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Rating: 
Summary: Good book--BAD website
Review: Currently, I'm a student at the University of Kentucky. Math isn't exactly my strong suit, so as far as statistic books are concerned, I would be the heaviest critic. This book is fine; nothing flashy--almost everything is made clear. That's not my problem.Unfortunately, there is a bad side to this text. Professors had gotten into the habit of using text-based sites and publisher-created quizes in order to give legitimate grades. Sadly, (like most online quizes I've taken), this book is a dangerous threat to anyone attempting to get better than a C on for their final grade. This is due in part to the mere fact that these online, textbook created quizes are too impersonal for a specific professor to use. Sadly, while I realize that professors are insanely busy, this large gap is unfair to students. However, this particular book goes that extra mile to, not only make each question worth 20 percent of each quiz's final grade, but intentionally uses trick questions in order to fool the student. This does not occur always, but certainly enough to ruin any hopes of getting higher than an 80 percent on each quiz...if luck holds out. I attempted to e-mail the publisers from the website, but I could not find the appropiate link. This is rather unfortunate, mainly because most online testing I've encountered thus far has always had some flaws, (even wrong answers), that need to be pointed out. I've resorted to this review instead. So, students--unless you are a statistics fanatic with the patience to read each and every question five times over to make sure you can find what precisely it means, be ready to get a few flaws on your report card. And, professors--for heaven's sake, just ask for homework.
Rating:
Summary: Good book--BAD website
Review: Currently, I'm a student at the University of Kentucky. Math isn't exactly my strong suit, so as far as statistic books are concerned, I would be the heaviest critic. This book is fine; nothing flashy--almost everything is made clear. That's not my problem. Unfortunately, there is a bad side to this text. Professors had gotten into the habit of using text-based sites and publisher-created quizes in order to give legitimate grades. Sadly, (like most online quizes I've taken), this book is a dangerous threat to anyone attempting to get better than a C on for their final grade. This is due in part to the mere fact that these online, textbook created quizes are too impersonal for a specific professor to use. Sadly, while I realize that professors are insanely busy, this large gap is unfair to students. However, this particular book goes that extra mile to, not only make each question worth 20 percent of each quiz's final grade, but intentionally uses trick questions in order to fool the student. This does not occur always, but certainly enough to ruin any hopes of getting higher than an 80 percent on each quiz...if luck holds out. I attempted to e-mail the publisers from the website, but I could not find the appropiate link. This is rather unfortunate, mainly because most online testing I've encountered thus far has always had some flaws, (even wrong answers), that need to be pointed out. I've resorted to this review instead. So, students--unless you are a statistics fanatic with the patience to read each and every question five times over to make sure you can find what precisely it means, be ready to get a few flaws on your report card. And, professors--for heaven's sake, just ask for homework.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for the mathematically challenged!
Review: I just finished teaching an introductory course on General Education Statistics (for nontechnical majors) using this book. It was an excellent presentation. Numerous examples. Could have better explanations of correlation, variance, normal frequency distributions
Rating: 
Summary: Oh What A Relief!
Review: I used this book for an applied research and statistics class. It was painfully easy to read and grasp the concepts. The visual aids, cartoons and graphs appearing after each concept were also helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Oh What A Relief!
Review: I used this book for an applied research and statistics class. It was painfully easy to read and grasp the concepts. The visual aids, cartoons and graphs appearing after each concept were also helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely clear and simple
Review: This is simplest book I have encountered in my undergraduate career. It is realistically at a 7th or 8th grade level. Many of the questions and concepts are staggeringly easy, with a focus on basic issues involving methods and presentation. I am EXTREMELY bad at math. This book would not be suited for anyone involved in any field that uses statistics or that is technical in any respect because you will not learn a whole lot unless you are totally unfamiliar with anything involving numbers. In fact, if you have had a rigorous introduction to economics, psychology, or even sociology, you will breeze right through this book. It is extremely clearly written and some questions are somewhat thought-provoking. Its simplicity also builds confidence.
Rating:
Summary: great coverage of concepts and philosophy at beginning level
Review: This was the first of many well written introductory texts by David Moore. It is now in its fourth edition and in paperback form it is very reasonably priced. Moore emphasizes the concepts and not the computational aspects and mathematics. This helps undergraduate students in any discipline to become statistically literate. Moore is both a Professor of Statistics at Purdue University and an educator. He has also served as President of the American Statistical Association. Known for his clear writing style, he has led the way in training statistics to the masses. This book was his first attempt (very successful) and it has been followed by many others including the most recent text which takes an activity-based approach to teaching. Among the concepts presented are: (1) sampling and randomization, (2) why experiment and what designs to use, (3) measurement accuracy, (4) understanding relationships (contingency tables, scatterplots, correlation and regression), (5)index numbers (CPI), (6) the role of government statistics, (7) understanding changes over time, (8) probability, (9) probability through simulation and (10) inference including confidence intervals for means and proportions. The text includes many useful exercises which enhance understanding. Also many nice cartoons are included for humor and enhancing explanations. One cartoon shows a team with seven basketball players of which 6 a short and one is very tall. In the caption the publicists asks the coach "Should we scare the opposition by announcing our mean height or lull them by announcing our median height?" A clear example where the one tall person distorts the picture giving a high value for the mean that does not represent the group while on the other hand the median gives a good representation of the central height for the group but hides the fact that they have a very tall player. The book is great for beginners but is also a good reference book for anyone. It is stimulating and thought provoking.
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