Choosing and Using Statistics: A Biologist's Guide - Hardcover

Dytham, Calvin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405198389 ISBN 13: 9781405198387

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011

Synopsis

Choosing and Using Statistics remains an invaluable guide for students using a computer package to analyse data from research projects and practical class work.  The text takes a pragmatic approach to statistics with a strong focus on what is actually needed.  There are chapters giving useful advice on the basics of statistics and guidance on the presentation of data. The book is built around a key to selecting the correct statistical test and then gives clear guidance on how to carry out the test and interpret the output from four commonly used computer packages: SPSS, Minitab, Excel, and (new to this edition) the free program, R. Only the basics of formal statistics are described and the emphasis is on jargon-free English but any unfamiliar words can be looked up in the extensive glossary. This new 3rd edition of Choosing and Using Statistics is a must for all students who use a computer package to apply statistics in practical and project work.

Features new to this edition:

• Now features information on using the popular free program, R
• Uses a simple key and flow chart to help you choose the right statistical test
• Aimed at students using statistics for projects and in practical classes
• Includes an extensive glossary and key to symbols to explain any statistical jargon
• No previous knowledge of statistics is assumed

About this title

Book Description:

The first edition of excellent handbook was extremely well received by both students and lecturers alike. It has helped to simplify the often complex and difficult task of choosing and using the right statistics package.This is a book for any student or professional biologist who wants to process data using a statistical package on the computer, to select appropriate methods, and extract the important information from the often confusing output that is produced. It is aimed primarily at undergraduates and masters students in the biological sciences who have to apply statistics in practical classes and projects. Such users of statistics do not have to understand either how tests work or how to do the calculations, and these aspects are not covered in the book.The new edition has been updated to cover the very latest versions of the computer packages described, expanded to include coverage for logistic regression, a more detailed consideration of multivariate analysis, data exploration and further examples of Principle Component Analysis and Discriminate Function Analysis are given.

About the Author:

Calvin Dytham has a wide range of research interests in ecology and evolutionary biology and is especially interested in the impacts of dispersal and the arrangement of individuals in space on ecological and evolutionary processes. He is a Reader in the Department of Biology at the University of York, UK, and has been teaching statistics to undergraduate and postgraduate students since 1994.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1405198389
• ISBN 13: 9781405198387
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 316