education

I've said it before, and I will say it again. I hate Statistics! It is not just that statistics originated as a means to classify and rank people according to their perceived social worth. Statistics is still used that way as evidenced by the publication and use of the book The Bell Curve. In comparision to a pure science like Neuroscience and also to mathematics, statistics is a subjective science. Everyone knows that statistics can be manipulated and used to show whatever the researcher wants to show...and it is more prone to abuse then most other hard sciences and math.

Ok, having said that...I had to take a statistics course at the last minute (read that last year) while working on my dissertation, because it was determined I did not have enough measurements classes. This book was required, but it really has not been used as much as the other textbook which is equation-based, but I quickly found that I preferred this book!

This textbook explains how and why statistics are used in all sciences, social sciences, etc. and how they are to be interpreted when seen in a journal. It is very concise...the authors for once are not writing for their peers, they are writing for their audience (which are going to be students, grad students, patient/consumers, etc). The book is written with an eye towards helping the reader understand the reasoning and logic behind using statistics. It is done with minimal decorative writing, and with a sense of humor. It makes use of good examples of both good and bad statistic use in papers and journals, it lambasts those who need lambasting, and it has a sense of humor.

If you have to understand statistics so you can read medical journals, sociology, educational journals, etc. this is the book to get. It is immensely helpful. I will rid my library of all other statistical books, but this one I will keep (since my statistics outside of class will be either on computers or I will do qualitative research!)
Karen Sadler,

Science Education,
University of PIttsburgh

This book not only assist the researcher in reading and understanding sometimes difficult statistical topics but it also is a excellent guide to decision making when writing your own research.