JASA Highlights
Books Reviewed
Range of
Analysing Ecological Data
Alain F. Zuur, Elena N. Ieno, and Graham M. Smith
Topics Covered
Applied Chemometrics for Scientists
Richard G. Brereton
in Sept. Issue
The Basel II Risk Parameters: Estimation, Validation, and Stress Testing
Bernd Engelmann and Robert Rauhmeier (eds.)
David L. Banks, Walter W. Piegorsch,
Bayes Linear Statistics: Theory and Methods
Stephen L. Portnoy, and Dalene K. Stangl
Michael Goldstein and David Wooff
Bioequivalence Studies in Drug Development: Methods and Applications
Dieter Hauschke, Volker Steinijans, and Iris Pigeot
The Construction of Optimal Stated Choice Experiments: Theory and Methods
B
y the time this note appears, the Joint
Statistical Meetings will be over. And
the editors will be very glad.
Deborah J. Street and Leonie Burgess
JSM is a difficult time for us. We see all our
friends whose articles we had to reject. And we
Information and Complexity in Statistical Modeling
see the colleagues whom we nagged, past all
Jorma Rissanen
point of politesse, to get their overdue reports
Introduction to Applied Bayesian Statistics and Estimation for Social Scientists turned in. The Committee on Publications
Scott M. Lynch grills us about our backlog (which is always
too large or too small); ASA staff members
An Introduction to Categorical Data Analysis (2nd ed.)
express concern about all the costly color
Alan Agresti
figures we want; and each associate editor is
Introduction to Stochastic Integration handling some paper that is particularly prob-
Hui-Hsiung Kuo lematic and buttonholes us for a few words.
Introduction to Variance Estimation (2nd ed.)
There is a great temptation to hide in one’s
Kirk M. Wolter
hotel room.
All these groups have good reason for
Markov Chains: Models, Algorithms and Applications
concern. Part of our job is to work with the
Wai-Ki Ching and Michael K. Ng
associate editors to troubleshoot problems,
Model-Based Geostatistics
and it is often most efficient to do this in a
Peter J. Diggle and Paulo J. Ribeiro Jr.
face-to-face meeting at JSM. JASA’s publica-
tion costs are large, and the ASA has a duty
Models for Ecological Data: An Introduction
to its members to keep those under control.
James S. Clark
Similarly, the backlog requires regular atten-
Nonparametric Statistics with Applications to Science and Engineering
tion, making it a constant balancing act.
Paul H. Kvam and Brani Vidakovic
And although some referees take too long,
there are almost always good reasons, or, at
Optimum Experimental Designs, with SAS
worst, simple human frailty. The culture of
A. C. Atkinson, A. N. Donev, and R. D. Tobias
our profession has routinely tolerated slow
Random Fragmentation and Coagulation Processes
refereeing; the editors are trying earnestly
Jean Bertoin
to effect necessary change, but it does not
happen overnight.
Quality of Life: The Assessment, Analysis and Interpretation of Patient-Reported
Our main discomfiture is meeting the
Outcomes (2nd ed.)
authors. It would be wrong to claim that
Peter M. Fayers and David Machin
the refereeing process is noise-free (though
The Refinement of Econometric Estimation and Test Procedures: Finite Sample and we believe it is substantially bias-free). Good
Asymptotic Analysis papers are sometimes rejected, and marginal
Garry D. A. Phillips and Elias Tzavalis (eds.) papers are sometimes accepted. This should
be no surprise to statisticians—the interlock-
Stochastic Processes, Optimization, and Control Theory: Applications in Financial
ing oversight of the editor, an assistant edi-
Engineering, Queuing Networks, and Manufacturing Systems
tor, and multiple referees reduces the type I
Houmin Yan, George Yin, and Qing Zhang (eds.)
and II error rates, but not to zero. Even when
Talking with Computers: Explorations in the Science and Technology of Computing the editor thinks a paper has merit, it is inap-
Thomas Dean propriate to override reviewers unless there
OCTOBER 2008 AMSTAT NEWS 17
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