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Statistics

Statistics

List Price: $113.60
Your Price: $94.76
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If mathematics scares you, get this book.
Review:

If you buy just one book on statistics, this should be it. If mathematics scares you, get this book. If you are interested in how and why statistics works, get this book. If you want to improve the way you teach statistics, get this book.

For people first studying statistics, note that this book is written in ENGLISH! All formulas are written in English, not arcane mathematical symbols. For example, the formula for the arithmetic mean or average is:

The average of a list of numbers equals their sum, divided by how many there are.

That's it, no summation symbols and no variables with subscripts. The average is also described as:

Average of a list = sum of entries divided by the number of entries

The standard deviation (SD) is described:

SD = square root of (average of (deviations from the average)^2 )

(A deviation from the average is just the number minus the mean for the entire set of numbers. I've used "^2" to represent "squared" or "raising to the second power".)

The book is both easy and enjoyable to read. It is interesting reading and not just for statisticians. You get to read about important applications of statisitics in the real world (often including relevant historical details). There are also very well thought-out excercises that are realistic and yet can be easily computed by hand.

When I first found this book, I had finished by Ph. D. and had taught statistics for a number of years. Even though this is an introductory text book, I still learned a lot! It actually explains many important concepts that are often buried in the mathematics of other books. (For example, how many students understand the concept of "regression toward the mean"?) It completely changed the way I taught statistics. Especially when you are first starting to study statistics, you don't want the mathematics to obscure the statistical concepts. I've seen far too many students being able to do much of the mathematics but not having a clue about the statistical concept behind the method. They could do the computations but wouldn't know why they were doing them or when the method was appropriate to use.

The book consists of 29 chapters and covers design of experiments (comparative experiments), descriptive statistics (histograms, mean, standard deviation, normal distribution), correlation and regression, probability, chance variability (expected value and standard error), sampling (surveys, chance error), chance models (measurement error, genetics), and tests of significance (large sample tests for the mean and proportions, t-tests, and Chi-square tests).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't buy at amazon.ca its cheaper by 30bux at chapters
Review: chapters.ca

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A good study of statistics.
Review: I am not sure I would call it delightful, but an easy-to-read, comprehensive study of the field.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Intro Book for Non-Math/Stat Majors
Review: I expected this to be dry and mechanical like lots of other math texts - too-technical proofs, homework questions irrelevant to the material, insufficient explanations for why things are the way they are. This book really surprised me because it wasn't "mathy" at all. It doesn't just throw proofs at you expecting you to wade thru page upon page of math notation until you understand - it gives you the intuitive side of important concepts, which means you only need common sense, not an intensive mathematical background to get everything. The examples they picked simplify rather than confuse the concepts. Each easily and naturally leads to the next. If there's anything not thoroughly elaborated, they were sure to cover it in the homework questions, by gently plodding the reader along towards the answer step by step instead of smacking them in the face with impossible problems. Homework questions supplement the material perfectly and basically leave you with a full and well-rounded impression of what the concepts mean as well as when and why to use them, not just how to plug numbers into some formula.
If anything, I'd say this book errs on the side of caution in that in some sections it could pick up the pace a little. But then again, you could always just skip the easier parts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Clear, Systematic, and Detailed
Review: I found this book very useful in obtaining a solid conceputal understanding of statistics. This is exactly what a beginner or an intermediate student has to master. The first chapter that clearly explains the difference between experimental and observational studies and describes the randomized controlled, experimental method is a gem, and all others are very solid, too. Anyone who is trying to understand statistics and has found himself frustrated by extra dry, formula-laden books on the subject will find this text refreshing and very helpful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy this book and you won't regret it!
Review: I had used this book for my Introduction to Statistics class, and I think it was the best $60 I had ever spent. The authors explain all the major statistical concepts clearly and succinctly, drawing on a variety of samples and adding a touch of humor. The math in this book is more than doable; anyone with a basic grasp of algebra and a willingness tackle numbers is the only prerequisite to understanding this book. However, the authors also try to convey to the reader that there is more to statistics than just numbers. How an experiment is constructed, how polls are taken, what biases exist, and how assumptions are made are all integral parts of statistics. This book is applicable to almost every subject--political science, sociology, sciences, engineering, etc. There are enough exercises in the chapters to assist the reader in reviewing the concepts. I can't stress this enough: Buy this book and you won't regret it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy this book and you won't regret it!
Review: I had used this book for my Introduction to Statistics class, and I think it was the best $60 I had ever spent. The authors explain all the major statistical concepts clearly and succinctly, drawing on a variety of samples and adding a touch of humor. The math in this book is more than doable; anyone with a basic grasp of algebra and a willingness tackle numbers is the only prerequisite to understanding this book. However, the authors also try to convey to the reader that there is more to statistics than just numbers. How an experiment is constructed, how polls are taken, what biases exist, and how assumptions are made are all integral parts of statistics. This book is applicable to almost every subject--political science, sociology, sciences, engineering, etc. There are enough exercises in the chapters to assist the reader in reviewing the concepts. I can't stress this enough: Buy this book and you won't regret it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nothing Better -Nothing even comes close
Review: I taught an introductory statistics course with this book two years ago. I have to say that *I* learned a great deal preparing for class as I read it--there is a lot of insight and intuition here that you won't generally find anywhere else. Teaching out of it is tough, though, because you don't have the math to hide behind. For those of us used to math, formulas can be a comforting thing. For most students, they're usually just intimidating and the object of many blank stares. IMO, for students who will take only one class in statistics, learning out of this book would be very helpful in a way many other books would not be. For students who will take more than one, gaining a strong conceptual foundation will be helpful as well.

My guess is that the students complaining about this book don't know how good they've got it. You could be stuck with a book that focuses on how to do statistics with Excel or the like, in which case you'll basically learn nothing of subsequent value. :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent text
Review: I taught an introductory statistics course with this book two years ago. I have to say that *I* learned a great deal preparing for class as I read it--there is a lot of insight and intuition here that you won't generally find anywhere else. Teaching out of it is tough, though, because you don't have the math to hide behind. For those of us used to math, formulas can be a comforting thing. For most students, they're usually just intimidating and the object of many blank stares. IMO, for students who will take only one class in statistics, learning out of this book would be very helpful in a way many other books would not be. For students who will take more than one, gaining a strong conceptual foundation will be helpful as well.

My guess is that the students complaining about this book don't know how good they've got it. You could be stuck with a book that focuses on how to do statistics with Excel or the like, in which case you'll basically learn nothing of subsequent value. :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Now I get it!
Review: I've just finished studying this book. It's just absolutely delightful. Aftger having taken brain numbing statistics courses in graduate school, this book is like having an expert friend to talk to about the real basis for things. The authors are very thorough in developing baisc statisical theory through examples and practical problems, not to mention interesting and relevant historical background. It's basically a book on learning how to think statistacally, correctly! Common pitfalls togehter with discussions of famous and not so famous goofs and misapplicatinos of statistical methods are throughout the book used (not to poke fun, although it is fun) to develop a second nature in basic concepts. While the book is thick, the reading is easygoing and friendly. It won't take very long for most people to get through it. Concepts are developed progressively on firmly developed and well explained basic ideas. It's as much, if not more, a book on critical thinking as it is on the techniques of elementary statistics. -- Jack Penkethman


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