Starting Statistics
A Short, Clear Guide
- Neil Burdess - Deakin University, Australia
Statistics: A Simple Guide for Students is an accessible, humorous and easy introduction to statistics for social science students.
In this refreshing book, experienced author and academic Neil Burdess shows that statistics is not the result of some mysterious "black magic", but rather the result of some very basic arithmetic. Getting rid of confusing x's and y's, he shows that it's the intellectual questions that come before and after the calculations that are important: (i) What are the best statistics to use with your data? and (ii) What do the calculated statistics tell you?
Statistics: A Simple Guide for Students aims to help students make sense of the logic of statistics and to decide how best to use statistics to analyze their own data. What's more, it is not reliant on students having access to any particular kind of statistical software package.
This is a very useful book for any student in the social sciences doing a statistics course or needing to do statistics for themselves for the first time.
A good guide for students not particularly well-versed in the statistical side of research
I am going to adopt this book as essential reading in a new masters programme in Psychology for Educational Professionals.
This book allows students to understand what statistics are used for & how to write about the results. Easy to follow with clear structured chapters
A good starting book for social science students with little or no knowledge of statistics, the book is refreshing and very accessible, the author provides explains key statistical concepts using simple language. A useful book for those who do not like maths but want to learn about statistics.
Too low level for people interested in statistics.
Starting Statistics is a clear, concise, and frequently funny introduction to statistics. Short, easily digestible chapters are particularly welcome. I have often found that one of the biggest barriers to students’ understanding of statistics is language. Burdess is to be praised for the way he cleverly bridges the gap between everyday language and the statistical lexicon through the use of real-world examples which he returns to time and again, adding complexity each time. This is an accessible book that I would recommend as an introductory text for undergraduates or a helpful refresher for postgraduate students. If truth be told, it is the textbook that I wish was available to me when I was starting statistics several years ago.
A restrained and digestible introduction to stats for the scared and uninitiated. Provides a valuable interim step for students between lectures and more complex texts
A good book as start. Probably better for undergraduate. But useful for postgraduate as a quick reference.
This is a book on statistics that is written in a clear fashion. It gently welcomes the reluctant reader of quantitative methodologies into the often complicated world of statistics. It introduces essential knowledge using real-life examples, which makes it more manageable to retain. It provides a good starting point for further exploration of statistics. I will recommend that our library purchases it.
Particularly good for those students who are direct entrants into 2nd year or for those who want a reminder of the basics covered in 1st year
Sage College Publishing
