Design, Data and Analysis

This collection of essays provides a timely challenge to designers of statistical computing systems: its descriptions and analyses of experiments, complete with full data and explanations of their contexts, will encourage readers to embark on independent analyses of their own. Several chapters indicate the range of problems facing practicing statisticians, while others are designed to provide a contemporary overview of the field. Among the topics covered are a description of a course on experimental design for engineers, scientists and managers implemented at General Electric, including factorial and fractional factorial experiments, blocking, response surface analysis and related areas; how a two-stage procedure can be used to ensure that certain calibration standards conform to desired tolerances; and numerous design issues, including an intriguing experiment of the efficacy of a vaccine for cattle, analyses of eight data sets from biology, an analysis of data from a study of dielectric constants of certain polymers, and many other novel topics.