E-Book Overview
This inexpensive paperback provides a brief, simple overview of statistics to help readers gain a better understanding of how statistics work and how to interpret them correctly. Each chapter describes a different statistical technique, ranging from basic concepts like central tendency and describing distributions to more advanced concepts such as t tests, regression, repeated measures ANOVA, and factor analysis. Each chapter begins with a short description of the statistic and when it should be used. This is followed by a more in-depth explanation of how the statistic works. Finally, each chapter ends with an example of the statistic in use, and a sample of how the results of analyses using the statistic might be written up for publication. A glossary of statistical terms and symbols is also included. New features in the third edition include: a new chapter on Factor and Reliability Analysis especially helpful to those who do and/or read survey research, new "Writing it Up" sections demonstrate how to write about and interpret statistics seen in books and journals, a website at http://www.psypress.com/statistics-in-plain-english with PowerPoint presentations, interactive problems (including an overview of the problem's solution for Instructors) with an IBM SPSS dataset for practice, videos of the author demonstrating how to calculate and interpret most of the statistics in the book, links to useful websites, and an author blog, new section on understanding the distribution of data (ch. 1) to help readers understand how to use and interpret graphs, many more examples, tables, and charts to help students visualize key concepts. Statistics in Plain English, Third Edition is an ideal supplement for statistics, research methods, and/or for courses that use statistics taught at the undergraduate or graduate level, or as a reference tool for anyone interested in refreshing their memory about key statistical concepts. The research examples are from psychology, education, and other social and behavioral sciences.
E-Book Content
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© 2010 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. International Standard Book Number: 978-0-415-87291-1 (Paperback) For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data Urdan, Timothy C. Statistics in plain English / Tim Urdan. ‑‑ 3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978‑0‑415‑87291‑1 1. Statistics‑‑Textbooks. I. Title. QA276.12.U75 2010 519.5‑‑dc22 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the Psychology Press Web site at http://www.psypress.com ISBN 0-203-85117-X Master e-book ISBN
2010000438
To Ella and Nathaniel. Because you rock.
Contents Preface
ix
Chap