Common Errors in Statistics (and How to Avoid Them)

Praise for Common Errors in Statistics (and How to Avoid Them)

"A very engaging and valuable book for all who use statistics in any setting."
—CHOICE

"Addresses popular mistakes often made in data collection and provides an indispensable guide to accurate statistical analysis and reporting. The authors' emphasis on careful practice, combined with a focus on the development of solutions, reveals the true value of statistics when applied correctly in any area of research."
—MAA Reviews

Common Errors in Statistics (and How to Avoid Them), Fourth Edition provides a mathematically rigorous, yet readily accessible foundation in statistics for experienced readers as well as students learning to design and complete experiments, surveys, and clinical trials.

Providing a consistent level of coherency throughout, the highly readable Fourth Edition focuses on debunking popular myths, analyzing common mistakes, and instructing readers on how to choose the appropriate statistical technique to address their specific task. The authors begin with an introduction to the main sources of error and provide techniques for avoiding them. Subsequent chapters outline key methods and practices for accurate analysis, reporting, and model building. The Fourth Edition features newly added topics, including:

• Baseline data
• Detecting fraud
• Linear regression versus linear behavior
• Case control studies
• Minimum reporting requirements
• Non-random samples

The book concludes with a glossary that outlines key terms, and an extensive bibliography with several hundred citations directing readers to resources for further study.

Presented in an easy-to-follow style, Common Errors in Statistics, Fourth Edition is an excellent book for students and professionals in industry, government, medicine, and the social sciences.

PHILLIP I. GOOD, PhD, is Operations Manager at Information Research, a consulting firm specializing in statistical solutions for private and public organizations. He has published more than thirty scholarly works and more than 600 popular articles. Dr. Good is the author of Introduction to Statistics Through Resampling Methods and R/S-PLUS®, Introduction to Statistics Through Resampling Methods and Microsoft Office Excel®, and Analyzing the Large Number of Variables in Biomedical and Satellite Imagery, all published by Wiley.

JAMES W. HARDIN, PhD, is Associate Professor and Biostatistics Division Director of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Hardin has published extensively in his areas of research interest, which include generalized linear models, generalized estimating equations, survival models, and computational statistics. He is also an affiliate faculty member of the Institute for Families in Society at the University of South Carolina.