Interpreting Basic Statistics ─ A Workbook Based on Excerpts from Journal Articles

Interpreting Basic Statistics gives students valuable practice in interpreting statistical reporting as it actually appears in peer-reviewed journals.

New to the 8^th edition:

• A broader array of basic statistical concepts are covered, especially to better reflect the New Statistics.
• Journal excerpts have been updated to reflect current styles in statistical reporting.
• A stronger emphasis on data visualizations has been added.
• A re-organization of the statistical exercises into units to facilitate ease of use and understanding.

About this book

Each of the 63 exercises gives a brief excerpt of statistical reporting from a published research article, and begins with guidelines for interpreting the statistics in the excerpt.

The questions on the excerpts promote learning by requiring students to

• interpret information in tables and figures,
• perform simple calculations to further their interpretations,
• critique data-reporting techniques, and
• evaluate procedures used to collect data.

Each exercise covers a limited number of statistics, making it easy to coordinate the exercises with lectures and a main textbook.

The questions in each exercise are divided into two parts: (1) Factual Questions and (2) Questions for Discussion. The factual questions require careful reading for details, while the discussion questions show that interpreting statistics is more than a mathematical exercise. These questions require students to apply good judgment as well as statistical reasoning in arriving at appropriate interpretations.

Keith Cox is a Clinical and Personality Psychologist. He teaches research methods and statistics at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, where he holds the rank of assistant professor. He uses research methods and statistics as he investigates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and personality.