Statistics for Dummies
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| Statistics for Dummies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the numbers explosion all around us in our modern-day dealings, the buzzword is data, as in, “Do you have any data to support your claim?” “The data supported the original hypothesis that . . .” and “The data bear this out. . . .” But the field of statistics is not just about data. Statistics is the entire process involved in gathering evidence to answer questions about the world, in cases where that evidence happens to be numerical data.
Statistics For Dummies is for everyone who wants to sort through and evaluate the incredible amount of statistical information that comes to them on a daily basis. (You know the stuff: charts, graphs, tables, as well as headlines that talk about the results of the latest poll, survey, experiment, or other scientific study.) This book arms you with the ability to decipher and make important decisions about statistical results, being ever aware of the ways in which people can mislead you with statistics. Get the inside scoop on number-crunching nuances, plus insight into how you can
This down-to-earth reference is chock-full of real examples from real sources that are relevant to your everyday life: from the latest medical breakthroughs, crime studies, and population trends to surveys on Internet dating, cell phone use, and the worst cars of the millennium. Statistics For Dummies departs from traditional statistics texts, references, supplement books, and study guides in the following ways:
Chances are, Statistics For Dummies will be your No. 1 resource for discovering how numerical data figures into your corner of the universe. |
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| 11-18-08 | 4 | (NA) |
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This is a good overview of basic statistics. Amazon and the sender were both very helpful, and I received it quickly.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-30 04:23:49 EST)
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| 11-11-08 | 3 | (NA) |
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I was a little disappointed in this book. I usually find the dummies books very helpful in bridging the gap, when I am having trouble understanding a subject. I am currently taking an elementary stat class and bought this to compliment my text. It was not very helpful. Does not explain any of the more complex concepts. This is more for people who want to understand the odds in Vegas.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-19 03:00:27 EST)
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| 08-11-08 | 5 | 1\1 |
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I did not find any use for my college statistics when I started working (at least for my function), but just recently, I had to relearn, what I've forgotten to keep pace with the demands of my job. This book is heavenly! Whether you're someone looking for a refresher course without having to pay huge sums to pick-up on stuff you know you've already learned or someone who wants the basics of statistics, this is the book for you.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-12 04:01:37 EST)
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| 07-12-08 | 1 | (NA) |
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Not very helpful for my beginning Stats (221) class I did not use it
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-08-11 02:54:13 EST)
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| 07-06-08 | 1 | (NA) |
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I've used "Chemistry for Dummies" and it was a lifesaver. With such faith in this company's production of books, I bought this.
It's terrible. A ridiculous amount of it is wasted on, "Why Statistics is Important" and "Why Statistics is Relevant in the Real World"-- at the expense of actually SHOWING YOU HOW TO DO STATISTICS. The probability section was so brief it didn't even cover the content of my second week in a community college statistics course. The explanations are poorly worded and far too brief, the demonstrations nearly non-existent. It seems Ms. Rumsey chose to save the majority for a supplemental workbook to double her profit. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. Ms. Rumsey has thoroughly destroyed my confidence in the 'for Dummies' brand. Fortunately, there are alternatives, and I'm going to look into those from now on. If such a substandard product is on the market, clearly this company's more concerned now with how to exploit the consumer than to actually explain concepts in laymen's terms. I wish I had my money back. (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-07-13 02:56:13 EST)
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| 04-07-08 | 1 | (NA) |
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I'm usually a big fan of Dummies books. Chemistry for Dummies gave me a little edge when taking Chem 101 and 102. It helped a lot.
I'm taking college statistics now and this book has been no help at all. Most of the time, whatever it is I'm working on isn't even in the index. Some other reviewers have mentioned this book lacking a lot of essential components, and this does seem to be the case. I got The Complete Idiot's guide at the same time and that's only a hair more helpful than this, but both are pretty bad. I've already taken my mid-term (got an A by the way) but this book has not helped me a single bit. No exaggeration. I always have it handy, JUST IN CASE my current subject is covered. And even if I do find what I'm looking for, it's not explained any clearer than my class text. Most times it's more cryptic and confusing. I've found I do better NOT looking at this. Not recommended at all. (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-07-07 00:02:50 EST)
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| 04-01-08 | 5 | (NA) |
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Excellent book. In my opinion the author does a great job in taking a complex subject matter and breaking it down so that it could be understood. Well worth the expenditure and will recommend this book to my students.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-04-08 02:40:43 EST)
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| 01-18-08 | 5 | 0\3 |
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Great Transaction, Very fast. Product was flawless. Will do business again with this seller
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-04-02 02:56:45 EST)
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| 01-12-08 | 2 | 0\1 |
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I bought this thinking that I would be familiar with statistical principles in experimentation. Given the fact that I was taking an advanced statistics course in the graduate level at that time, and using a more technical book, I thought that this book would provide me a shallower access to the material, a sort of primer. But in some ways it does not. The formulae are there, but somehow, I feel like there are things missing that should be there.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-02-27 08:35:44 EST)
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| 09-21-07 | 5 | 4\4 |
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Statistics for Dummies is an excellent overview of the fundamentals of statistics for those who have forgotten some of what they previously learned, those whose instructors left them dazed and confused, or those who just need a quick reference. Like all of the "for Dummies" books, it's not really intended to be a comprehensive instructional program or a definitive reference book. In my view, the book does exactly what it's intended to do.
Several reviewers have mentioned the lack of examples or exercises. They're right; however, there is a companion volume by the same author, Statistics Workbook for Dummies, that solves that problem. Why didn't they do it all in one book? Probably because it would have totaled over 600 pages. So, this book won't teach you statistics from scratch, but it is a very good introductory level overview of the subject. Like all of the Dummies books, the format is attractive, the organization is clear, and the information is presented in small, easily digestible blocks. More importantly, the author uses just the right approach. She is both thorough and authoritative, but she doesn't assume much expertise among the readers. At the same time, she's never condescending. This book is well worth the cost, and I recommend it highly. (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-02-27 08:35:44 EST)
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| 07-17-07 | 5 | 1\1 |
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I recommend this book for all of those that, like me, need a way to start or remember basic principles of statistics. All the concepts are very clearly explained and come in blocks that can be read in a non-linear way.
Liked it very much. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-10-14 03:57:22 EST)
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| 07-15-07 | 2 | 4\4 |
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While the book is useful, it should be made clear that this book is aimed at the consumer who has to interpret statistics that he/she reads about. This will be useful for the general public who are baffled by stuff that that is thrown at them, but I was hoping for something to help me get started with my own research problems. Only about 10% of the book does that.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-10-14 03:57:22 EST)
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| 07-03-07 | 4 | 1\1 |
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I struggled with statistics in college and could just not seem to grasp the relationships between the various pieces. This goes a long way toward explaining both what those pieces mean and how they fit together. Would recommend this book to anyone who needs or wants more than a superficial understanding of statistics.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-10-14 03:57:22 EST)
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| 06-10-07 | 3 | (NA) |
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This book was disappointing. Several items that should figure in an introductory text were absent, and there was a paucity of examples. Perhaps the author wanted to split up the material into two texts; I notice that there is an intermediate level Statistics for Dummies. However, in the category of works of this genre (simple and non-intimidating approach to the subject), I found "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Statistics" to be much more complete and useful.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-11 02:47:03 EST)
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| 06-09-07 | 1 | (NA) |
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I bought this book as a primer to help answer basic stats questions while taking a graduate level statistics course. The book has not been helpful at all. It has not helped me with any answer any basic question I have. I would have returned it- except I bought it through Amazon on line and do not know how to send it back. Do not bother purchasing this.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-11 02:47:03 EST)
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| 05-13-07 | 4 | 1\1 |
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Book was very informative and easy to understand. However it did not discuss many of the concepts needed for my statistics class.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-10-14 03:57:22 EST)
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| 07-26-06 | 5 | 5\7 |
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I am very impressed with the Statistics for Dummies book. It is well written and really helped me grasp a basic understanding of statistics. The formulas that the author has provided are very helpful. The author really knows her stuff and has written a book that can help everyone understand the complex world of statistics.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-10-14 03:57:22 EST)
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| 06-09-06 | 3 | 3\5 |
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Definitely does the job it sets out to do but could have done it without so much repetition hence only gets 3 stars.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-06 03:01:49 EST)
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| 06-08-06 | 3 | 2\4 |
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Definitely does the job it sets out to do but could have done it without so much repetition hence only gets 3 stars.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-09-12 03:24:59 EST)
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| 05-31-06 | 2 | 20\21 |
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This book covers material that would be found in the early to mid-level phases of a college Statistics course. I was hoping for a deeper refresher, short of re-reading my college texts and notes, and this wasn't the place to find it.
Nonetheless, there are positives worth considering. This book spends a good amount of time discussing normal distributions, the errors encountered in sampling a population, and the testing of hypotheses based on sample statistics. In particular, the explanations for using a Z-distribution or t-distribution were much clearer than any I'd ever read in several university texts. In fact, the textual descriptions are among the most valuable portions of the book, in part because the quantitative portions are scarce. On the bad side, waaay too much space is devoted to public surveys and the confidence you should or should not place in them. Those chapters could have been condensed into a single entry, and the repeated examples of misleading or incorrect statistical measures were not necessary. There's also virtually nothing on probabilities, the study of which is usually linked to statistics in the introductory courses. There's simply not enough valuable material to make this a good choice for college prep or refresher material, and as an introductory text, you'll find better alternatives as well. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-06-26 03:22:06 EST)
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| 03-14-06 | 5 | 2\4 |
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This text is a wonderful introductory work to the terms and reasoning used in statistical analysis, but it also provides something most books on statistics lack: the ability to explain in simple, clear words which tests are available, when to use them and WHY to use them as compared to one another. It's entertaining to read, easy to understand and excites the interest for further exploration of the subject, which is probably the best thing a book can do.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-09-12 03:24:59 EST)
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| 03-05-06 | 5 | 7\8 |
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As an early elementary education undergraduate in the late 70's, I was not required to take a statistics course. Now that I have raised my family, have earned my masters degree and am working on my doctorate, I came to realize how much I did not know about statistics. I also came to realize how much I would NEED to KNOW about them.
After reading my one chapter on the basics of statistics in Gall, Gall, and Borg "Educational Research," I panicked. I ran up a bookstore (sorry Amazon, I needed it immediately) and found your book. It has provided me with a solid foundation so that I now can go back to Gall, Gall, and Borg without feeling like I am lost. The funniest thing happened in my online discussion. I mentioned that I had purchased your book to help me. One other class member mentioned that he purchased it before the course started because he had read ahead in the syllabus, and another student asked me for the ISBN number so she could order it.. :) Thanks again! (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-09-12 03:24:59 EST)
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| 02-16-06 | 5 | 1\3 |
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This text has been of immeasurable help in the basic understanding of medical literature, which can vary tremendously.
After the initial read, I have used the book as a guide when I have questions on a particular article's "claims". When Dr. Rumsey comes out with her second edition, a larger section of problems with solutions will be well received. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-09-12 03:24:59 EST)
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| 01-30-06 | 4 | 2\2 |
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This book amply warns against the many pitfalls of applied statistics - and does so extremely well.
Unfortunately, the author does a poor job explaining the fundamentals of statistics. Although she discusses items like deviation, sample deviation and standard error, the reader is left at a loss how they all fit together. We do not get a coherent view of the basics of statistics! Her obsession to turn every chapter into an "autonomous" text is partly to blame, and doesn't really work because cross-references are all over the place (always a telltale sign of a badly structured text) Apparently this book is aimed at the general audience, and its main purpose seems to be teaching 'the rest of us' "statistics literacy". For that I give the author 4 stars. But as an introduction to statistics for the serious 'statistics student' this book fails. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-10 03:53:26 EST)
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| 10-25-05 | 1 | 5\10 |
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This book was not meaningful in my opinion. I am working toward my doctoral degree and I have a hard time with statistics. I wanted something that went beyond "Making Sense of Statistics" but this isn't it.
The author doesn't go into more advanced statistics, although she obviously has expertise in this area. Many of the examples are more for someone who just wants to be able to read stats versus actually calculating them. This was a waste of money. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-10 03:53:26 EST)
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| 06-03-04 | 2 | 8\18 |
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A reasonable overview of the subject. Go down to your local community college, buy a $15 Texas Instrument ti-30x-II calculator, go on line and pull down a ti-30x-II pdf file for free and REALLY learn what you're looking at. Plus you get college credit for passing. "Stats for dummies" reminds me of a MBA in 12 hours course I once took. Oh yeah, you might have to invest some time using excel spreadsheets if the stats course is business related.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-01-28 16:25:35 EST)
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