big Class if you want an alternative. I've uploaded it to JMP Public: https://public.jmp.com/packages/xQKykD2bwdwNwh7GxqBpL
Re: Should I graduate from Big Class.jmp?Hi @yusuke_ono ,
Thanks for talking about this.
I am also uncomfortable using this dataset. In fact, I usually make a joke about how creepy it is that we are tracking the height and weight of school students.
In any case, I think we should be able to find better datasets that are relevant to our science and engineering users.
I also agree that we should be honest when a dataset is a faked one. I make a point of telling people when using simulated data. They understand why we can't always use real data. We should always be honest with our customers.
Thanks again,
Phil
