Customer Reviews

Statistical Methods for Geography

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

 

 

Our graduate school is using the version of this book (2d edition, reprinted 2007)for the first time this semester (fall 2007). There are SO many errors, the professor has stopped assigning the book's problems without checking them first. Even the examples and the text are rife with mistakes. There is no erratum listed at the publishers web site to aid the poor souls befuddled by this material. The other big problem with the book is that there are no answers presented for the problems at the end of the chapters, so a student has to wait for the instructor to provide the correct answers. So someone purchasing this book without the benefit of being in school is flat out of luck. There is nothing worse than being faced with a difficult topic and never knowing if it is because the publisher/author were sloppy or if the student has not yet grasped the subject. The biggest irony is that this book has been reprinted every year, except for one, since 2001 (six reprints!). Maybe the publisher/author are correcting only a few problems in each version and hopefully can get it right by the 20th reprinting...

Unless you are proficient in statistics, this book will be very frustrating for students. I have trouble finding adequate explanations and definitions, and I am supposed to know this stuff. Their are numerous editing mistakes which adds to the students frustration, and could someone provide an answer key to the assignments. It reinforces the inability of some to understand how and what students need to learn.

Like another reviewer said, this book leave a lot of holes for the reader to figure out. The text is confusing, there are a number of mistakes in the numbers, and I find it easier to Google some of the topics rather than try to figure out what Rogerson is trying to say in the text.

The book does assume you know stats. However, when coupled with another stats book or two it can be a powerful book. I find using a basic stats book, a stats based on calculus book and this book to be the combination I need to understand my graduate level geostatistics course.

I am using this book in a senior-level research methods course and my classmates and I are all very frustrated with it. It assumes you already know all of the methods, and even though I have a good statistics background, I am having difficulties. It is extremely time-consuming to work through, so expect to spend a very significant amount of time on each chapter. I do not recommend this book for any individual with little or no statistics knowledge, and I caution those who do know statistics.

As its name say, the book covers aspects about statistic in geography, but not about geostatistics. In other hand, is like a basic statistic book with examples gotten from geography. The basic concepts are there: variables, correlation, regression, variance, hypothesys proofs. All of them explained with spatial cases. The explanation along the book are clear for a person with college statistical knowledge.

The problem that I can see with this text is that book not talk about the importance of geoestatistical methods. There is not in any Rogerson book line nothing about autocorrelation, variogram, kriging interpolation and the like. Some of that could improve the book because is important to know that statistical methods some times are out of order, in spetcial when variables are regionalized variables and keep betwen themself some grade of autocorrelation. This phenomena is not studied and is very important in the quantitative geography.

The book is good for the items wich contains. I use it for my class.

This is a very good statistic book. The book provides detailed information about applying statistics in geographical context. The book is easy to read, informative but not too extensive. Enough details are given for each concepts. The examples are extremely helpful in understand the principles of spatial issues. Some ideas in this book are creative and easy to use. It has it value in practise too. If you are interested in doing spatial statistics. This book will be a wonderful start point.