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Social Statistics for a Diverse Society
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Social Statistics for a Diverse Society

Ninth Edition
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January 2020 | 576 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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The authors are proud sponsors of the 2020 SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award—enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop.



The Ninth Edition of Social Statistics for a Diverse Society continues to emphasize intuition and common sense, while demonstrating the link between the practice of statistics and important social issues. Recognizing that we live in a world characterized by a growing diversity and richness of social differences, best-selling authors Frankfort-Nachmias, Leon-Guerrero, and Davis help students learn key statistical concepts through real research examples related to the dynamic interplay of race, class, gender, and other social variables. The text also helps readers develop important skills such as problem-solving (through a rich variety of exercises), use of statistical software (both SPSS and Excel), and interpreting research literature.
 

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Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
CHAPTER 1 • The What and the Why of Statistics
The Research Process

 
Asking Research Questions

 
The Role of Theory

 
Formulating the Hypotheses

 
Collecting Data

 
Analyzing Data and Evaluating the Hypotheses

 
Examining a Diverse Society

 
Learning Statistics

 
 
CHAPTER 2 • The Organization and Graphic Presentation of Data
Frequency Distributions

 
Proportions and Percentages

 
Percentage Distributions

 
The Construction of Frequency Distributions

 
Cumulative Distributions

 
Rates

 
Reading the Research Literature: Access to Public Benefits

 
Graphic Presentation of Data

 
The Pie Chart

 
The Bar Graph

 
The Histogram

 
The Statistical Map

 
The Line Graph

 
The Time-Series Chart

 
Statistics in Practice: Foreign-Born Population 65 Years and Over

 
 
CHAPTER 3 • Measures of Central Tendency
The Mode

 
The Median

 
The Mean

 
Reading the Research Literature: The Case of Reporting Income

 
Statistics in Practice: The Shape of the Distribution

 
Considerations for Choosing a Measure of Central Tendency

 
 
CHAPTER 4 • Measures of Variability
The Importance of Measuring Variability

 
The Index of Qualitative Variation

 
Statistics in Practice: Diversity in U.S. Society

 
The Range

 
The Interquartile Range

 
The Box Plot

 
The Variance and the Standard Deviation

 
Considerations for Choosing a Measure of Variation

 
Reading the Research Literature: Community College Mentoring

 
 
CHAPTER 5 • The Normal Distribution
Properties of the Normal Distribution

 
An Application of the Normal Curve

 
The Standard Normal Distribution

 
The Standard Normal Table

 
Reading the Research Literature: Child Health and Academic Achievement

 
 
CHAPTER 6 • Sampling and Sampling Distributions
Aims of Sampling

 
Basic Probability Principles

 
Probability Sampling

 
The Concept of the Sampling Distribution

 
The Sampling Distribution of the Mean

 
The Central Limit Theorem

 
Statistics in Practice: The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

 
 
CHAPTER 7 • Estimation
Point and Interval Estimation

 
Confidence Intervals for Means

 
Statistics in Practice: Hispanic Migration and Earnings

 
Confidence Intervals for Proportions

 
Reading the Research Literature: Women Victims of Intimate Violence

 
 
CHAPTER 8 • Testing Hypotheses
Assumptions of Statistical Hypothesis Testing

 
Stating the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Probability Values and Alpha

 
The Five Steps in Hypothesis Testing: A Summary

 
Errors in Hypothesis Testing

 
Hypothesis Testing With One Sample and Population Variance Unknown

 
Hypothesis Testing With Two Sample Means

 
The Sampling Distribution of the Difference Between Means

 
The Five Steps in Hypothesis Testing About Difference Between Means: A Summary

 
Statistics in Practice: Vape Use Among Teens

 
Hypothesis Testing With Two Sample Proportions

 
Reading the Research Literature: Reporting the Results of Hypothesis Testing

 
 
CHAPTER 9 • Bivariate Tables
How to Construct a Bivariate Table

 
How to Compute Percentages in a Bivariate Table

 
Reading the Research Literature: Racial Disparities and Educational Attainment

 
The Properties of a Bivariate Relationship

 
Elaboration

 
Reading the Research Literature: The Digital Divide

 
 
CHAPTER 10 • The Chi-Square Test and Measures of Association
The Concept of Chi-Square as a Statistical Test

 
The Concept of Statistical Independence

 
The Structure of Hypothesis Testing With Chi-Square

 
Statistics in Practice: Respondent and Mother Education

 
Proportional Reduction of Error

 
Lambda: A Measure of Association for Nominal Variables

 
Cramer’s V: A Chi-Square-Related Measure of Association for Nominal Variables

 
Gamma and Kendall’s Tau-b: Symmetrical Measures of Association for Ordinal Variables

 
Reading the Research Literature: India’s Internet-Using Population

 
 
CHAPTER 11 • Analysis of Variance
Understanding Analysis of Variance

 
The Structure of Hypothesis Testing With ANOVA

 
The Five Steps in Hypothesis Testing: A Summary

 
Statistics in Practice: The Ethical Consumer

 
Reading the Research Literature: College Satisfaction Among Latino Students

 
 
CHAPTER 12 • Regression and Correlation
The Scatter Diagram

 
Linear Relationships and Prediction Rules

 
A Negative Relationship: Age and Internet Hours per Week

 
Methods for Assessing the Accuracy of Predictions

 
Testing the Significance of r2 Using ANOVA

 
Statistics in Practice: Multiple Regression and ANOVA

 
Reading the Research Literature: Academic Intentions and Support

 
 
Appendix A. Table of Random Numbers
 
Appendix B. The Standard Normal Table
 
Appendix C. Distribution of t
 
Appendix D. Distribution of Chi-Square
 
Appendix E. Distribution of F
 
Appendix F. A Basic Math Review
 
Learning Check Solutions
 
Answers to Odd-Numbered Exercises
 
Glossary
 
Notes
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Site
Instructor Teaching Site (Password Protected)

SAGE Edge for Instructors, supports your teaching by making it easy to integrate quality content and create a rich learning environment for students. 
  • Test banks provide a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity to edit any question and/or insert your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
  • Sample course syllabi for semester and quarter courses provide suggested models for structuring your courses.
  • Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer complete flexibility for creating a multimedia presentation for your course. 
  • Lecture notes summarize key concepts by chapter to help you prepare for lectures and class discussions.
Student Study Site
Student Study Site (Open Access)

SAGE Edge for Students provides a personalized approach to help students accomplish their coursework goals in an easy-to-use learning environment.
  • Mobile-friendly eFlashcards strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts. 
  • Mobile-friendly practice quizzes allow for independent assessment by students of their mastery of course material.
  • Learning objectives reinforce the most important material.
  • Web resources facilitate student use of Internet resources and further exploration of topics.
  • Study questions provide students the opportunity to practice core chapter concepts.
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • New examples throughout the book—mostly taken from news stories, government reports, public opinion polls, scholarly research, and the National Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey—are formulated to emphasize to students that we live in a world in which statistical arguments are common.

  • Statistical concepts and procedures are illustrated with the most current data and research, providing a clear sense of how questions about important social issues can be studied with various statistical techniques.

  • New computer demonstrations and practice problems utilizing Microsoft Excel offer instructors the flexibility to use SPSS and/or Excel—or no computer software at all. 

  • SPSS and Excel video demonstrations also accompany the edition. Instructors will be able to embed these video demonstrations in their online course management systems (Canvas, D2L, Blackboard, etc.) and/or offer them as supplementary material for students who are new to statistical software and would benefit from tutorials that they can watch as many times as needed. 

 

KEY FEATURES:

  • An informal writing style–coupled with the use of real-world examples–makes this book more accessible and engaging for students. 

  • An emphasis on race, class, gender and other aspects of social diversity sets the book apart from others in the field and mirrors the major emphasis in the social sciences today. 

  • Learning Checks keyed to the most important topics are carefully placed in the chapters to aid students’ self-assessment. 

  • Statistics In Practice inserts throughout the book show the real-world application of the techniques and concepts introduced. 

  • A Closer Look boxes highlight statistical issues that are important for future researchers. 
  • Reading the Research Literature sections in most chapters help students read and interpret statistical information in professional and scholarly publications. 

  • A wealth of real-world exercises at the end of chapters provide students with opportunities to practice both calculating and interpreting statistics. 

  • The text is accompanied by SPSS and Excel datasets, including a global dataset measuring social, economic and political characteristics of 70 countries.   

  • Answers to odd numbered exercises are provided at the back of the text. 

  • Optional SPSS and Excel examples and output are used throughout the book in conjunction with General Social Survey data. 

  • A demonstration of a related SPSS and Excel procedure, along with a set of exercises, appears at the end of each chapter. 

  • SAGE Edge provides students helpful tools, including eFlashcards, practice quizzes, and more, in one easy-to-use online environment.

Sample Materials & Chapters

CHAPTER 2: The Organization and Graphic Presentation of Data

CHAPTER 8: Testing Hypotheses

CHAPTER 1: The What and the Why of Statistics

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