Customer Reviews

Statistics: The Art and Science of Learning From Data (MyStatLab Series)

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

 

 

We were the first class at Santa Monica College (SMC) to use this book (Fall 2010), and after the widespread complaints by both professors and students, SMC's Math Department will be reverting to a different book next Fall (2011). Though Alan Agresti is a renowned statistician, this unfortunately, did not translate into a good text for an introductory statistics course. It tries to reinvent the wheel by teaching statistics in a completely different layout which completely does away with the traditional sequence of topics. Unfortunately, it does this job so poorly, there is a complete disconnect between the topics. When I finished the course, I did not see the what the book was trying to do in linking the different topics of Hypothesis testing, regression analysis, Z-table, T-tables, etc. It was only after consulting with a friend with a PhD in Statistics, and through his explanations which filled holes created by the book, was I able to truly appreciate statistics and understand that they connected, and built on each other conceptually and mathematically.

Some good ideas are there. For instance, the book uses real world examples in their homework problems, such as smoking rates and relationships with cancer, relationship between study times and gpa for a particular university.. etc. However, if the concepts are poorly explained themselves, this invalidates much of the usefulness of the problems in the first place.

One of the worst offenses in this book not yet mentioned is the fact that the Test Bank, which your professor may use, seems to be written by a completely different author altogether. The problems on the test have a very different flavor; key words were used differently on the test versus the book! Half of the classes were either getting D's or F's across the board at SMC, for the professors using the test bank.

Professors, schools, please make the wise choice and do NOT use this book for your courses!

This is the required textbook for my university statistics class. I got the "international edition" of this book from a different site, and saved a ton of money. The international version is the exact same book, with the same material on the same pages (full color), and it even comes with the CD. The only difference is that the image on the cover is different from the this version's and that it's paperback instead of hardcover. I only paid $50 for it (brand new!). I don't think that the "custom edition" available on Amazon is the same product, but if you want to save money, find the international edition! The ISBN is 978-0-13-135746-4. Good luck!

I ordered this book for a college course. It turned out that I didn't really need it, but I read it over anyway before exams and it was easy to understand and was organized. It also came with a CD, but I never used it.

This textbook is wordy and never gives a direct explanation of how to do perform a concept which makes it difficult when trying to review or brush up on any fundamentals.

It really does. If it teaches better than a professor, that is saying something, whether it's a good book or whether my professor sucks. But, overall, it gets the job done. Sometimes, the wording is confusing, but the information is there.

My university requires this book so students have a point of reference if needed but all instruction and homework is done via department made handouts for good reason. This book book is terribly written with poor examples and exercises. Sample statistics and data sets attempt to convey more than mathematical comprehension but it just plays out as long winded and excessive. Also on a personal note while I consider myself a far left liberal I find the tone of this book similar to a preachy hippy, keep the math pure and teach me the fundamentals I require. Avoid at all costs.

Purchased this item a month ago an still haven't recieved it......... piss poor service........strongly recommend to not buy from this seller

This book contains helpful exercises that are helping me to do well in my statistics class. They are easy to understand.

This book helped me a lot when it came to the stuff i didnt undestand and the good thing is that it has all the asnwers to the problems

It served my needs for a STAT class very well and a great price compared to the college bookstore.