October

In This Issue

Statistician of the Year, Award and Dinner

October 24th

6:30 PM - 9 PM
The East Bank Club
500 N. Kingsbury, Chicago 60610

Full Details and Registration Here

Abstract: Big Data with Big Consequences, but Who Will Benefit?

It is an article of faith that big data will have profound consequences for science and for society. Many of the consequences are unlikely to be understood for some time. 

Of special interest to statisticians is what consequences big data may bring for our field. Many of the methods used in conjunction with big data efforts were invented or perfected by statisticians. Thus the advent of interest in big data could make statistics "the sexiest field around" as one commentator has suggested. 

However, it is easy to imagine that others fields could eclipse statistics as the principal source of inspiration and training for working with big data, to the detriment of both statistics and the sciences that hope to benefit from big data. An example of recent work on the problem of statistical disclosure control in big educational data illustrates some surprising benefits of statistical work in this context.

Speaker Bio

Larry V. Hedges is one of eight Board of Trustees Professors at Northwestern University, the university's most distinguished academic position. He holds appointments in the departments of Statistics, Psychology, in the School of Education and Social Policy, and in the Institute for Policy Research. Previously, he was the Stella M. Rowley Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago.  Hedges' research straddles many fields-in particular those of statistics, psychology, and educational policy. 

He is best known for his work on statistical methods for meta-analysis and its applications to evidence-based policy. He has also worked on the design of social experiments, the assessment of student achievement nationally and cross nationally, the role of uncertainty in basic models for cognition in psychology, and the demography of talent.
 
He was editor of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, was Quantitative Methods Editor of Psychological Bulletin, and Associate Editor of the American Journal of Sociology.  He has authored or co-authored numerous journal articles and eight books, including Statistical Methods for Meta-Analysis (with I. Olkin, Elsevier, 1985) and The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis (with H. Cooper and J. Valentine, Russell Sage, 2009).  

He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Statistical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Educational Research Association. He is president of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. He was nominated by President Obama to the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in this position in June 2012.    

Full Details and Registration Here

 Is Technology ready for Big Data Analytics? 

Diego Klabjan
Professor, Industrial Engineering 

and Management Sciences and Director, Master of Science in Analytics at Northwestern University  

November 19, 2013 

Noon - 1:30 PM 

The East Bank Club 

500 N Kingsbury, Chicago 60610

Abstract: 

Big data solutions are primarily used for storage and querying. While return on investment can be obtained based on these two functionalities, the window of opportunity substantially expands if various analytics-based approaches can be performed directly on big data platforms. There are important differences between traditional approaches and mostly yet-to-be-developed robust solutions for big data analytics. The current state of big data analytics will be summarized,  the important differences discussed, and the challenges ahead shared. 

Registration will be available soon!

Save the dates!

We are delighted to announce the full schedule of 2013-2014 luncheon dates. Please note that these dates are subject to change. All updates will be posted on the CCASA Website, as well as the Parameter.

• 11/19/2013
• 12/17/2013
• 1/21/2014
• 2/18/2014
• 3/18/2014
• 4/15/2014
• 5/20/2014 

Almost one year ago, Jay Kadane gave a great talk at the CCASA Statistician of the Year Award about the repression of statisticians in Argentina who published independent inflation data.

We are pleased to announce some great news! Multiple news sources are reporting that the Argentinian Commerce Secretary involved in the affair has been fined for abusing his power.

Read the full story here

Location: Chicago

Department: Digital Intelligence

Cardinal path is searching for qualified quantitative professionals to develop advanced analytics with our existing Digital Intelligence team.  We are developing advanced analytic products to deliver new digital, customer, and business insights with our data intensive clients.  The opportunity to evolve traditional web analytics practices is growing rapidly due to the access of multiple datasets that cover the hundreds of customer touchpoints in today's omnichannel world.  The Statistical Consultant would be responsible for both partnering with client teams, Cardinal Path Web Analytics Consultants, and Data Analysts to develop modeling projects that uncover insights through data mining and predictive modeling.

Cardinal Path is uniquely positioned in the marketplace to deliver cutting-edge advanced analytics due to our industry leading data and technology management practice.  We work with clients to collect and manage data to optimize their digital business which creates the foundation for analytics and insights.  The Statistical Consultant would be involved in developing customer segmentation, custom attribution models, lifetime value analysis, ARIMA forecasting, and a variety of scoring models that would enable marketing and business optimization.  A number of these projects would include digital, back office/offline, CRM, and 3rd party datasets.  The scope of this work would either cover client project delivery or product development.

The ideal candidate will have an advanced degree in a quantitative field, 3-5 years of agency experience in developing and delivering marketing effectiveness analytics, expert in SAS & R, and has strong communication skills.  Experience in delivering insights presentations is a plus.

Typical responsibilities would include:

·        Lead resource when dealing with advanced analytic projects at Cardinal Path

·        Help support the development of the client's analytic strategy by identifying opportunities to apply statistical models

·         Work with project teams to deliver timely and objective based analytics

·         R&D development of new analytic and business concepts Cardinal Path is researching

·         Design modeling projects and manage each step of the data, model build and delivery cycle

·         Ensure that modeling designs and assumptions are aligned with data discrepancies

·         Work directly with Cardinal Path's technical team to design database strategies but also own the analytic dataset creation for individual projects

·         Utilize a panel of Business Intelligence tools (Tableau, Klipfolio, etc), web analytics (Google Analytics, Adobe Marketing Suite, Webtrends, etc) and statistical modeling software (SAS, SPSS, R, etc) to deliver modeling and analysis projects

·         Present insights and findings to clients and provides recommendations and decision support based on data

·         Assist in web analytic reporting designs, analytic methodologies, data investigations, and outcome reporting with the Web Analytic Consultants on various client projects

Basic Qualifications

·         Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Math, Economics, Operations Research, etc) and 3-5 years of experience OR a masters degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Math, Operations Research, etc) and 2 years of experience

·         Strong analytical and reporting skills, including an understanding of cause and effect and statistical methods available to enhance findings.

·         Must be able to understand and analyze data, synthesizing large volumes of data and complex questions into clear analyses and actionable findings.

·         Excellent communication skills, including the ability to clearly and effectively communicate and present analysis findings to stakeholders at all levels.

·         Leverage mathematical and statistical principles to inform and validate analyses.

·         Intermediate to advanced knowledge in statistical modeling software such as (SAS base, SAS ETS, R)

·        Functional knowledge in SQL

·        Basic knowledge of Big Data capabilities (BigQuery & Hadoop)

Preferred Qualifications

·         PhD (not required)

·         5 years of analytic experience in multichannel marketing effectiveness working with marketing stakeholders

·         3 years experience working in an agency environment

More Information and to Apply