Customer Reviews

Multiple Regression : A Primer (Undergraduate Research Methods & Statistics in the Social Sciences)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
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This book was required for a graduate Sociology class in Survey Analysis. I began studying statistics the previous quarter and had a terrible time. The books were dry and uninteresting. This one is written in almost conversational English with plenty of examples and excellent explanations. The writing is clear and easy to follow. I read one or two chapters in a sitting with no problem (my eyes didn't glaze over and I didn't fall asleep.)

If you've ever used "The Complete Idiot's Guide to... " or "... for Dummies" series then you have some idea what this book is like; not that it's dumbed down at all, but that it's written in "plain English" that's easy to follow and (after my last class) literally a pleasure to read. I've been reading the book for 3 days and I am grasping concepts that I could not get in 10 weeks of studying with other texts.

Roughly speaking, the first half introduces the reader to the practice and application of regressions. The second half explains more of the technical details (the arithmetic, assumptions, etc.) The final chapters deal with some of the pitfalls and other considerations involved in using regressions (multi-collinearity, etc.) It's all been very helpful. I highly recommend this book to students of statistics and to instructors in need of texts for their courses.

For social scientists, this book is so full of practical information about what to look out for in regression, and it's a well written, easy reading style...highly recommended. It's orientation is toward application including brief instructions for SPSS procedures. Another benefit is 5 different examples of how infomation is typically presented in social sciences journals including what are typical levels of sig. and explained variation. Note -- if you're looking for a lot of detailed underlying math or theory, this probably isn't your book.

This is hands-down the most helpful book I have come across in my graduate studies on regression. It's written in non-technical language and is very clearly organized. The book is a great introduction to the mechanics of regression-I find myself going back to it time and again when I am need a refresher or am having a problem in my analyses and need some basic help. Highly recommended for social science grad students.

This starts with the very basics. What is correlation? What is regression? By the time it gets to multiple regression it is nearly over. ALL to its credit. It is eminently readable. It is non-technical and clear. It doesn't have any software step by step, but that is not the point of the book. Too basic for some, it is perfect for the novice. I benefited mostly from inspiration on how best to explain regression to others. Brief and relatively inexpensive, probably worth having on hand even if you are not a novice.

This easy-to-understand text is useful as preliminary or ancillary reading in a first course in regression analysis. For students having trouble with Gujarati, Wooldridge, Chatterjee and Hadi, or other standard introductory texts, the material contained in this brief account will almost certainly be helpful.

Allison's text provides the sort of overview that enables students to place detailed treatments of specific topics in a coherent context. This helps them understand just what they are trying to accomplish with all the tests, correctives, and relatively advanced analytical procedures that make up the bulk of usual textbooks on this widely used and increasingly technical topic.

The underlying logic of regression analysis can be understood by readers who lack what is sometimes referred to as mathematical maturity. This is especially pertinent with regard to multiple regression and the crucial issue of statistical control. The author does a fine job of making this about as clear as it can be.

This book positions itself as a gentler introduction to multiple regression which is both good and bad. The prose makes it easy to read, but in the end this book should have used formatting that better outlines the step-by-step approach needed in multiple regression problems. I swear I'm not kidding here; they do examples where they insert math steps in the middle of sentences in the middle of paragraphs. That doesn't help anyone. Put the examples in clearly outlined boxes like a "real" textbook and outline the steps. The author has written a really decent book - but in the next edition he shouldn't be shy about giving readers enough step-by-step outlines to try some problems. He seems to back off of that for fear of seeming too "technical." Don't worry about it - readers know how to skip ahead. We've been doing it for years.

This book provides a good conceptual explanation of regression. Mind you, it is still very dry, but that's the nature of the subject matter.

The book, unfortunately, uses minimal examples to explain regression and has little to no practice problems. As with all mathematical subjects, I believe the key to understanding is practice and application of the mathematical principles to problems. In that regard, the book left much wanting.

To be fair, the author uses few key examples to explain and apply regression principles. But I felt there needed to be much more.

This is a paperback and a short book. It is rather skimpy. For that, I felt the price of the book was rather high. But then again, books on regression analysis aren't exactly best-sellers and I suppose the price needs to be high to make-up for the lack of demand. Still, I can't say the book was worth the price.

If you want to understand regression better, then this is a worthwhile book. If you want to supplement your good understanding of regression, then I recommend this book. If you want a book that will allow you to understand AND learn regression through practice problems, then look elsewhere.

This book can be read at many different levels and, as the introduction suggests, you can stop reading after any chapter, depending on your immediate needs and readiness to learn more. I can attest that it works both for novice learners and for novice teachers. The author clearly speaks from authority and experience. When he says that this condition is more important to verify and that one is less so, depending on your situation and goals, he is conveying information is quite valuable and hard to find elsewhere.

This book provided a very helpful review before my doctoral defense