Statistical Rules Of Thumb

Praise for the First Edition: "For a beginner [this book] is a treasure trove; for an experienced person it can provide new ideas on how better to pursue the subject of applied statistics." —Journal of Quality Technology Sensibly organized for quick reference, Statistical Rules of Thumb, Second Edition compiles simple rules that are widely applicable, robust, and elegant, and each captures key statistical concepts. This unique guide to the use of statistics for designing, conducting, and analyzing research studies illustrates real-world statistical applications through examples from fields such as public health and environmental studies. Along with an insightful discussion of the reasoning behind every technique, this easy-to-use handbook also conveys the various possibilities statisticians must think of when designing and conducting a study or analyzing its data. Each chapter presents clearly defined rules related to inference, covariation, experimental design, consultation, and data representation, and each rule is organized and discussed under five succinct headings: introduction; statement and illustration of the rule; the derivation of the rule; a concluding discussion; and exploration of the concept's extensions. The author also introduces new rules of thumb for topics such as sample size for ratio analysis, absolute and relative risk, ANCOVA cautions, and dichotomization of continuous variables. Additional features of the Second Edition include: Additional rules on Bayesian topics New chapters on observational studies and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Additional emphasis on variation and causation Updated material with new references, examples, and sources A related Web site provides a rich learning environment and contains additional rules, presentations by the author, and a message board where readers can share their own strategies and discoveries. Statistical Rules of Thumb, Second Edition is an ideal supplementary book for courses in experimental design and survey research methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as an indispensable reference for statisticians, researchers, consultants, and scientists who would like to develop an understanding of the statistical foundations of their research efforts. A related website www.vanbelle.org provides additional rules, author presentations and more.

In today's high-technology world, with flourishing e-business and intense competition at a global level, the search for the competitive advantage has become a crucial task of corporate executives. Quality, formerly considered a secondary expense, is now universally recognized as a necessary tool. Although many statistical methods are available for determining quality, there has been no guide to easy learning and implementation until now. Filling that gap, Statistical Design of Experiments with Engineering Applications, provides a ready made, quick and easy-to-learn approach for applying design of experiments techniques to problems. The book uses quality as the main theme to explain various design of experiments concepts. The authors examine the entire product lifecycle and the tools and techniques necessary to measure quality at each stage. They explain topics such as optimization, Taguchi's method, variance reduction, and graphical applications based on statistical techniques. Wherever applicable the book supplies practical rules of thumb, step-wise procedures that allow you to grasp concepts quickly and apply them appropriately, and examples that demonstrate how to apply techniques. Emphasizing the importance of quality to products and services, the authors include concepts from the field of Quality Engineering. Written with an emphasis on application and not on bogging you down with the theoretical underpinnings, the book enables you to solve 80% of design problems without worrying about the derivation of mathematical formulas.

Statistical Power Analysis is a nontechnical guide to power analysis in research planning that provides users of applied statistics with the tools they need for more effective analysis. The Second Edition includes: * a chapter covering power analysis in set correlation and multivariate methods; * a chapter considering effect size, psychometric reliability, and the efficacy of "qualifying" dependent variables and; * expanded power and sample size tables for multiple regression/correlation.

"Learning Statistics with R" covers the contents of an introductory statistics class, as typically taught to undergraduate psychology students, focusing on the use of the R statistical software and adopting a light, conversational style throughout. The book discusses how to get started in R, and gives an introduction to data manipulation and writing scripts. From a statistical perspective, the book discusses descriptive statistics and graphing first, followed by chapters on probability theory, sampling and estimation, and null hypothesis testing. After introducing the theory, the book covers the analysis of contingency tables, t-tests, ANOVAs and regression. Bayesian statistics are covered at the end of the book. For more information (and the opportunity to check the book out before you buy!) visit http://ua.edu.au/ccs/teaching/lsr or http://learningstatisticswithr.com

This book provides an up-to-date review of commonly undertaken methodological and statistical practices that are sustained, in part, upon sound rationale and justification and, in part, upon unfounded lore. Some examples of these "methodological urban legends", as we refer to them in this book, are characterized by manuscript critiques such as: (a) "your self-report measures suffer from common method bias"; (b) "your item-to-subject ratios are too low"; (c) "you can’t generalize these findings to the real world"; or (d) "your effect sizes are too low". Historically, there is a kernel of truth to most of these legends, but in many cases that truth has been long forgotten, ignored or embellished beyond recognition. This book examines several such legends. Each chapter is organized to address: (a) what the legend is that "we (almost) all know to be true"; (b) what the "kernel of truth" is to each legend; (c) what the myths are that have developed around this kernel of truth; and (d) what the state of the practice should be. This book meets an important need for the accumulation and integration of these methodological and statistical practices.

Statistical Inference via Data Science: A ModernDive into R and the Tidyverse provides a pathway for learning about statistical inference using data science tools widely used in industry, academia, and government. It introduces the tidyverse suite of R packages, including the ggplot2 package for data visualization, and the dplyr package for data wrangling. After equipping readers with just enough of these data science tools to perform effective exploratory data analyses, the book covers traditional introductory statistics topics like confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and multiple regression modeling, while focusing on visualization throughout. Features: ● Assumes minimal prerequisites, notably, no prior calculus nor coding experience ● Motivates theory using real-world data, including all domestic flights leaving New York City in 2013, the Gapminder project, and the data journalism website, FiveThirtyEight.com ● Centers on simulation-based approaches to statistical inference rather than mathematical formulas ● Uses the infer package for "tidy" and transparent statistical inference to construct confidence intervals and conduct hypothesis tests via the bootstrap and permutation methods ● Provides all code and output embedded directly in the text; also available in the online version at moderndive.com This book is intended for individuals who would like to simultaneously start developing their data science toolbox and start learning about the inferential and modeling tools used in much of modern-day research. The book can be used in methods and data science courses and first courses in statistics, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

A respected introduction to biostatistics, thoroughly updated and revised The first edition of Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences has served professionals and students alike as a leading resource for learning how to apply statistical methods to the biomedical sciences. This substantially revised Second Edition brings the book into the twenty-first century for today’s aspiring and practicing medical scientist. This versatile reference provides a wide-ranging look at basic and advanced biostatistical concepts and methods in a format calibrated to individual interests and levels of proficiency. Written with an eye toward the use of computer applications, the book examines the design of medical studies, descriptive statistics, and introductory ideas of probability theory and statistical inference; explores more advanced statistical methods; and illustrates important current uses of biostatistics. New to this edition are discussions of Longitudinal data analysis Randomized clinical trials Bayesian statistics GEE The bootstrap method Enhanced by a companion Web site providing data sets, selected problems and solutions, and examples from such current topics as HIV/AIDS, this is a thoroughly current, comprehensive introduction to the field.

A clear and concise introduction and reference for anyone new to the subject of statistics.