Statistics Essentials For Dummies

Description

Statistics Essentials For Dummies (9781119590309) was previously published as Statistics Essentials For Dummies (9780470618394). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product. Statistics Essentials For Dummies not only provides students enrolled in Statistics I with an excellent high-level overview of key concepts, but it also serves as a reference or refresher for students in upper-level statistics courses. Free of review and ramp-up material, Statistics Essentials For Dummies sticks to the point, with content focused on key course topics only. It provides discrete explanations of essential concepts taught in a typical first semester college-level statistics course, from odds and error margins to confidence intervals and conclusions. This guide is also a perfect reference for parents who need to review critical statistics concepts as they help high school students with homework assignments, as well as for adult learners headed back into the classroom who just need a refresher of the core concepts. Title Page ......Page 3 Copyright Page......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 7 About This Book......Page 13 Icons Used in This Book......Page 14 Where to Go from Here......Page 15 Surveys......Page 17 Experiments......Page 18 Selecting a good sample......Page 19 Descriptive statistics......Page 20 Charts and graphs......Page 21 Making Conclusions......Page 22 Types of Data......Page 25 Counts and Percents......Page 26 Measures of Center......Page 27 Measures of Variability......Page 29 Percentiles......Page 30 Finding a percentile......Page 31 Interpreting percentiles......Page 32 The Five-Number Summary......Page 33 Pie Charts......Page 35 Bar Graphs......Page 36 Time Charts......Page 38 Making a histogram......Page 39 Interpreting a histogram......Page 41 Evaluating a histogram......Page 42 Making a boxplot......Page 43 Interpreting a boxplot......Page 44 Characteristics of a Binomial......Page 47 Non-binomial examples......Page 48 Finding Binomial Probabilities Using the Formula......Page 50 Finding probabilities when p≤0.50 ......Page 52 Finding probabilities when p>0.50 ......Page 53 Finding probabilities for X greater-than, less-than, or between two values......Page 54 The Expected Value and Variance of the Binomial......Page 55 Basics of the Normal Distribution......Page 57 The Standard Normal (Z) Distribution......Page 58 Finding Probabilities for X......Page 60 Finding X for a Given Probability......Page 63 Normal Approximation to the Binomial......Page 65 Sampling Distributions......Page 67 The mean of a sampling distribution......Page 68 Standard error of a sampling distribution......Page 69 Sample size and standard error......Page 70 The shape......Page 72 Finding Probabilities for X ......Page 74 The Sampling Distribution of the Sample Proportion......Page 75 What proportion of students need math help?......Page 76 Finding Probabilities for p ......Page 78 Making Your Best Guesstimate......Page 81 The Goal: Small Margin of Error......Page 83 Choosing a Confidence Level......Page 84 Factoring in the Sample Size......Page 85 Counting on Population Variability......Page 87 Confidence Interval for a Population Mean......Page 88 Confidence Interval for a Population Proportion......Page 89 Confidence Interval for the Difference of Two Means......Page 90 Confidence Interval for the Difference of Two Proportions......Page 92 Interpreting Confidence Intervals......Page 93 Spotting Misleading Confidence Intervals......Page 96 Doing a Hypothesis Test......Page 99 Setting up the hypotheses......Page 100 Standardizing the evidence: The test statistic......Page 102 Weighing the evidence and making decisions: p-values......Page 103 Testing One Population Mean......Page 106 Testing One Population Proportion......Page 108 Comparing Two Population Means......Page 109 Testing the Mean Difference: Paired Data......Page 111 Testing Two Population Proportions......Page 114 A false alarm: Type-1 error......Page 116 A missed detection: Type-2 error......Page 117 Basics of the t-Distribution......Page 119 Understanding the t-Table......Page 120 t-Distributions and Hypothesis Tests......Page 121 Finding p-values......Page 122 t-Distributions and Confidence Intervals......Page 123 Picturing the Relationship with a Scatterplot......Page 125 Interpreting a scatterplot......Page 126 Calculating the correlation......Page 127 Interpreting the correlation......Page 129 Finding the Regression Line......Page 130 Understanding the equation......Page 131 Finding the slope......Page 132 Interpreting the slope and y-intercept......Page 133 Avoid Extrapolation!......Page 136 Correlation Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Cause-and-Effect......Page 137 Organizing and Interpreting a Two-Way Table......Page 139 Setting up the rows and columns......Page 140 Finding the row, column, and grand totals......Page 141 Figuring joint probabilities......Page 142 Calculating marginal probabilities......Page 143 Finding conditional probabilities......Page 144 Checking for Independence......Page 146 Chapter 12 A Checklist for Samples and Surveys......Page 149 The Sample Matches the Target Population......Page 150 The Sample Size Is Large Enough......Page 151 The importance of following up......Page 152 Anonymity versus confidentiality......Page 153 Questions Are Well Worded......Page 154 Personnel Are Well Trained......Page 155 Proper Conclusions Are Made......Page 156 Experiments versus Observational Studies......Page 159 Small samples — small conclusions......Page 160 Examine the Subjects......Page 161 Gauge the Placebo Effect......Page 162 Identify Confounding Variables......Page 163 Assess Data Quality......Page 164 Scrutinize the Conclusions......Page 165 Generalizing beyond the scope......Page 166 Misleading Graphs......Page 167 Time charts......Page 168 Biased Data......Page 169 Nonrandom Samples......Page 170 Misinterpreted Correlations......Page 171 Confounding Variables......Page 172 Selectively Reporting Results......Page 173 The Almighty Anecdote......Page 174 Appendix Tables for Reference......Page 175 Index......Page 183 EULA......Page 195