Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 A very good choice for a text in basic statistics December 21, 2006
Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com))
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I regularly teach a course in basic statistics at the college level. In that capacity, I examined this book for possible adoption as the text for the course. In terms of the breadth of coverage, it is broader than most other texts. There are three chapters:
*) Nonparametric statistics
*) Statistical process control
*) Projects, procedures, perspectives
covering material not normally found in other texts. The depth of the coverage is also a little deeper than in most other texts, as a consequence the book is nearly 900 pages. Explanations of the topics are clear, diagrams are used when needed but not to excess. There are many exercises at the ends of the chapters, with solutions to the odds in an appendix.
The exercises at the end of the chapters are in several forms. They are:
*) Basic skills and concepts
*) Beyond the basics, with the subcategories
*) Review
*) Statistical literacy and critical thinking
*) Review exercises
*) Cumulative review exercises
*) Cooperative group activities
*) Technology project
*) Internet project
Each chapter starts with a basic question, some examples are:
*) Chapter 7 Estimates and sample size. Question: Does touch therapy work?
*) Chapter 8 Hypothesis testing. Question: What is the best way to go about finding a job?
There is also a statistics@work blurb at the end of each chapter. It is a one-page interview of a person who uses statistics in their job.
I was impressed with this book; there is no question in my mind that it would work very well in the statistics class that I teach. However, I am also satisfied with the book that I am using, so I will not be making the switch. While it is better than the book I am using now it is just not that much better to justify the change.
very good intro stats book September 30, 2003
hockeynut (Texas USA)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
I think this is a great textbook. I have been reviewing texts for an AP statistics course and have settled on this book as a middle ground between very basic texts and rigorous textbooks for math majors.It is not intended for math majors. I don't understand why reviewers are criticizing it for it not being more rigorous. It has enough depth for intro undergrad stats, yet is adaptable to lower levels so some of the boneheads I have in high school can comprehend. Excellent explanations. Very readable. Decent problem sets. I approve.
Frank June 7, 2003
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
An absolutely outstanding text for conceptual development in elementary statistics. - I'm currently taking a statistical analysis course, and, after having read the vast majority of the text, I've found it to be the most clear and intelligently written text on the undergraduate market. (I've read most of the competing texts and they really don't compare). Clear, to the point, lucid prose - explaining not only the calculations, but also the CONCEPTS BEHIND THE PROCEDURES, is what seperates this text from the others. A lot of books lose the reader in computational detail without clearly explaining the ideas behind the procedures. - This book clearly surpasses the others in its conceptual clarity and insight that it offers into critical ideas left out of most other elementary texts I've read. I actually went out and got this book after seeing how clearly superior it was in communicating critical ideas necessary to understand the subject - relative to the text that was assigned by the professor for the course. The doctrinaire critiques I've read about the book are, to me, entirely unfounded. If you're looking for a good conceptual foundation in elementary statistics, and calculations that illustrate the concepts, you won't find a better text on the market.
Thanks! June 13, 2008
Christine Anderson (Danville, NH)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
My book came in in excellent shape and it came quickly! Pleasure doing business! Thanks!
GREAT THINKING, EVEN GREATER CLARITY OF EXPOSITION February 2, 2002
Dr. Carlos H. Soto (San Juan, Puerto Rico USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a gem! Even the excersises are loaded with information.
I would recommend this text to all who wish grace of exposition and depth of understanding.
|
