Statistics for Dummies

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 384 pages
• Published by: For Dummies
• Edition: 1st Edition August 25, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764554239
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764554230
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Product Review
"…it would certainly help many students, particularly those on service courses, to grasp the concepts and see the wider picture." (MSOR Newsletter, September 2007)

Product Description
In the numbers explosion all around us in our modern-day dealings, the buzzword is data, as in, “Do you have any data to support your claim?” “The data supported the original hypothesis that . . .” and “The data bear this out. . . .” But the field of statistics is not just about data. Statistics is the entire process involved in gathering evidence to answer questions about the world, in cases where that evidence happens to be numerical data.

Statistics For Dummies is for everyone who wants to sort through and evaluate the incredible amount of statistical information that comes to them on a daily basis. (You know the stuff: charts, graphs, tables, as well as headlines that talk about the results of the latest poll, survey, experiment, or other scientific study.) This book arms you with the ability to decipher and make important decisions about statistical results, being ever aware of the ways in which people can mislead you with statistics. Get the inside scoop on number-crunching nuances, plus insight into how you can

• Determine the odds
• Calculate a standard score
• Find the margin of error
• Recognize the impact of polls
• Establish criteria for a good survey
• Make informed decisions about experiments

This down-to-earth reference is chock-full of real examples from real sources that are relevant to your everyday life: from the latest medical breakthroughs, crime studies, and population trends to surveys on Internet dating, cell phone use, and the worst cars of the millennium. Statistics For Dummies departs from traditional statistics texts, references, supplement books, and study guides in the following ways:

• Practical and intuitive explanations of statistical concepts, ideas, techniques, formulas, and calculations.
• Clear and concise step-by-step procedures that intuitively explain how to work through statistics problems.
• Upfront and honest answers to your questions like, “What does this really mean?” and “When and how I will ever use this?”

Chances are, Statistics For Dummies will be your No. 1 resource for discovering how numerical data figures into your corner of the universe.

Reader Reviews
I agree that this is a fair OVERVIEW. But where the entire Dummies series focuses on making complex topics simple and practical, this book fall short. For instance, there is very little value in the Probabilities section; the examples used as so simplistic that they cannot be applied by the reader to any larger question. Want to know the odds of something happening with multiple independent trials? Want to really understand games of chance or card games? Want to figure out for yourself the likelihood of being called on in class over the course of a week? This book can't help you answer these questions. No formulas for individual or multiple trials, dependent or independent events, or the like are presented to enable you to use the examples that are given. As for general statistics, again this is a fair vehicle to understand statistics in their application, not so good at explaining how they are derived or allowing the reader to apply the information. In the end I gave this book to my college-bound daughter and she will use it as a companion guide in her stats class. It remains to be seen whether it will add any value even there. Not a waste of money for someone wanting to understand stats in the media and the like, but certainly a disappointment if you want a refresher on how to crunch the numbers yourself.