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Essentials of Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice
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Essentials of Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice

February 2017 | 424 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Essentials of Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice helps students understand the vital role that research and statistics play in the study of criminology and criminal justice by showing them how to conduct and interpret statistics in real-world settings with a step-by-step approach to solving problems. This practical, applied approach offers students the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics in a concise and easy-to-understand format—avoiding complicated proofs and discussions of statistical theory. The examples and case studies provide relevant examples for criminology and criminal justice students, and deal with contemporary issues related to crime, corrections, police, and the judicial system. Students will not only learn about the “how to” in statistics, but they will also recognize its importance in today’s criminal justice system. 

 
Chapter 1. Setting the Stage: Why Learning This Stuff is Important!
Setting the Stage for Statistical Inquiry

 
The Role of Statistical Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice

 
Populations and Samples

 
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

 
Levels of Measurement

 
Ways of Presenting Variable

 
Units of Analysis

 
 
Chapter 2. Understanding Data Distributions With Tables and Graphs
The Tabular and Graphical Display of Qualitative Data

 
The Tabular and Graphical Display of Quantitative Data

 
The Shape of a Distribution

 
Time Plots

 
Chapter 3. Measures of Central Tendency

 
The Mode

 
The Median

 
The Mean

 
 
Chapter 4. Measures of Dispersion
Measuring Dispersion for Nominal- and Ordinal-Level Variables

 
Measuring Dispersion for Internal- and Ratio-Level Variables

 
The Standard Deviation and Variance

 
Computational Formulas for Variance and Standard Deviation

 
 
Chapter 5. Moving Beyond Description: Introducing Inferential Statistics: Probability Distributions and an Introduction to Hypothesis Testing
Probability. What Is It Good for? Absolutely Everything!

 
The Rules of Probability

 
Probability Distributions

 
Samples, Populations, Sampling Distributions, and the Central Limit Theorem

 
 
Chapter 6. Point Estimation and Confidence Intervals
Making Inferences from Point Estimates: Confidence Intervals

 
Estimating a Population Mean From Large Samples

 
Estimating Confidence Intervals for a Mean From Small Samples

 
Estimating Confidence Intervals for Proportions and Percents With a Large Sample

 
 
Chapter 7. Hypothesis Testing for One Population Mean and Proportion
Hypothesis Testing for Population Means Using A Large Sample: The Z Test

 
Directional and Non-directional Hypothesis Tests

 
Hypothesis Testing for Population Means Using Small Samples: The t Test

 
Hypothesis Testing for Population Proportions and Percents Using Large Samples

 
 
Chapter 8.Testing Hypotheses With Two Categorical Variables
Contingency Tables and the Two Variable Chi-Square Test of Independence

 
The Chi-Square Test of Independence

 
A Simple-to-Use Computational Formula for the Chi-Square Test of Independence

 
Measures of Association: Determining the Strength of the Relationship Between Two Categorical Variables

 
 
Chapter 9. Hypothesis Tests Involving Two Population Means or Proportions
Explaining the Difference Between Two Sample Means

 
Sampling Distribution of Mean Differences

 
Testing a Hypothesis About the Difference Between Two Means: Independent Samples

 
Matched-Groups or Dependent-Samples t Test

 
Hypothesis Tests for the Difference Between Two Proportions: Large Samples

 
 
Chapter 10. Hypothesis Testing Involving Three or More Population Means: Analysis of Variance
The Logic of Analysis of Variance

 
Types of Variance: Total, Between-Groups, and Within-Group

 
Conducting a Hypothesis Test With ANOVA

 
After the F Test: Testing the Difference Between Pairs of Means

 
A Measure of Association Test With ANOVA

 
A Second ANOVA Example: Caseload Size and Success on Probation

 
 
Chapter 11. Bivariate Correlation and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression
Graphing the Bivariate Distribution Between Two Quantitative Variables: Scatterplots

 
The Pearson Correlation Coefficient

 
A More Precise Way to Interpret a Correlation: The Coefficient of Determination

 
The Least-Squares Regression Line and the Slope Coefficient

 
Comparison of b and r

 
Testing for the Significance of b and r

 
 
Chapter 12. Controlling for a Third Variable: Multiple OLS Regression
What Do We Mean by Controlling for Other Important Variables?

 
The Multiple Regression Equation

 
Comparing the Strength of a Relationship Using Beta Weights

 
Partial Correlation Coefficients

 
Hypothesis Testing in Multiple Regression

 
Another Example: Prison Density, Mean Age, and Rate of Inmate Violence

 
 
Appendix A. Review of Basic Mathematical Operations
 
Appendix B. Statistical Tables
 
Appendix C. Solutions for Odd-Numbered Practice Problems
 
Appendix D. SPSS Exercises

Supplements

Student Study Site

Use the Student Study Site to get the most out of your course!
Our Student Study Site is completely open-access and offers a wide range of additional features.

The open-access Student Study Site includes the following:

  • Mobile-friendly eFlashcards strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts.
  • Mobile-friendly practice quizzes for independent assessment and mastery of course material.
  • EXCLUSIVE! Access to certain full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully selected for each chapter. Each article supports and expands on the concepts presented in the chapter. This feature also provides questions to focus and guide student interpretation. Combine cutting-edge academic journal scholarship with the topics in your course for a robust classroom experience.
  • Web resources include relevant links that appeal to students with different learning styles.
  • SPSS Student Datasets to enhance student learning and provide more integration with the content
  • Practice problems and solutions
  • Discussion group problems 
  • Appendices
Instructor Resouce Site

Calling all instructors!
It’s easy to log on to SAGE’s password-protected Instructor Teaching Site for complete and protected access to all text-specific Instructor Resources. Simply provide your institutional information for verification and within 72 hours you’ll be able to use your login information for any SAGE title!  

Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:

  • A Microsoft® Word® test bank, is available containing multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions for each chapter. The test bank provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
  • Editable, chapter-specific Microsoft® PowerPoint® slides offer you complete flexibility in easily creating a multimedia presentation for your course. Highlight essential content and features.
  • Sample course syllabi for semester and quarter courses provide suggested models for structuring one’s course.
  • EXCLUSIVE! Access to certain full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully selected for each chapter. Each article supports and expands on the concepts presented in the chapter. This feature also provides questions to focus and guide student interpretation. Combine cutting-edge academic journal scholarship with the topics in your course for a robust classroom experience.
  • Web resources include relevant links that appeal to students with different learning styles.
  • SPSS Datasets and SPSS Student Datasets to enhance student learning and provide more integration with the content.
  • Practice tests and solutions
  • Discussion group problems and solutions
  • Figures and tables for easy download and use in your courses
  • Appendices

Covers most of the content I need in an accessible manner

Dr Raquel Lara Velez Oliveira
Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Social Work, Augusta University
January 10, 2023
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Hands down one of the best stats books out there. Explains EVERYTHING. Has amazing instructor resources including SPSS assignments and datasets!

Professor Meridith Spencer
Criminal Justice Prog, Fisher College
July 21, 2020
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Key features

KEY FEATURES

  • All statistical procedures are broken down into specific and manageable steps, and the importance of using statistical methods to answer questions about crime and criminal justice is emphasized.
  • Relevant and recent research papers are used for case studies to illustrate the importance of statistical analysis to answer real-world problems that students would experience if employed in the criminal justice system.
  • Each chapter concludes with a listing of important concepts covered in the chapter, relevant formulas, and practice problems that incorporate examples from recently published research to give students hands-on experience with the latest techniques in the field. Solutions to all end-of-chapter problems are provided to instructors.
  • SPSS® exercises in every chapter provide students with the opportunity to practice statistics using a computer software program with real data, including subsets of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, Monitoring the Future, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, state-level crime data from the UCR, and opinion data from the General Social Survey.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 3

Chapter 9

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