Customer Reviews

Intermediate Statistics For Dummies

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As someone who has taught a college level course in basics statistics for over a quarter century, I am both intrigued and disturbed by the phrase "Intermediate Statistics." In general, there is basic and advanced statistics, so my first thought is that to create the intermediate category, you must reduce the coverage in the basic and advanced levels to make room or simply repeat the last part of the basic section and the first part of the advanced section. I am intrigued because if it is properly done, a section called intermediate statistics could be used to fill holes otherwise missed.
In terms of content, I really cannot argue with the "intermediate" descriptor. The coverage is:

*) The fundamentals of statistical models and hypothesis testing.
*) Using linear and nonlinear regression to make predictions based on data.
*) Using one and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
*) Using the chi-square test to test associations, independence and goodness-of-fit
*) Using nonparametric statistics such as the sign, signed rank, rank sum, Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcox and Spearman's rank tests.

When I teach the basic statistics course, these are subjects that tend to get left out, in general I never get to two-way ANOVA, goodness-of-fit and nonparametric statistics.
The problem that I have with this book, and it is a major one, is that there are few formulas and no worked examples. A brief description of the statistical test is given with a set of sample data. The author then crunches the data through Minitab and reports the results in an output table. In my experience, students really do not learn how to do the statistical tests or what they are really measuring by simply having results listed. They must see the formulas worked through and physically work through them at least once. Mathematics and statistics is very much a participation sport, and there is very little participation here.

I'm not familiar with Rumsy's "Statistics for Dummies," but this book is a nice overview of a second statistics course. The chapters on multiple regression techniques are especially good. The writing style is clear. Negatives: Only Minitab is used to illustrate data analysis. No SPSS. There might have been more data sets for the various techniques.

I'm glad the author has provided us with a good sequel to her previous "for dummies" books. This book addresses "intermediate" topics like linear and non-linear regression, ANOVA, and non-parametric tests. Also, the author uses again her successful formula of providing useful tips and hints at the end of the book (see Part VI).

Book Contents:

Part I: Data Analysis and Model-Building Basics.
Chapter 1: Beyond Number Crunching: The Art and Science of Data Analysis.
Chapter 2: Sorting through Statistical Techniques.
Chapter 3: Building Confidence and Testing Models.

Part II: Making Predictions by Using Regression.
Chapter 4: Getting in Line with Simple Linear Regression.
Chapter 5: When Two Variables Are Better than One: Multiple Regression.
Chapter 6: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back: Regression Model Selection.
Chapter 7: When Data Throws You a Curve: Using Nonlinear Regression.
Chapter 8: Yes, No, Maybe So: Making Predictions By Using Logistic Regression.

Part III: Comparing Many Means with ANOVA.
Chapter 9: Going One-Way with Analysis of Variance.
Chapter 10: Pairing Things Down with Multiple Comparisons.
Chapter 11: Getting a Little Interaction with Two-Way ANOVA.
Chapter 12: Rock My World: Relating Regression to ANOVA.

Part IV: Building Strong Connections with Chi-Square Tests.
Chapter 13: Forming Associations with Two-Way Tables.
Chapter 14: Being Independent Enough for the Chi-Square Test.
Chapter 15: Using Chi-Square Tests for Goodness-of-Fit (Your Data, Not Your Jeans).

Part V: Rebels without a Distribution.
Chapter 16: Going Nonparametric.
Chapter 17: The Sign Test and Signed Rank Test.
Chapter 18: Pulling Rank with the Rank Sum Test.
Chapter 19: Do the Kruskal-Wallis and Rank the Sums with Wilcox.
Chapter 20: Pointing Out Correlations with Spearman's Rank.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 21: Ten Errors in Statistical Conclusions.
Chapter 22: Ten Practice Problems.
Appendix: Tables for Your Reference.
Index.

In short, a good introductory book at a fair price.

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.

I bought this thinking that it would help me with my Statistics class. I also bought Statistics II for Dummies. It turns out that this book is just an earlier version of the Statistics II for Dummies book.

A light- reading book, with concise chapters in various topics of statistics. Totally worth the choice.

I took an intro stats course last spring, and actually ended up enjoying myself! After the course was over, I found myself wanting more... both a separate perspective from the book used in the course I took (Bluman's A Brief Introduction to Elementary Statistics, 4th Ed.), and something that went at least a little further. I purchased this book figuring if I was still interested after reading it, I'd start looking for more traditional text books. To that end, I'm not too terribly disappointed that there isn't much in the way of formulae; I didn't really expect there to be in a Dummies book. Even so, the author's descriptions and examples do a good job of illuminating the topics discussed... but the biggest drawback to the book is the pervasive use of Minitab. I got a (very) brief taste of that software package when I took that stats course... nothing wrong with it other than I think providing examples for a Dummies book using software that costs $$$$ for a single user license is a bit absurd. Most of the alternatives (SAS, SPSS, Stata) aren't much better in that regard, so short of doing it in Excel (which would require massive add-ons at a minimum) or R (free, but I'm not sure people looking to get a quick refresher on which test to use for what and when are going to want to wrestle with a command-line style interface). I wish I had a better solution to go with my criticism, but it doesn't change the way I feel.

I read many traditional books in statistics, to include intro and advanced ones. Most of them either focus too much on the algebraic details with almost no discussion of the essential statistical concepts or they focus too much on abstract theorizing with little technical and practical content.

Prof. Rumsey's book on the other hand, does a great job keeping the discussion to an easy to follow level of understanding without sacrificing important details and the complexity and subtleties that essential statistical concepts and techniques require (e.g., testing models vis-à-vis hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, multiple regressions, nonparametric methods, discussion of Simpson's paradox).

This book can be a good supplemental reading for those students from humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, as well as anyone interested in having a quick review of the fundamentals of stats plus a good walk through of the highly demanded (and often misunderstood and abused) statistical tools for everyday practice in applied fields.

I recommend this book, and I wish other statisticians could explain as well as Prof. Rumsey does.

For students who may be intimidated by regression analysis and/or other intermediate stats, this book is for you. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I own 11 books about intermediate statistical analysis (purchased to help me through grad school classes), and this one offers by far the best and clearest explanation of the concepts. The tone is helpful, not condescending. The author is obviously interested in teaching - not in trying to show off her knowledge (as mathematicians and university scholars are sometimes prone to do). Don't waste your money or your time with other publications: all you need is this. Thank you, Dr. Rumsey!

Goes over the basics fairly well but, for someone in intermediate to advanced statistics it's a little basic. The examples were helpful but, if you really need advanced info keep looking.