ASA Accredited Professional Statistician (PStat) and Graduate Statistician (GStat)

USA · American Statistical Association · professional

30practice questions written to this syllabus
3subjects

Format

Portfolio-based accreditation, not a written exam: advanced degree, documented experience, references and commitment to ethics and continuing education.

Sections

Over the years

Read on the ASA accreditation page. Used by statisticians in consulting, government and industry, including agricultural research.

Official source: https://www.amstat.org/your-career/accreditation

Subjects this exam draws on

Statistical Computing: Simulation, Resampling & Algorithms7 questionsData Analysis with Statistical Software & Reproducible Research8 questionsStatistical Consulting, Research Methodology & Scientific Communication15 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Why is Monte Carlo integration preferred to grid quadrature in high dimensions?

  1. Its error ignores dimension
  2. It is exact for every integrand in any dimension
  3. It needs no random numbers
  4. Quadrature cannot handle one dimension
Answer and working

A. Its error ignores dimension

Grid points grow exponentially with dimension.

Statistical Computing: Simulation, Resampling & Algorithms · Monte Carlo integration and variance reduction

2. Compared with raw treatment means, least-squares (marginal) means differ mainly when:

  1. The data are unbalanced
  2. The data are balanced
  3. There is only one treatment
  4. Residuals are normal
Answer and working

A. The data are unbalanced

With balance, model and raw means coincide.

Data Analysis with Statistical Software & Reproducible Research · R for designed experiments: aov, lm, emmeans and agricolae

3. Restating the problem in your own words and asking the scientist to confirm mainly:

  1. Saves computing time
  2. Prevents misunderstandings
  3. Replaces the analysis plan
  4. Shows the statistician is senior
Answer and working

B. Prevents misunderstandings

Mismatched understanding otherwise surfaces only after the analysis.

Statistical Consulting, Research Methodology & Scientific Communication · The consulting interview: from scientific question to statistical question

4. Portals are best regarded as:

  1. A bridge to scripted analysis
  2. A replacement for statistical understanding
  3. Proof that an analysis is correct
  4. Tools for complex spatial models only
Answer and working

A. A bridge to scripted analysis

Reproducing a portal's result in code shows what it did.

Data Analysis with Statistical Software & Reproducible Research · Web-based statistical computing portals for agricultural researchers

5. The 2019 editorial in the ASA's journal recommended:

  1. Dropping 'statistically significant'
  2. Using p < 0.01 everywhere instead of p < 0.05
  3. Banning confidence intervals
  4. Reporting only p-values
Answer and working

A. Dropping 'statistically significant'

The proposal remains debated.

Statistical Consulting, Research Methodology & Scientific Communication · P-values, confidence intervals and the ASA statement on p-values

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