Beginning Statistics

The authors of Beginning Statistics have written an ideal text for those students who are unfamiliar with and often petrified about statistical analysis. They have written a book that is comprehensive and which is made accessible by a writing style that eases the reader through explanations of complex ideas and uses lots of examples and exercises to facilitate understanding. They should be congratulated for writing such a clear but rigorous book.

 

-- Alan Bryman

This book very neatly steps from definition to worked example and interpretation with the writing lively and clear. The first edition has been my ‘go to’ jargon buster textbook whenever I or a student need statistical language or calculations explaining transparently and I welcome the second edition with its updated examples.

-- Paul Norman

Simple, brilliant, thoroughly entertaining – a logical and succinct introduction to essential social statistics pitched at the right level for beginners. The latest edition has several extended spotlights including a comprehensive annotation of statistics and its application in the real ‘big data’ world, illustrative examples based on recent data, and most of all reflective learning outcomes for each chapter. I am convinced that this book is an indispensable resource for all under- and post-graduate students and social science researchers, highly recommended!

-- Sabu S. Padmadas
This is a good solid book that introduces the topic well. Student feedback is mainly positive - some swear by the book, while others don′t find it engaging enough. The second edition is far stronger than the first. -- Dr Andrew Channon * drupal *
A very nicely structured and accessible introduction that can serve as an excellent resource for teaching research methods at Undergraduate level and beyond. -- Dr Clive Hedges * drupal *
Getting pre-registration nursing students to understand statistics is a challenge - for the ones who get it and want to understand more, this is a book that I will recommend for ease of reading and presentation. However, for some students it would still be too complex. -- Dr Gabrielle Thorpe * drupal *
It′s a good book, especially for students who have no knowledge of statistics. I found it useful and students like it as well -- Dr George Varvatsoulias * drupal *
This book was recommended to be used from September 2015 onwards. It is good, comprehensive and students will be able to understand it in terms of the terminology easily explained. A book that will help students to consider statistics not as a matter of fear to deal with -- Dr George Varvatsoulias * drupal *
Whilst this is a useful book for the introduction of statistics it is missing the application of the statistical computer packages which most researchers will be using to analyse their data. -- Dr Helen Stoneley * drupal *
This is a good book students can use for self leaning. The first chapter might be more interesting if some old photo′s or illustrations -- Dr Koen Kooy * drupal *
This would be an essential reading for students′ induction into an MSc with advanced quantitative methods -- Dr Maria Pampaka * drupal *
This is a great introduction to statistics for students who feel daunted by the prospect of quantitative research. -- Dr Martyn Harling * drupal *
A really useful reference book for those embarking on their statistics journey in the social sciences or a great handbook for introductory stats courses. -- Dr Niamh Flanagan * drupal *
A really useful reference book for those embarking on their statistics journey in the social sciences or a great handbook for introductory stats courses. -- Dr Niamh Flanagan * drupal *
Generally a good introductory text, however I would have like to see coverage up to ANOVA. I do like the may worked examples and answers to additional questions allowing self study and testing by students. The section on graphics is welcome, however I would have not spend as much time on pie charts. -- Dr Robert Hogg * drupal *
This is a really helpful book for students who are new to stats or who are stats phobic and one that I will be recommending to my first years. -- Dr Sal Watt * drupal *
I am going to recommend this book for reading, especially to students without much previous knowlegde in statistics. -- Dr Thomas Spiegler * drupal *
A simple, but elegant and eloquent book. A good start to help you passing your first Statistics module exam. -- Dr Tim Constantin * drupal *
This book is a really nice introduction to statistics that is very student friendly, with great exercises. -- Miss Charlotte Brigden * drupal *
Very useful introduction to statistics for students. A good place to start. -- Mr David James * drupal *
straightforward easy to read book for students new with statistics. Lots of examples. WIll however not adopt the book, because i am looking for a textbook including qualitative research and a link to SPSS or other statistical pacakage -- Mr Loek Stolwijk * drupal *
This text provides the basics for social scientists to compile and use statistics for highlighting issues in numerical terms. -- Mr Owen Lewis * drupal *
The book does not address the requirements of my students who need a more prescriptive approach not only explaining the theoretical stance but also practical implementation using minicab or SPSS. -- Mrs Anne Elliott * drupal *
I requested this book for a course in empirical methodologies that I have run for a few years. It now turned out it′s my colleague who is going to run it next time but I have suggested him to let this book replace the one we have been using until now for several reasons
- The chapters follow a structure that goes well along with the way students acquire and start to work with data from a practical perspective (Our course includes an empirical project)
- The book stays within the range of statistical tools that we can reasonably get the students to understand at a beginners′ course so we wont have to skip any chapters
- There is more explanation and less calculations which makes it more approachable for beginners. -- Mrs Anne Mette Thorhauge * drupal *
An easy to understand text with clear examples for students new to statistics. -- Mrs Julie Hall * drupal *
This textbook is very helpful in helping students grasp the importance of statistics. The basic assumptions of statistics are also clearly identifiable. It allows the student to journey into statistics, regardless of prior experience with the subject matter. The book is user friendly owing to the layout of the chapters. Presenting the methods in a step-by-step format is also extremely helpful, especially for classroom purposes as well as independent study. The progression from introduction through to the various important concepts within statistics is helpful in taking students up to the point of performing statistical techniques. The inclusion of chapter summaries, practice questions and a glossary is very helpful in solidifying students′ understanding of statistics. The one thing that was most profound about this book was it′s applicability to reality. It is so important to make statistics easy to grasp, and this is exactly what this book does. -- Ms Cindy Swartbooi * drupal *
Will be useful for those needing to understand statistics to apply knowledge to professional practice. -- Ms Jan Seabourne * drupal *
This book is too conversational. I would like some more depth about the topics although it is an introductory text. -- Professor Amanda Sheely * drupal *
Clear and actually _readable_ (not wholly expected in a stats text book!)
Some excellent examples and exercises - clear, amusing and with good explanations.
An excellent text for a basic research methods course. -- Professor Jenny Butler * drup