Understanding Social Statistics

Accessible and illuminating, this text is both a map and toolkit for successfully navigating the maze of social statistics. A five-step learning model, applied to each statistical technique, introduces key concepts in plain language; explains how to perform calculations manually; providesspecific descriptions of how to use statistical software such as SPSS; offers practice questions to solidify understanding; and gives guidance on interpreting results.

`This book is highly recommended for libraries and departments to adopt. If I had to teach a statistics class for sociology students this would be a book I would surely choose. The book achieves two very important goals: it teaches students a software package and trains them in the statistical analysis of sociological data′ - Journal of Applied Statistics This fully revised, expanded and updated Second Edition of the best-selling textbook by Jane Fielding and Nigel Gilbert provides a comprehensive yet accessible guide to quantitative data analysis. Designed to help take the fear out of the use of numbers in social research, this textbook introduces students to statistics as a powerful means of revealing patterns in human behaviour. The textbook covers everything typically included in an introductory course on social statistics for students in the social sciences and the authors have taken the opportunity of this Second Edition to bring the data sources as current as possible. The book is full of up-to-date examples and useful and clear illustrations using the latest SPSS software. While maintaining the student-friendly elements of the first, such as chapter summaries, exercises at the end of each chapter, and a glossary of key terms, new features to this edition include: - Updated examples and references SPSS coverage and screen-shots now incorporate the current version 14.0 and are used to demonstrate the latest social statistics datasets; - Additions to content include a brand new section on developing a coding frame and an additional discussion of weighting counts as a means of analyzing published statistics; - Enhanced design aids navigation which is further simplified by the addition of core objectives for each chapter and bullet-pointed chapter summaries; - The updated Website at http:/www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/uss/index.html reflects changes made to the text and provides updated datasets; A valuable and practical guide for students dealing with the large amounts of data that are typically collected in social surveys, the Second Edition of Understanding Social Statistics is an essential textbook for courses on statistics and quantitative research across the social sciences.

This is a practical introduction to statistics as a means of revealing patterns in human behaviour. It takes the fear out of the use of statistics in social research and avoids unnecessary use of mathematical concepts and techniques.

Introduction to Social Statistics is a basic statistics text with a focus on the use of models for thinking through statistical problems, an accessible and consistent structure with ongoing examples across chapters, and an emphasis on the tools most commonly used in contemporary research. Lively introductory textbook that uses three strategies to help students master statistics: use of models throughout; repetition with variation to underpin pedagogy; and emphasis on the tools most commonly used in contemporary research Demonstrates how more than one statistical method can be used to approach a research question Enhanced learning features include a ‘walk-through’ of statistical concepts, applications, features, advanced topics boxes, and a ‘What Have We Learned’ section at the end of each chapter Supported by a website containing instructor materials including chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides, answers to exercises, and an instructor guide Visit www.wiley.com/go/dietz for additional student and instructor resources.

An introductory textbook for undergraduate students in sociology, social work, psychology. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

This Eighth Edition of Social Statistics for a Diverse Society continues to emphasize intuition and common sense, while demonstrating that social science is a constant interplay between methods of inquiry and important social issues. Recognizing that today’s students live in a world of growing diversity and richness of social differences, authors Chava Frankfort-Nachmias and Anna Leon-Guerrero use research examples that show how statistics is a tool for understanding the ways in which race, class, gender, and other categories of experience shape our social world and influence social behavior. In addition, guides for reading and interpreting the research literature help students acquire statistical literacy, while SPSS demonstrations and a rich variety of exercises help them hone their problem-solving skills.