Allison Davidson
Education
- Ph.D., M.S., Purdue University
- B.S., Roberts Wesleyan College
Teaching Interests
I teach a variety of statistics courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In all of the courses I teach, my goal is to provide students with skills that are transferable far beyond the classroom setting!
In particular, I aim to help guide students in marketing specific skills they learn in my courses. Many students have gone on to use skills they learn in my classes in their research with other professors at Muhlenberg and within their current jobs.
Research and Scholarship
One of my favorite aspects of statistics is that it can be applied to any field of study. And I love learning and finding ways of applying statistics to new areas! I thoroughly enjoy working with students (and fellow faculty) on research or projects they are passionate about.
Some of my CUE projects with students include analysis of what makes an effective tweet, neurological effects of visual stimuli in flies, ideal conditions for raising isopods in a lab, characteristics of police forces that affect crime rates, the impact of wasted food in Muhlenberg’s dining hall, and the effect of climate change on when flowers bloom.
In addition to working with students and faculty on collaborative projects, I also thoroughly enjoy many aspects of probability. I gave a presentation in 2019 on the game PIG, helped students prepare for the Actuarial Exam P, and worked with a student on diminishing urn models.
I have a keen interest in data visualization, and enjoy learning, coding, and applying visualizations any time I can!! A major focus of my own research involves statistics education: how to clearly communicate concepts, how students learn, and how assessment can be used to clarify expectations and motivate students.
- Data Visualization
- Foundations of Scholarship
- Statistical Analysis
- Statistical Models
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Davidson, A. (2023). A Review of the use of Investigative Projects in Statistics and Data Science Courses. Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/26939169.2023.2240385
*Geissler, C., Davidson, A., Niesenbaum, R.A. (2023). The influence of climate warming on flowering phenology in relation to historical annual and seasonal temperatures and plant functional traits. PeerJ 11:e15188, https://peerj.com/articles/15188/
Davidson, A. and Gundlach, E. 2022. Creating predictive clothing size models for online customers, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1080/0020739X.2022.2040623
*Gura, H., Davidson, A., and Gotthard, G. H. 2020. Prediction error parameters for visuospatial interference: Minimal prediction errors leave positive declarative memory intact following visuospatial word search interference. Learning and Motivation, vol. 72.
Huber, M. and Davidson, A. 2018. Origin of the Phrase 'Hitting for the Cycle' and an Approach to How Cycles Occur. Spring 2018 Baseball Research Journal.
Davidson, A. and Ward, M. D. 2018. The Characterization of Tenable Pólya Urns. Statistics & Probability Letters, vol. 135, issue C, 38-43
Iyengar, E., *Schwartz, C., and Davidson, A. 2016. Long-term maintenance requirements of the riparian isopod, Lirceus sp. Hydrobiologia, 1-17, 10.1007/s10750-017-3239-7.
Recent Presentations
Devising a Winning Strategy for the Dice Game “Pig”. Moravian College, Bethlehem PA (November 21, 2019)
How to Implement and Assess Open-Ended Projects in an Introductory Statistics Classroom. Joint Statistical Meetings, Virtual Event (August 11, 2021)
Multiple Regression Replaces the Need for a Tailor. Joint Statistics Meetings, Chicago IL (August 1, 2016)
I have had the honor of working with many students in a variety of capacities during my time at Muhlenberg.
- Fall 2020 – Spring 2021: Austin Hoffman (Muhlenberg ’21), a collection of experiments on isopod presence around fish, and fish isopod consumption abilities (Honors Thesis)
- Fall 2020 – Spring 2021: Cole Geissler (Muhlenberg ’21), exploring the change in plant flowering date over time and across species (Honors Thesis, publication in progress)
- Fall 2018: Alexandra Gaev (Muhlenberg ’20), logistic regression of responses to Stroop experiments using PsychoPy software
- Spring 2018 CUE: Jamee Hood (Muhlenberg ’18), a survey and analysis of post-consumer food waste at Muhlenberg College and the effectiveness of Weigh the Waste campaigns (Presentation at Local Conference)
- Fall 2016 CUE: Alexandra Dwyer and Rachel Strow (Muhlenberg ’17), cross-sectional time series analysis on the impact of police force on crime (Presentations as both National and International Conferences)
- Fall 2016 CUE: Meredith Salisbury (Muhlenberg ’17), qualitative and quantitative analysis of Twitter Data among celebrities (Presentation at Local Conference)
- Summer 2016 REU: Alexandra Dwyer (Muhlenberg ’17), Rachel Strow (Muhlenberg ’17), and Aaron Niecestro (Muhlenberg ’17), exploratory analysis of police force characteristics influencing crime rates in the US
- Fall 2015 CUE: Brandon Schneider (Muhlenberg ’16), probability and expected time to reach a state of untenability of 2x2 Pólya Urns (Presentation at Local Conference)
- Spring 2015 CUE: Melanie Campbell (Muhlenberg ’15), statistical and mathematical modeling of fly movement in mazes with different visual stimuli (Presentation at Local Conference)
Data Analytics
Mathematics
Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics
Contact: allisondavidson@muhlenberg.edu