Statistics Workbook For Dummies [Paperback]

Deborah Rumsey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764584669 | ISBN-13: 978-0764584664 | Publication Date: May 27, 2005 | Edition: 1

A friendly, hands-on guide to the dreaded field of statistics
Competence in and understanding statistics is important to success in such fields as business and science, and is often a requirement for college students in a variety of programs. This handy guide complements author Deborah Rumsey's Statistics For Dummies by presenting exercises and fully worked solutions that let students and professionals practice and sharpen their statistical skills and understanding of the subject. Offering a simple, straightforward examination of the process and products of statistical computation-as well as a wealth of tips and tricks-Statistics Workbook For Dummies is an invaluable resource for reinforcing the concepts and practice of statistics.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

From mean to median to probability — crunch the numbers with ease

Got a grasp on the terms and concepts you need to know, but get lost halfway through a problem or, worse yet, not know where to begin? Have no fear! This hands-on guide focuses on helping you solve the many types of statistical calculations and problems you encounter in a focused, step-by-step manner. With just enough refresher explanations before each set of problems, you'll sharpen your skills and improve your performance. You'll see how to work with percents, graphs, charts, margin of error, hypotheses, polls and surveys, and more!

100s of Problems!

• Step-by-step answer sets clearly identify where you went wrong (or right) with a problem
• The inside scoop on analyzing and interpreting data
• Know where to begin and how to solve the most common problems
• How to guesstimate with confidence

About the Author

Deborah Rumsey has a PhD in Statistics from The Ohio State University (1993). Upon graduating, she joined the faculty in the Department of Statistics at Kansas State University, winning the distinguished Presidential Teaching Award and earning tenure and promotion in 1998. In 2000, she returned to Ohio State and is now a Statistics Education Specialist/Auxiliary Faculty Member for the Department of Statistics. Dr. Rumsey has served on the American Statistical Association’s Statistics Education Executive Committee and as the Editor of the Teaching Bits Section of the Journal of Statistics Education. She’s the author of the book Statistics For Dummies (Wiley), and she has published many papers and given many professional presentations on the subject of statistics education. Her particular research interests are curriculum materials development, teacher training and support, and immersive learning environments. Her passions, besides teaching, include her family, fishing, bird watching, driving a John Deere tractor, and Ohio State Buckeye football (not necessarily in that order).

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (May 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764584669
• ISBN-13: 978-0764584664
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Rumsey, PhD, is a Statistics Education Specialist and Auxiliary Faculty Member in the Department of Statistics at Ohio State University. She is also a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has received the Presidential Teaching Award from Kansas State University. Dr. Rumsey has published numerous papers and given many professional presentations on the subject of statistics education.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent as a supplement or review, not suited for stand-alone learning, October 20, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Statistics Workbook For Dummies (Paperback)

Basic statistics is a course that I have taught at Mount Mercy College over thirty times. Since it is required for several majors, including business, nursing and psychology, the student population is a varied one. Therefore, I get everyone from seasoned math majors to people who have held off taking a math course until the last possible session. Some of these students really need their hands held in several ways, from extra human interactive help to additional reading material with practice problems. While this book cannot help with the former, it is an excellent solution for the latter.
As the name implies, this is a workbook containing problems in basic statistics. There is very little explanatory text, the bulk of the explanations are in the form of solved problems. The topics covered are:

*) Organizing data into graphs, charts and histograms
*) Measures of the center and the spread of the data
*) The fundamentals of probability
*) The distributions used in statistical analysis
*) Confidence intervals of means, proportions and the differences between two of them
*) Hypothesis testing of means, proportions and the differences between two of them
*) Correlation and regression
*) Summaries containing a review of the mathematics, the top ten statistical formulas and ten ways to spot statistical mistakes

As is always the case with survey books, it is possible to criticize the exclusion of a topic or two. Furthermore, this is not a book that the general beginner population could use to learn statistics. However, if you are searching for something to give you supplemental work in statistics or are looking for something that will give you a quick and effective review, then this book is what you are looking for.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Practical, December 26, 2007

By 

MAURICIO AGUIAR (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Statistics Workbook For Dummies (Paperback)

As someone who teaches Statistics to Information Technology professionals I am always looking for new ways of explaining basic Statistical ideas to "newcomers". This book is excellent for those learners who find it easier to learn through examples and practice than just by reading theory. It is true that one would need another book for comprehensive explanations, however this book is one of the best resources available for "hands-on" practice. Although other reviewers have covered the book's contents I would like to focus on Chapter 19, Ten Ways to Spot Common Statistical Mistakes, that covers the following topics:

- Scrutinizing Graphs
- Searching for and Specifying Bias
- Marking the Margin of Error
- Scanning for Sample Size
- Studying Sample Selection (Gotta Be Random)
- Checking for Confounding Variables
- Considering Correlation
- Doing the Math
- Detecting Selective Reporting
- Avoiding the Anecdote

I believe every introductory Statistics book should contain a similar section.
This book is also a great help for those who already know basic Statistics and need a quick, practical review.

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of helpful information for exams, October 8, 2005

By 

A. Student - See all my reviews

This review is from: Statistics Workbook For Dummies (Paperback)

This book helped me get ready for my exams. There were tons of problems, with answers all worked out and explained clearly. Plus it gives you a lot of ideas about what your teacher might ask you on an exam. I found this to be very helpful in my stats class.