Statistics: A Bayesian Perspective

Rating:
Summary: Introduction book
Review: It is not too useful for people beyond college level. Not as a reference book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction
Review: This book completely fulfills its goals, one of which is not to be a definitive reference book. It provides a friendly, entertaining introduction into statistics from a Bayesian perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction.
Review: This is a truly clear and thoughtful introduction to Bayesian statistics.Nothing is taken for granted as the author leads you through examples and concepts. This was my first introduction to Bayesian statistics, and Berry makes it seem so much more reasonable and closer to real research/real life than the artifice involved in other approaches.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction.
Review: This is an excellent introductory text designed for a first course in statistics. It covers all the topics that are typically in a first course. However, all other texts at this level take the frequentist approach to inference. A few may have sections that introduce Bayesian ideas but the Bayesian approach is a paradigm for statistical inference and as such the approach should be incorporated in all statistical topics. Berry shows that this can be done without the student having to know calculus. To understand Bayesian methods the student mainly has to know that posterior probability = likelihood x prior probability. Berry provides a good list of references for those who want to pursue more advanced topics.

This book is unique. It demonstrate that statistics can be taught from the Bayesian approach in the very beginnning. This is much like what Noether did when he wrote an introductory text in statistics taking a strict nonparametric approach.

The text is loaded with exercises and the exposition is very clear. There are many useful and entertaining diagrams. Many examples are taken from real medical problems. Medicine is an area in which Berry has done a great deal of consulting and his experience shows in his examples. This should be the text to turn to if you want an introduction to the subject. If you know the basics and want more advanced treatment go to the references mentioned in Berry's preface.

Rating:
Summary: elementary statistics presented with the Bayesian approach
Review: This is an excellent introductory text designed for a first course in statistics. It covers all the topics that are typically in a first course. However, all other texts at this level take the frequentist approach to inference. A few may have sections that introduce Bayesian ideas but the Bayesian approach is a paradigm for statistical inference and as such the approach should be incorporated in all statistical topics. Berry shows that this can be done without the student having to know calculus. To understand Bayesian methods the student mainly has to know that posterior probability = likelihood x prior probability. Berry provides a good list of references for those who want to pursue more advanced topics.

This book is unique. It demonstrate that statistics can be taught from the Bayesian approach in the very beginnning. This is much like what Noether did when he wrote an introductory text in statistics taking a strict nonparametric approach.

The text is loaded with exercises and the exposition is very clear. There are many useful and entertaining diagrams. Many examples are taken from real medical problems. Medicine is an area in which Berry has done a great deal of consulting and his experience shows in his examples. This should be the text to turn to if you want an introduction to the subject. If you know the basics and want more advanced treatment go to the references mentioned in Berry's preface.