The Joy of Stats offers a reader-friendly introduction to applied statistics and quantitative analysis in the social sciences and public policy. Perfect as an undergraduate text or self-study manual, it emphasises how to understand concepts, interpret algorithms and formulas, analyse data, and answer research questions.
This brand new edition offers examples and visualisations using real-life data, a revised discussion of statistical inference, and introductory examples in Stata, SPSS, and R. The third edition has been extensively reorganised with shorter chapters and closer links between concepts and formulas, while retaining useful pedagogical features including key terms, practice exercises, a math refresher, and playful inserts on 'the mathematical imagination.' The Joy of Stats also places a strong emphasis on learning how to write and speak clearly about data results. Supported by a companion website with data sets and additional resources, TheJoy of Stats is a superb choice for introducing students to applied statistics and for refreshing and reviewing stats as a social scientist, public policy professional, or community activist.
The Joy of Stats offers a reader-friendly introduction to applied statistics and quantitative analysis in the social sciences and public policy. Perfect as an undergraduate text or self-study manual, it emphasises how to understand concepts, interpret algorithms and formulas, analyse data, and answer research questions.
This brand new edition offers examples and visualisations using real-life data, a revised discussion of statistical inference, and introductory examples in Stata, SPSS, and R. The third edition has been extensively reorganised with shorter chapters and closer links between concepts and formulas, while retaining useful pedagogical features including key terms, practice exercises, a math refresher, and playful inserts on 'the mathematical imagination.' The Joy of Stats also places a strong emphasis on learning how to write and speak clearly about data results. Supported by a companion website with data sets and additional resources, TheJoy of Stats is a superb choice for introducing students to applied statistics and for refreshing and reviewing stats as a social scientist, public policy professional, or community activist.
List of Figures and Tables
Preface
Part One: Getting Started
1. Thinking about Numbers
2. Variables
Part Two: Describing Distributions
3. Describing Variable Distributions—First Steps
4. Measures of Central Tendency
5. Variability and Z-scores
Part Three: Statistical Inference
6. Thinking about Statistical Inference
7. Doing Statistical Inference
Part Four: Relations Among Variables
8. Regression and Correlation
9. Comparing Means
10. Categorical Variables
11. Multiple Regression and Logistic Regression
12. Reading Research
Math Refresher
Charts for Distributions
Bibliography
Index
Roberta Garner is a professor in the Department of
Sociology at DePaul University.
Michael Ash is a professor in the Department of Economics
and School of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts
Amherst.
"Using many real-life examples, The Joy of Stats offers a simple,
easy read for beginners in an introduction to social or applied
statistics course. This new edition does a very good job using
visualizations to explain and illustrate key concepts and is
particularly suitable for undergraduate students.--Cary Wu, York
University
"The Joy of Stats makes statistical content less mathematical and
more practical. The third edition is updated with new illustrations
of the concepts, more straightforward explanations of statistical
terms in plain language, and new examples and exercises. It acts as
a primer, offering a list of things you absolutely must know to be
successful in stats."--Natalka Patsiurko, Concordia University
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