Performance Analysis · Method · Component
The assumptions
What has to be true for the method to work — which is where most analyses quietly fail.
The deliverable
What it is
Every method requires assumptions. Some are testable and most are not, and an analysis that does not state them invites a reader to assume there are none.
The assumption that most often fails is that the groups being compared are otherwise similar, which in observational data they almost never are.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The list
What the method requires to be true.
3 attributes: Assumption · Testable · Likely to hold
LearnThe consequences
What happens to the conclusion if an assumption fails.
3 attributes: Assumption · If it fails · Direction
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The assumption that most often fails is that the compared groups were otherwise similar. In observational data they never are.
The other components in method
The approach
How the question will be answered — matched to whether it is descriptive, comparative or causal.
LearnThe limits
What this method cannot establish, stated before it runs — so the limitation is part of the design rather than a caveat at the end.
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