Each statistical procedure in this text is presented in a conceptual, intuitive manner to illustrate how it fills a need in the process. Students anxious about math will benefit from a scaled back emphasis on the discipline, plain language, and a step-by-step approach that reintroduces, reviews, and reinforces procedures. In addition, references to psychology have been reduced to make the text more inclusive of all behavioral sciences.
Basic Statistics For The Behavioral Sciences Book by Gary W. Heiman Overview
Each statistical procedure in this text is presented in a conceptual, intuitive manner to illustrate how it fills a need in the process. Students anxious about math will benefit from a scaled back emphasis on the discipline, plain language, and a step-by-step approach that reintroduces, reviews, and reinforces procedures. In addition, references to psychology have been reduced to make the text more inclusive of all behavioral sciences.
The text has been revised to streamline the narrative without reducing content, make presentations more concise, and add more explanatory techniques. Nearly all examples include specific variables and questions rather than generic data, and most are taken from everyday life so that students gain an intuitive feel for the meaning of scores and develop an ability to think in statistical terms.
Summary tables and charts help students organize and remember related topics.
An opening section in each chapter, Why Is It Important to Know About...?, introduces the major topic, immediately placing it in a research context.
Key terms are bold within the text, reviewed in the chapter summary, and listed in a new section at the end of the text.
Reference tables provide guidelines for selecting from the descriptive and inferential procedures discussed in the text based on the type of data or research design employed.
The text has been revised to streamline the narrative without reducing content, make presentations more concise, and add more explanatory techniques. Nearly all examples include specific variables and questions rather than generic data, and most are taken from everyday life so that students gain an intuitive feel for the meaning of scores and develop an ability to think in statistical terms.
Summary tables and charts help students organize and remember related topics.
An opening section in each chapter, Why Is It Important to Know About...?, introduces the major topic, immediately placing it in a research context.
Key terms are bold within the text, reviewed in the chapter summary, and listed in a new section at the end of the text.
Reference tables provide guidelines for selecting from the descriptive and inferential procedures discussed in the text based on the type of data or research design employed.
Basic Statistics For The Behavioral Sciences Book by Gary W. Heiman Review
I took psychology at Monash University in Australia when I was 15 years old, and thankfully Heiman's book was the set text for research methods and statistics in the first year. Although the word "basic" is in the title, it is not a book without depth. It is an easy to read survey of undergraduate level statistics used in psychology courses. By the time you've finished with this book, you will be able to comfortably read and critique the vast majority of research papers in psychology, including some meta analyses.
This book will be especially useful if you've never studied statistics or you believe you are no good at any kind of mathematical study. I already had a strong background in mathematics when I took courses using this textbook, but I still found this text enlightening and pleasurable reading.
Heiman uses everyday language and clearly explains not only the funny squiggles and symbols, but also exactly when and how to use different types of statistics, how to conduct and evaluate research and how to interpret the meaning of research results in the behavioural sciences.
Heiman changed my mind about statistics with this book. Before I took statistics I could only think, "lies, damn lies, and statistics." I thought they were useless, misleading, and tools of propaganda. After finishing this book, I found that good statistics were useful and reliable aids to understanding an astonishing range of data.
While this book is accessible to the average student, and even to those who's achievements in mathematics/statistics are modest or non-existant, it will not insult the intelligence of more experienced students, either.
If you've ever wondered about the Chi Square test, ANOVA, "no significant difference from a chance variation," z-scores, r, N=whatever, then you will love this book. You will also be able to play "spot the useless or misleading statistics" and make truly informed decisions about social science research.
This book will be especially useful if you've never studied statistics or you believe you are no good at any kind of mathematical study. I already had a strong background in mathematics when I took courses using this textbook, but I still found this text enlightening and pleasurable reading.
Heiman uses everyday language and clearly explains not only the funny squiggles and symbols, but also exactly when and how to use different types of statistics, how to conduct and evaluate research and how to interpret the meaning of research results in the behavioural sciences.
Heiman changed my mind about statistics with this book. Before I took statistics I could only think, "lies, damn lies, and statistics." I thought they were useless, misleading, and tools of propaganda. After finishing this book, I found that good statistics were useful and reliable aids to understanding an astonishing range of data.
While this book is accessible to the average student, and even to those who's achievements in mathematics/statistics are modest or non-existant, it will not insult the intelligence of more experienced students, either.
If you've ever wondered about the Chi Square test, ANOVA, "no significant difference from a chance variation," z-scores, r, N=whatever, then you will love this book. You will also be able to play "spot the useless or misleading statistics" and make truly informed decisions about social science research.
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