Customer Reviews

PDQ Statistics

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've spent years looking for a book on statistics that is lucid for professionals who need to use statistical methods but who don't want to get a Ph.D. in math to be able to undertand them.

This book is the best. No incomprehensible Greek formulas. No tortured prose. And yet it's not just a mere introduction of what a mode is. It includes some advanced statistical methods and gives you all you need to know to understand what they do and how and when you would use them. It is long enough to describe each method sufficiently, including pitfalls and things to watch out for. Yet the book is short enough that reading it and undertanding the whole thing is possible in a modest length of time.

You can stop searching now. This is the book.

This really is a fun book - yes FUN - I'd even say it's a bathroom book about statistics. It's very conceptual, not at all driven by formulas - and makes many statistical concepts crystal clear. A great book to pick up for the PHD or the stats phobic - -

This book is the only statistics book of its type. For each section covering a specific statistical method (from simple methods to those you may not even cover in your PhD training), a concise 2-5 page summary is presented. The goal is not to enable the reader to calculate any of these statistics, but to understand conceptually what each statistic means. This is where it can fill in information other statistics texts never get to. A student (or researcher!) who can churn out factorial ANOVA results, but doesn't truly understand what they mean can turn to this book for clarity. It's simple (for statistics), it's short, it's clear, and you have to love a book that is dedicated "To the many people who have made this book both possible and necessary -- authors of other statistics books"!

If you are an analytically impaired and statistically challenged math phobe who needs to understand and use statistical methods, this is an excellent resource. The authors explanations are relevant and easy to understand. Highly recommended for those who need to get a grip on the numbers in research!

If you need one reference booklet to quickly grasp the nuances of statistics in general, or bio-statistics for that matter, this is the book. Just 218 pages in a 5 inch by 8.5 inch format, but packed full of the fundamentals and succinct explanations of all key formulae used in stats. And, written in a manner that is understandable and entertaining! Never thought that I would come across a Stats book that is a joy to read, but somehow Professors Norman and Streiner have managed to do that! Click and Clack of Statistics if I may say so! (with apologies to CarTalk folks).......

A very helpful book, both to read and as a quick reference for those of us who are math impaired. Reccomended to myself by a nursing professor.

I have a couple of other fat, authoratative biostats books but PDQ is my reference of choice. If you want to understand biostats, you can't lose with this clever concise text.

I must begin by stating that I didn't receive the book until the week of my exam. :( So, obviously I was not reliant on it. The book is small enough to be "not so" intimidating. It has relevant formulas and explanations to give one the gist of stats needed to pass a biostats class.

My opinion of the book may have been better had the product arrived sooner.