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First (and Second) Steps in Statistics
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First (and Second) Steps in Statistics

Second Edition


April 2009 | 248 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

First (and Second) Steps in Statistics, Second Edition provides a clear and concise introduction to the main statistical procedures used in the social and behavioral sciences.

The authors present the rationale and procedure for analyzing data using engaging examples with an emphasis on understanding rather than computation. It is ideally suited for introductory courses in statistics given its gentle beginning, yet progressive treatment of topics. In addition to descriptive statistics, graphs, t tests, one way ANOVAs, Chi-square, and simple linear regression, this Second Edition now includes some new, more advanced topic areas as well as a host of additional examples to help student confidently progress through their studies and apply the techniques in lab work, reports and research projects.

Key Features

  • Re-organized first three chapters giving more attention to Univariate Statistics and providing more examples to work through at this level
  • Offers more advanced "Second Step" content added on Factorial ANOVA and Multiple Regression
  • Incorporates robust Methods chapter from the first edition now spread throughout the book, as is linked with common teaching practices.
  • Contains more examples added to enhance the book's practical nature
  • Includes a host of exercises as well as further reading sections at the end of every chapter

An accompanying web page includes information for each chapter using the statistical packages SPSS and R.


 
Univariate Statistics 1: Histograms and Boxplots
 
Univariate Statistics 2: The Mean and Standard Deviation
 
Univariate Statistics 3: Proportions and Bar Charts
 
Sampling and Allocation
 
Inference and Confidence Intervals
 
Hypothesis Testing: t tests and Alternatives
 
Comparing More than Two Groups or More than Two Variables
 
Regression and Correlation
 
Factorial ANOVAs and Multiple Regression
 
Categorical Data Analysis

'This engagingly written and nicely opinionated book is a blend of friendly introduction and concisely applicable detail. No-one can recall every statistical formula, but if they have this book they will know where to look' - Professor Jon May, University of Plymouth

'This is one of the best books I have come across for teaching introductory statistics. The illustrative examples are engaging and often humorous and the explanations of 'difficult' concepts are written in a wonderfully clear and intuitive way' - Nick Allum, University of Essex


Really good and essential for Year 1 or Year 2 students.

Dr Ioannis Angelakis
Psychology, Education and Careers, University of South Wales (Glamorgan)
February 9, 2016

Good introduction to the subject. Well explained. Printing quality could be better.

Professor Bernd Kaltenhaeuser
Technical Management, Duale Hochschule BW VS
March 31, 2015

Good introductory text for Stats. Well written!

Miss Anita Finnegan
Department of Computing, Dundalk Institute of Technology
November 9, 2012

This text provides a good introduction to the most important statistical topics, and is well suited for students who do not have an extensive quantitative background, such as my class of Facility Management students.

Dr Carola Nawroth
Life Sciences and Facility Management, ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften
October 5, 2012

Very accessible writing style and inspiring hands-on approach.

Dr Stefan Werner
Linguistics , University of Eastern Finland
August 17, 2012

A well written and easy-to-read introductory text with numerous good understandable examples.

Professor Alexander Lavrov
Faculty of Applied Logistics and Polymer Sciences, Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences
July 25, 2012

This is a very good book but doesn't cover the main topics required of the syllabus. I would however recommend the text to students for study as supplementary material. Having said this the book is of excellent quality and is very well written.

Mr Allister Smith
Science and Technology, Adam Smith College
December 5, 2011

This text explains the fundamentals of statistics well with the integrated examples. This would make a good text for the junior lecturer with a variety of good exercises.

Dr Peter Thain
Sport & Exercise Science & Sports Ther, Hertfordshire University
August 27, 2011

Excellent primer which doesn't sacrifice rigour for the sake of making statistics usable. It really does provide the basic building blocks that anyone using methods should have.

Dr Eoin O'Malley
Law and Government, Dublin City University (DCU)
August 25, 2011

So what does 'and second' in the title of this new edition mean? What has changed so that
you should buy this new edition rather than search eBay for the original? There are three
areas where we focused. First, there is the general updating of some examples and adding
some new ones. We received feedback on which examples worked and which did not, and
made changes accordingly. We also go into a little more depth on some topics than in the
original edition. If these were the only changes then it would have just been a second edition
without the title change. We have two new steps. The chapter in the original edition
on robust methods has been taken and spread throughout the other chapters. This change
was due to many people writing and saying that they taught, for example, the Wilcoxon
tests in the same week as the t tests and therefore they wanted them in the same chapter.
We also added more tests based on the median because the median often gets discussed in
the initial chapters of textbooks, but then is not mentioned again. There are tests for the
median, and we wanted to include these. The second extra step is factorial ANOVA. Again,
this was in response to public demand (yes, people are demanding factorial ANOVA). This
is Chapter 9 in the current edition.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter One

Chapter Two


For instructors

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This title is also available on SAGE Research Methods, the ultimate digital methods library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.