looking for the right statistical analysis method...

[robbyvegas]

I'm thrilled that there is a forum dedicated to stats. I wish that there had been when I was taking my undergrad class on probability and statistics for scientists and engineers.

I'm looking at data regarding how an appeals court has treated cases that come from two different sources (Lets call them A & B for simplicity's sake). Over the last 10 years, the court has affirmed (agreed with the lower court's judgment), affirmed in part (agreed with some but not all of the lower court's judgment), or reversed (completely disagreed with the lower court). Again for simplicity, lets call them X, Y, and Z respectively. I have the % of cases in which the court has done X, Y, or Z for each of A and B over each fiscal year from 1999-2008 (10 years) (In reality I have only percentages for A, while I have actual hard numbers for B). One thing that I should mention is that there are far more overall instances of A than of B (one source consistently generates over 100 cases per year while the other generates between 0-20 cases per year).

I'm looking for ways to analyze this information, but I'm at a bit of a loss. I'm considering ANOVA, but I'm not sure that it would be useful, and to be perfectly honest, I don't remember much about it from my undergrad days.

I do have a bar graph showing the percentages for each year categorized over the last 10 fiscal years if it would help anyone come up with ideas.

Thank you all in advance,

Rob

[robbyvegas]

I should also mention that I do have SAS on my computer, but I'm not that familiar with how to use it (although I do have a couple of books).

Second, I mentioned that I only have percentages for A. That is no longer true. I have just been handed figures from which I can deduce (accurately I hope) hard numbers for each category X, Y, and Z for the last 10 years for A.

Thanks again,

Rob

[robbyvegas]

Anyone?

In terms of trying to utilize the data, I'd like to be able to be able to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in outcomes based on whether an appeal came from A or B.

Thanks again,

Rob

[Dr.D]

Hi you may have to conduct a two (A vs B) by three (X,Y,Z) crosstabulation, followed by a chi-square test for each year. I can help you interpret if you can give me the data or numbers.

[robbyvegas]

Thank you! That would be terrific. I'll try to get the data into some sort of intelligible format and send it on as soon as possible. I'm not sure what a 2x3 cross tabulation does or how to go about doing it. Any suggestions?

Let me know how best to get the data to you. Is there a way to send it via this site, or should I email it?