>
> >http://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics-2/
> regression-analysis-how-do-i-interpret-r-squared-and-
> assess-the-goodness-of-fit


Nice link Brian!  Much better than off the top of my head.

As I  developed my varroa model, for several calculations I needed to come
up with predictive equations derived from field data.  For that, I would
plot the data in scattergrams, and then test all sorts of equations for
best fit, both by R squared value and by eye (and then by running
simulations).  Stats are great, but the human mind is very good at picking
out patterns from visual input.

Mike, you've got the idea.  Data is often messy--stats help us to make
objective sense of it.  But stats can also be used to reflect one's biases
(which I often see in published papers).  I take all stats with a grain of
salt--I put more trust in my eye, and in comparing replications for
consistency.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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