Reading Statistics and Research

Designed for beginning statistics and research courses, this text explains how consumers of research can read, understand and critically evaluate the statistical information contained in technical research reports. The major goals are: to help readers decipher the statistical terminology and notations used by authors of technical reports; and to encourage critical evaluation of the way in which any study is executed - focusing on how data is collected, analyzed and interpreted - so as to determine whether the researcher's conclusions and claims are justified. To achieve this two-fold objective, excerpts from over 500 recent research articles, including tables, figures, and portions of textual material are presented and discussed. Many of the excerpts illustrate conceptual or procedural mistakes that are often made by researchers. This second edition features up-to-date research articles, more detailed coverage of many key topics, including hypothesis testing and examples drawn from a variety of disciplines.

Praised time and time again for its unique, non-intimidating writing style that emphasizes concepts rather than formulas, Reading Statistics and Research, Sixth Edition gives consumers of research exactly what they are seeking in this caliber of text–the knowledge necessary to better understand research and statistics, and the confidence and ability to ultimately decipher and critique research reports on their own.

 

Distinctive fe atures of this text include:

 

Instructs readers on how to read, understand, and critically evaluate the statistical information and research results contained in technical research reports.

 

Covers key topic areas such as: descriptive statistics, correlation, reliability and validity, estimation, h hypothesis testing, t-tests, ANOVA, ANCOVA, regression, multivariate analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM).

 

New mini-topics related to research and statistics are also discussed including: the geometric mean, Tau-b correlation, Guttman split-half reliability, sensitivity, specificity, and the Sobel test.

 

All 488 boxed excerpts are new and different from any previous edition and feature accounts from the most contemporary research reports out today.

 

New, rewritten chapters include Multivariate Tests (Chapter 19), Factor Analysis (Chapter 20), and Structural Equation Modeling (Chapter 21).