Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences [Hardcover]

Jay L. Devore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534372813 | ISBN-13: 978-0534372811 | Publication Date: December 9, 1999 | Edition: 5

Although the Fourth Edition made significant strides towards the incorporation of computer output and the use of computer-based methods, this has been even further strengthened in the Fifth Edition. In this book, a wealth of exercises are provided throughout each section, designed to reinforce learning and the logical comprehension of topics. The use of real data is incorporated much more extensively than in any other book on the market. Consist of strong coverage of computer-based methods, especially in the coverage of analysis of variance and regression. This text stresses mastery of methods most often used in medical research, with specific reference to actual medical literature and actual medical research. The approach minimizes mathematical formulation, yet gives complete explanations of all important concepts. Every new concept is systematically developed through completely worked-out examples from current medical research problems. Computer output is used to illustrate concepts when appropriate.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 750 pages
• Publisher: Duxbury Pr; 5 edition (December 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534372813
• ISBN-13: 978-0534372811
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Utility Depends on Your Background, June 10, 2002

By 

Yu-jin Chia "Yu-Jin Chia" (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences (Hardcover)

Given any particular university level textbook, there's always a compromise between the author's need to write a professional text and concurrently make it easy to understand. This textbook is no exception, and it leans toward the professional aspect. It is therefore good reference or supplementary material for those who already have some background in statistics, but it is very difficult to learn from the text alone.

As for the book itself, it has strengths and weaknesses. On the good side, it has excellent examples that use real world data, albeit largely from esoteric sources. You can see right off that knowing the material will be very useful in real-world applications, which isn't something you get from many other textbooks.

If you happen to be interested in statistical theory, this book has everything you'd want to know and more. Some of the details get pretty gory, but if you like that sort of thing, it's all here. At the same time, the text is organized so you can easily skip those parts if it's not your ballgame.

The layout and organization, in general, are well thought out and implemented. Important formulas are boxed for easy identification, and key terms are well referenced. The book size and weight is also very reasonable for a textbook. This is attained by very concise, mathematical language. Also, a useful CD is included with the text, containing all the data used in the exercises (various program formats) so you don't have to type it all in manually. All-important tables are located in the back of the book, where you can always find them. Additionally, the appendix section has answers to the odd-numbered exercises. It's not that much of a problem that you only have half the solutions, because concurrent problems are usually similar.

Downsides to the text include the language, which is highly technical, relying heavily on symbols, terminology, and acronyms. Of course, statistics in general is like this, but this book really forces you to learn this rather distasteful aspect of the field. Anyway, it could certainly be more user-friendly, although as such it might be less concise. For those who are well accustomed to such things (e.g. statisticians, mathematicians, military people) the material might be an easy thing to pick up. For others, it can be frustrating when you have to flip back a few hundred pages to remind yourself what a particular Greek alphabet was supposed to represent. Personally, I feel a table of all the symbols with a brief description of each would have been a very welcome addition to the appendix.

Though the exercises are generally well done and challenging, I do have some issues with them. From time to time, one would refer to a problem or data set from way back in the textbook- with no executive summary. It would have been nice to be able to see what was being asked without flipping back hundreds of pages. Additionally, the answers provided in the appendix are often nearly useless, since a terse numerical answer says little about how you might arrive at it. For this purpose there is a solutions manual available, but you might be disinclined to pay for it.

The most prominent difficulty with the text- and I know it's not exclusively mine- is the simple fact that it is a professional work. If you have no knowledge of statistics beforehand, it can be an extremely difficult read. For a while I tried to browse the text before lectures, but I found that it wasn't worth the effort. It took so long to plow through to the 'moral of the story' that I ended up just using the book for review. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have an excellent statistics professor (the author himself) and so was able to pick up the concepts by simply going to class. If, in the admittedly improbable event that you're new to statistics and are looking for an extra book to make up for a poor instructor, you might want to look at a different one. If you already know something about statistics and want a useful reference, then this is your resource.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not enough, October 20, 2004

By 

Jason (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences (Hardcover)

This is the textbook used for the introductory statistics course for engineers at UC Berkeley and while it has some merits there are other textbooks that are better for the purpose:

If probability is the emphasis, Jim Pitman's Probability does the job.

If an overview is desired, then Purves' Statistics book will work.

The homework problems in Devore's book are of moderate difficulty but the explanation isn't any more detailed than that of a high school level statistics course (with the exception of continuous random variables). The book has some computer examples but does not discuss uses of computing packages like Matlab, R/S-plus, SAS, etc.

Unless the textbook is required for the class, for reference purposes try other textbooks for your dollars.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Teachers, Please Don't Use This Book, October 10, 2002

By 

"forestercox" (Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences (Hardcover)

This has to be by far, the worst college math book I have encountered. The authors were so intent on providing real life examples and data they forgot to explain anything. Their descriptions are written for those who speak statistics as a second language not the average student or grad student. The text more often confuses me than helps me.
Also, It is very irritating that I cannot obtain the answers to the even problems even with the study guide. As adults, if college students want to cheat on homework assignments that's their business and they'll fail the tests on their own. But please, for honest students who need more than average assistance in statistics, the even answers would be appreciated.