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In this, their 100th episode and Season 3 finale, Greg and Patrick talk about the challenges and joys of a career in academia. Helping to ensure that we don’t let the bastards grind us down are the voices of three insightful assistant professors and three wonderful graduate students. Along the way, we also mention lining up the napkin, hug free zones, margarita night in 2003, relying on the kindness of strangers, Strunk & White voodoo, a mile-high C, Mr. October, going beyond the veil, the Black Plague, messages in bottles, the gates of the citadel, turning the container ship, work-work balance, being the bad guy, the focus groups in my head, 50cc of sodium phenobarbital, that’ll do pig, front wheel drive/rear wheel drive, and attaboys.  

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg get to hang out with Noah Greifer from the Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences at Harvard University to delve into the fascinating world of propensity scores: what they are, how we obtain them, and how they can be thoughtfully used to strengthen our causal inferences. Along the way we also mention Popular Woodworking, fixing things on the back end, hiding your own Easter eggs, 18 hour warnings, easy undergrad majors, Meyers-Briggs career predictions, picking an ideal advisor, SASholes, demyelination, hearing asterisks, being an ANCOVist, the 11th Commandment, what keeps you up at night, answering the question you want to, and it's all BS. 

In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick talk about information theory: what it is, where it comes from, how it works, and how it can be used to make comparative model inferences. Along the way we also mention Pennsylvania 6-5000, the time lady, the Nobel Prize for Awesomeness, juggling and unicycles, enigma, imaginary friends, lemon juice code, red giants and white dwarves, bits, a level-11 paladin, Hungarian Forrest Gump, snake eyes and boxcar Willies, the Reaper Divergence Criterion, and getting inspirations on a train. 

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick discuss the sometimes terrifying issue of fungible weights in multiple regression and structural equation modeling in which selecting a trivially worse criterion of fit can often lead to radical changes in the corresponding parameter estimates. Along the way they also discuss competitive family Wordle, disambiguation, inflammability, perpitty, being nonplussed, running laps after practice, schmungible, audio eyerolls, Haystacks at Sunset, hyper eggs, the Spiderverse, mountain moonrises, tin cans and strings, and Earthquake Waller. 

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg explore Sewall Wright's path tracing rules as an alternative to covariance and matrix algebra, including how the rules work and the tremendous insights they can provide toward understanding a model. Along the way they also discuss the Unabomber, Crate & Barrel, grocery lane profiling, tedious as poop, throwing dead cats, senior animal husbandman, using your fingers, creepy guy in an alley, sweat pants vs. suits of armor, getaway car drivers, hold my Guinea pig, chalkboard contests, Western Kansas, and getting tased. 

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick continue their discussion from last week in The Mättrix Part Deux, exploring the magic of matrices including estimation, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors. Along the way they also mention flawed audio transcripts, 50 Shades of Greg, drunkenly shoving a matrix, drug mules, things you need, isomorphic interdigitation, plywood and tennis balls, heroin-filled condoms, talking to volleyballs, bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy, meat grinders, not going to prom, vector bouquets, and The Wright Stuff.   

In this first of two episodes, Patrick and Greg lay the foundations of matrix algebra, mathematically and geometrically, and start connecting these important underlying ideas to statistics. Along the way, they also mention STDs, the 110 to the 10 to the 405, mystics, skin bags of water, vector Victor, Tac flashlights on misty nights, remembering mnemonics, Stephen Hawking, Bilbo Baggins, and Greg's sultry voice. 

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick discuss the critical distinction between sample distributions and sampling distributions, and explore all the different ways in which sampling distributions are foundational to how we conduct research. Along the way they also mention Starbucks jazz, one item tests, hot pockets, delusions of grandeur, Tetris and Pong, drawing inappropriate distributions, magical properties, texting pictures of kindle pages, Roman arches, 1970s graphics, never saying never, mumbling, Greenday, ignoring Roy Levy, real life bootstrap, and Goodnight Gracie.   

Patrick and Greg discuss the rise of machine learning in the social sciences with guest Doug Steinley, Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Missouri at Columbia and current editor of the APA journal Psychological Methods. Along the way they also mention funeral expenses, Swedish massage, Amy the Chatbot, irony versus coincidence, lavender bath bombs, varmint removal, Planet of the Apes, Voltron, the Cookie Monster, theory smoothies, Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, ironing your Christmas paper, and meat grinders.

In this week's episode Greg and Patrick have a wonderfully engaging conversation with social network analysis expert Tracy Sweet who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. Tracy patiently helps us understand what social network analysis is, and how it can be used to better understand the complexities of human behavior. Along the way they also discuss sliding into DMs, fax machines, older millennials, baboons, too much math, inside voices, penguin data, swiping left, probation advice, unreciprocated social isolates, Wordle, the floss dance, power, and talking to your dog. 

In this week's episode Patrick and Greg discuss latent means models to conduct group mean comparisons while controlling for measurement error, which gives you more power and more accurate standardized effect size estimates. Along the way, they also mention Aunt Roz, table 8, naughty pigs, crossing the streams, big twinkies, asbestos, It's a Small World, churros, 1974 Sweden, Greg's Swedish coach, ghosts, the primrose path, SAT-level words, and humble pirates. 

Greg and Patrick explore the generalized linear model as a powerful framework for building regression models for binary and other discretely distributed dependent variables. Along the way they also mention stealing property, statistical conspiracy theories, mic drops, coming uncorked, getting punched by biostatisticians, big logistic, tapping out, the Oakland Raiders, being 8.5 feet tall, sheep bones, cleaning up after the party so your parents don't find out, arm strength, the regression whisperer, what we giveth we taketh away, and sultry voices.

In today's episode, Patrick and Greg use the context of COVID rapid tests to discuss issues of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicted values, and the generally questionable utility of test accuracy information. Along the way they also mention escape rooms, C4, Embassy Suites, palak paneer, 93% accurate, astragali, SAT prep courses, the volume of a cone, risk and burden, and digging up the Rev. 

In today's episode Greg & Patrick discuss the causes, consequences, and potential solutions associated with negative residual variances in factor analyses, a condition commonly called a Heywood case. Along the we way they also mention vegetarian pepperoni, Jaws Part 2, coffin seat belts, balancing a ship, bad puns, sterilizing needles, dead canaries, hitchhikers, legal depositions, boxes of geodes, knowing what time it is, and models that give you the finger. 

Patrick and Greg, perched in a glass booth high above New York's Times Square, ring in 2022 with the help of some friends by counting down quantitative New Year’s resolutions. Along the way they also mention QPod catheters, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, groin height, yelling at NPR, Shimmer, O’Nuckles, intellectual gooses, European Quanterati, smoldering corpses, Dilbert, Dom Perignon, quant club, organ grinders, and non-contiguous sub-4-minute miles.Special thanks to: Rajiv Amarnani, Sam Cacace, Mashael Dewan, Nathan Lutz, Daniel Moriarity, Danny Lee, and Ethan McCormick. 

In today's episode, Greg and Patrick talk about the rich array of models for testing hypotheses about mutual influences between people within a dyadic relationship. Along the way they also mention bones to pick, red herrings, bad influences, cow nutrition, playing both sides of the ball, Deion Sanders, the mind's eye, it's not me it's you, background guitar music, phantom variables and money laundering, Kenny from South Park, syllabus bullet points, Eeyore, free steak knives, and fouric relations. 

Patrick and Greg have an in-depth conversation with Derek Briggs, from the University of Colorado, about his new book exploring the fascinating and at times uncomfortable history of measurement and the people who helped develop methods we still use today. Along the way they also mention: outsourcing parenting, where do babies come from, hearing colors, teacher strikes, blowing things up, Morgan Freeman, penguins, driving students nuts, horrible people, quantitative imperatives, and cutting bait.

Greg and Patrick talk about median splits and other ways that continuous variables might be categorized to simplify analyses, and the often very high cost of doing so. Along the way they also mention Never Have I Ever, hand cuffs, gold hoop earrings, bungee jumping, Erik, Henry and Penny, having a mini, chug jugs, Hill Street Blues, med kits and bandages, Patrick's mind's eye, Isn't It Ironic, leveling up, asteroids, and gophmunks. 

Patrick and Greg discuss the often forgotten importance of observation and exploration for the purpose of suggesting patterns and forming hypotheses, which can later be refined and rigorously tested within the framework of our well-developed confirmatory machinery. Along the they way they also discuss Orlando road trips, our inner child, crappy glue, melted chocolate, leaning into the pitch, even a penny, 3-by-5 therapy cards, Law & Order, Easy Rider, 200 million digits of pi, The Illuminati, the first rule of Confirmatory Club, aircraft bullet holes, and Karl and Tom. 

Patrick and Greg answer a mailbag question about some foundational principles of regression and correlation, specifically the differences among correlation, standardized regression weights, semi-partial correlations, and partial correlations. They also check in with someone from Season 2: Amanda Montoya's undergrad mentee, Kat. Along the way, they also mention: Ap Olo Gies, mocking by text, particle transporters, walk like an Egyptian, spicing up parties, getting Curraned, your plus one, visuals in an audio format, great faces for podcasting, George Clooney, Beaker, and fool me once.