Elementary Statistics For Geographers

Introduces the techniques and concepts of statistics in human and physical geography. This book explains not only how to apply quantitative tools but also why and how they work. It helps students gain important skills for utilizing conventional and spatial statistics in their own research, as well as for critically evaluating the work of others.

Comprehensive and highly accessible, this text is ideal for both beginners and advanced students of geography. Bringing the subject completely up to date, the book will be welcomed by researchers and educators.

Widely adopted, this uniquely comprehensive text introduces the techniques and concepts of statistics in human and physical geography. Unlike other texts that gloss over the conceptual foundations and focus solely on method, the book explains not only how to apply quantitative tools but also why and how they work. Students gain important skills for utilizing both conventional and spatial statistics in their own research, as well as for critically evaluating the work of others. Most chapters are self-contained in order to provide maximum flexibility in course design. Requiring no math beyond algebra, the book is well suited for undergraduate and beginning graduate-level courses. Helpful features include chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and practice problems at the end of each chapter. New to This Edition *Restructured and updated to reflect current developments in the field. *Five entirely new chapters cover graphical methods, spatial relationships, analysis of variance, extending regression analysis, and spatial analysis. *Features even more worked examples, many with accompanying graphics. *The companion website offers datasets and solutions to selected end-of-chapter exercises.

Statistics courses frequently gloss over the foundations of statistical analysis and concentrate solely on method. As a result, students are able to perform the techniques, but do not know when to utilize them or how to interpret results incorporating statistical methods. Designed to give geography students a solid understanding of key statistical concepts, this in-depth text both presents basic techniques and fully explores their meaning and importance. Structured for optimal classroom use, the book includes helpful student exercises with answer keys. Four broad sections provide comprehensive coverage of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, statistical relationships between two variables, and modern methods of analysis.

"The use of statistical techniques in geography received an impetus only after the Second World War. Since then, application of statistical techniques in social sciences has increased enormously making it essential for geographers to acquire training in elementary statistical methods, particularly after the sixties when statistical geography came to occupy a distinct part of the post-graduate syllabus. The main object of this book is to introduce the students to some of the concepts of statistical analytical methods. The fundamentals of statistics have been elaborated so as to make it easily understandable even to those who do not have any background of mathematics. Greater emphasis has been laid on the application of statistical techniques in geography and hence each chapter has been punctuated with illustrations. The book especially deals with problems on standard deviation, probability, variance analysis, correlation, and regression which are indispensable for researchers in geography in general and in the social sciences in particular."

First published in 1978. For the non-mathematician, however, even the simpler introductory books on statistics often raise considerable problems. In this second edition First, some attention has been given to the problem of the transformation of data in order to reinforce the appreciation of the need for normally-distributed data for the use of so many techniques. Secondly, the use of probability paper, at least in simple terms, has been introduced to illustrate the ways in which the labour of probability assessments can be circumvented. Thirdly, radical changes have been made, plus considerable expansion added, to the theme of non-parametric testing, to provide a more systematic approach to what is a most important group of possible techniques for geographers. Fourthly, change and expansion are also reflected in the sections on correlation and regression, including some simple consideration of curvilinear relationships and the presentation of computational techniques more geared to the use of desk calculators rather than long-hand methods. Finally, the bibliography has also been expanded, to incorporate a wider range of books on techniques and a selection of research papers using such techniques in a geographical (or near-geographical) context.

Integrating a discussion of the application of quantitative methods with practical examples, this book explains the philosophy of the quantitative methodologies. It discusses issues such as: the nature of modern quantitative geography; spatial data; geographical information systems; visualization; local analysis; and point pattern analysis.