Practical Statistics For Geographers And Earth Scientists

Practical Statistics for Geographers and Earth Scientists Nigel Walford A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication Practical Statistics for Geographers and Earth Scientists Practical Statistics for Geographers and Earth Scientists Nigel Walford A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication This edition first published 2011, © 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Wiley-Blackwell is an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, formed by the merger of Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing. Registered office: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices: 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, USA For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/ wiley-blackwell The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Walford, Nigel. Practical statistics for geographers and earth scientists / Nigel Walford. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-470-84914-9 (cloth) – ISBN 978-0-470-84915-6 (pbk.) 1. Geography–Statistical methods. I. Title. G70.3.W36 2011 519.5–dc22 2010028020 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDF: 978-0-470-67001-9 Set in 10.5 on 12.5 pt Minion by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited First Impression 2011 To Ann Contents Preface Acknowledgements Glossary Section 1 First principles 1 2 3 What’s in a number? xi xiii xv 1 3 Learning outcomes 1.1 Introduction to quantitative analysis 1.2 Nature of numerical data 1.3 Simplifying mathematical notation 1.4 Introduction to case studies and structure of the book 4 9 14 19 Geographical data: quantity and content 21 Learning outcomes 2.1 Geographical data 2.2 Populations and sample