Interpreting Basic Statistics: A Workbook Based on Excerpts from Journal Articles

by Zealure C. Holcomb, Keith S. Cox

Overview

Interpreting Basic Statistics gives students valuable practice in interpreting statistical reporting as it actually appears in peer-reviewed journals.

Features of the ninth edition:

• Covers a broad array of basic statistical concepts, including topics drawn from the New Statistics

• Up-to-date journal excerpts reflecting contemporary styles in statistical reporting

• Strong emphasis on data visualization

• Ancillary materials include data sets with almost two hours of accompanying tutorial videos, which will help students and instructors apply lessons from the book to real-life scenarios

About this book

Each of the 63 exercises in the book contain three central components: 1) an introduction to a statistical concept, 2) a brief excerpt from a published research article that uses the statistical concept, and 3) a set of questions (with answers) that guides students into deeper learning about the concept. The questions on the journal excerpts promote learning by helping students

• interpret information in tables and figures,

• perform simple calculations to further their interpretations,

• critique data-reporting techniques, and

• evaluate procedures used to collect data.

The questions in each exercise are divided into two parts: (1) Factual Questions and (2) Questions for Discussion. The Factual Questions require careful reading for details, while the discussion questions show that interpreting statistics is more than a mathematical exercise. These questions require students to apply good judgment as well as statistical reasoning in arriving at appropriate interpretations. Each exercise covers a limited number of topics, making it easy to coordinate the exercises with lectures or a traditional statistics textbook.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367560515
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/30/2021
Edition description:	9th ed.
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Keith S. Cox is a Clinical and Personality Psychologist. He teaches research methods and statistics at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he holds the rank of assistant professor. He uses the research methods and statistics covered in this book as he investigates Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and personality.

Table of Contents

1. Basic Descriptions of the Data: Measurement and Frequency 2. Describing the Data 3. Displaying Data: Visualizing What is There 4. Finding Relationships: Association and Prediction 5. Group Differences with Normal Distributions 6. Nonparametric Tests for Group Differences 7. Test Construction

Editorial Reviews

The 9^th edition of this workbook is an engaging and invaluable tool for teaching students how to interpret statistics as they encounter them in articles written within the psychological, social, and health sciences. By choosing article excerpts that are sure to interest undergraduate readers, the authors may entice those many students who say they fear numbers into taking their first halting steps toward understanding. By providing clear and concise descriptions of key concepts and posing astute questions, the workbook demystifies the scientific enterprise and explains its importance for comprehending the social world. And by starting with the simplest ideas and gradually, step by step, moving toward a more complex understanding, the authors gently lead students on a learning journey that is sure to be deeply informative – and maybe even fun! — Dan P. McAdams, the Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University, USA

"This introduction to reading and understanding statistics is very basic and easy to understand, but at the same time it is scientifically oriented, contemporary in outlook and forward looking in methodology. It points students in exactly the right direction, emphasizing meaningful interpretation of scientific results over recitation of cookbook formulas. Students will come away with the tools they need for comprehending graphical analysis, effect size, and statistical power." — Eric Turkheimer, PhD, Hugh Scott Hamilton Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA

The ninth edition of this workbook is an engaging and invaluable tool for teaching students how to interpret statistics as they encounter them in articles written within the psychological, social, and health sciences. By choosing article excerpts that are sure to interest undergraduate readers, the authors may entice those many students who say they fear numbers into taking their first halting steps toward understanding. By providing clear and concise descriptions of key concepts and posing astute questions, the workbook demystifies the scientific enterprise and explains its importance for comprehending the social world. And by starting with the simplest ideas and gradually, step by step, moving toward a more complex understanding, the authors gently lead students on a learning journey that is sure to be deeply informative – and maybe even fun! — Dan P. McAdams, the Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University, USA

"This introduction to reading and understanding statistics is very basic and easy to understand, but at the same time it is scientifically oriented, contemporary in outlook and forward looking in methodology. It points students in exactly the right direction, emphasizing meaningful interpretation of scientific results over recitation of cookbook formulas. Students will come away with the tools they need for comprehending graphical analysis, effect size, and statistical power." — Eric Turkheimer, PhD, Hugh Scott Hamilton Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA

From the Publisher