Customer Reviews

Statistics for Terrified Biologists

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

 

 

I was exactly terrified when I run onto this textbook. I was suspicious when I saw written on the back cover: written in a lively and engaging style, I simply never believed statistics could be lively and engaging, but it was. After carefully reading the book cover to cover it's the first time I have understood the principles I have the skills and knowledge to analyse the data as I need in my studies. Many thanks to the author!!!

Being a confused biology with what to do with all the results I had found, this book really helped me to find a way out!! I strongly recommend it to any biologist who is not that fond of numbers and statistics.

This text does provide some very nice examples of the basic theory and math behind common statistical tests and why they work. That can be illuminating and satisfying for those who want to gain an understanding of the basis for the tests they are using. A serious flaw is that the book is written as if statistical software packages don't exist. This leads the author to use forms of equations that would be useful for hand calculations but are not intuitive or relevant in the age of software packages. Unfortunately this approach really muddies the waters and sets up an unnecessary barrier to understanding the underlying concepts.

So Far, I found the book very helpful. It helped me to clarify a few, very specific parts in statistic which I heard many times but did not manage to comprehend. I must say that for those that are afraid of statistics and need a detailed and repeated explanation of theories, could benefit in understanding by having that book.

This book covers exactly the points that I cover in my pre-med biostatistics class at exactly the level required. It will be our textbook in the next academic year.