Introductory Statistics: Exploring the World Through Data

We live in a data-driven world, and this is a book about understanding and working with that data. In order to be informed citizens, authors Rob Gould and Colleen Ryan believe that learning statistics extends beyond the classroom to an essential life skill.  They teach students of all math backgrounds how to think about data, how to reason using data, and how to make decisions based on data.

 

With a clear, unintimidating writing style and carefully chosen pedagogy, Introductory Statistics: Exploring the World through Data makes data analysis accessible to all students.  Guided Exercises support students by building their confidence as they learn to solve problems.  Snapshots summarize statistical procedures and concepts for convenient studying. While this text assumes the use of statistical software, formulas are presented as an aid to understanding the concepts rather than the focus of study. Check Your Tech features demonstrate how students will get the same numerical value by-hand as when using statistical software.

Robert L. Gould (Ph.D., University of California, San Diego) is a leader in the statistics education community. He has served as chair of the American Statistical Association’s Committee on Teacher Enhancement, has served as chair of the ASA’s Statistics Education Section, and was a co-author of the Guidelines for Assessment in Instruction on Statistics Education (GAISE) College Report. As the associate director of professional development for CAUSE (Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education), he has worked closely with the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) to provide traveling workshops and summer institutes in statistics (he also presented an AMATYC summer institute in 2009). For over ten years, he has served as Vice-Chair of Undergraduate Studies at the UCLA Department of Statistics, and he is Director of the UCLA Center for the Teaching of Statistics. In 2009, Rob was elected president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Statistical Association.

 

Colleen N. Ryan has taught statistics, chemistry, and physics to diverse community college students for decades. She taught at Oxnard College from 1975 to 2006, where she earned the Teacher of the Year Award. Colleen currently teaches statistics part-time at California Lutheran University. She often designs her own lab activities. Her passion is to discover new ways to make statistical theory practical, easy to understand, and sometimes even fun. Colleen earned a B.A. in physics from Wellesley College, an M.A.T. in physics from Harvard University, and an M.A. in chemistry from Wellesley College. Her first exposure to statistics was with Frederick Mosteller at Harvard. In her spare time, she sings with the Oaks Chamber Singers, has been an avid skier in the past, and enjoys time with her family.