Understanding The New Statistics: Effect Sizes, Confidence Intervals, and Meta-Analysis (Multivariate Applications Series)

This is the first book to introduce the new statistics - effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta-analysis - in an accessible way. It is chock full of practical examples and tips on how to analyze and report research results using these techniques. The book is invaluable to readers interested in meeting the new APA Publication Manual guidelines by adopting the new statistics - which are more informative than null hypothesis significance testing, and becoming widely used in many disciplines.

Accompanying the book is the Exploratory Software for Confidence Intervals (ESCI) package, free software that runs under Excel and is accessible at www.thenewstatistics.com. The book’s exercises use ESCI's simulations, which are highly visual and interactive, to engage users and encourage exploration. Working with the simulations strengthens understanding of key statistical ideas. There are also many examples, and detailed guidance to show readers how to analyze their own data using the new statistics, and practical strategies for interpreting the results. A particular strength of the book is its explanation of meta-analysis, using simple diagrams and examples. Understanding meta-analysis is increasingly important, even at undergraduate levels, because medicine, psychology and many other disciplines now use meta-analysis to assemble the evidence needed for evidence-based practice.

The book’s pedagogical program, built on cognitive science principles, reinforces learning:

• Boxes provide "evidence-based" advice on the most effective statistical techniques.
• Numerous examples reinforce learning, and show that many disciplines are using the new statistics.
• Graphs are tied in with ESCI to make important concepts vividly clear and memorable.
• Opening overviews and end of chapter take-home messages summarize key points.
• Exercises encourage exploration, deep understanding, and practical applications.

This highly accessible book is intended as the core text for any course that emphasizes the new statistics, or as a supplementary text for graduate and/or advanced undergraduate courses in statistics and research methods in departments of psychology, education, human development , nursing, and natural, social, and life sciences. Researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the new statistics, and future published research, will also appreciate this book. A basic familiarity with introductory statistics is assumed.

Geoff Cumming is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Psychological Science at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He has taught statistics for more than 40 years at every level from introductory to advanced, and at undergraduate and graduate levels. He has published numerous journal articles about teaching statistics. His research focuses on statistical cognition―the study of how students and researchers understand statistical concepts and how they interpret different ways to present results. He has also studied how statistical reform has been advocated and thwarted. He is frequently invited to give his highly successful workshop on the new statistics using his ESCI software at the American Psychological Association’s Annual Convention. A Rhodes Scholar, he received his Doctorate degree in experimental psychology from Oxford University.