Description

This text provides a streamlined and accessible introduction to statistics for students in sociology, criminal justice, political science, social work, and other social sciences.
This edition of the text offers an essential and accessible overview to the introduction to social statistics. Clearly written with detailed step-by-step illustrations of statistical procedures, the text provides clear and logical explanations for the rationale and use of statistical methods of social research. Numerous end-of-chapter questions in every chapter reinforce key concepts to students.

Features

Written to be understandable to a broad range of students, including those who may not have a strong background in math.

Provides clear and logical explanations for the rationale and use of statistical methods in social research.

Detailed step-by-step illustrations of statistical procedures are located throughout the text.

Each chapter has End-of-Chapter Problems. Answers are found at the end of the text.

'Looking at the Larger Picture' boxes throughout the text illustrate the content from each section of the text through the same research application-- for example, cigarette and alcohol use among high school students.

Adapted from Elementary Statistics in Social Research, 10/e by Levin/Fox. Certain non-essential or secondary features and techniques have been eliminated:

• measures of central tendency and variability from simple and grouped frequency distribution
• percentile ranks from the normal curve
• sampling methods
• one-tailed tests
• multiple comparison of means
• multiple regression

A review of basic math, statistical tables, and a list of formulas are located in appendixes at the end of the book.

Companion Website with Statistics Calculator: www.ablongman.com/levinfox - This web site contains a free Excel spreadsheet that can be downloaded and used to solve many of the exercises in this text, as well as data sets used with exercises in the Student Workbook.

MySocLab

• The accompanying Student Workbook contains exercises and computer applications that utilize both SPSS and an Excel Statistics Calculator.
• MySocLibrary
• MySearchLab
• And more!
  

New to this Edition

• One-way Chi-Square test now added
• Discussion of the application of tests of difference between means is included.
• Worked-out solutions are provided on-line for all end-of-chapter problems.
• Instructions for Using ABCalc are presented.
• Selecttables and figures from the previous edition have been updated.

Table of Contents

IN THIS SECTION
1.) BRIEF
2.) COMPREHENSIVE


BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Why the Social Researcher Uses Statistics

 

Part I Description
Chapter 2 Organizing the Data

 

Chapter 3 Measures of Central Tendency
Chapter 4 Measures of Variability

Part II From Description to Decision Making

Chapter 5 Probability and the Normal Curve

 

Chapter 6  Samples and Populations

 

Part III Decision Making

Chapter 7 Testing Differences Between Means

 

 

Chapter 8 Analysis of Variance

 

Chapter 9 Nonparametric Tests of Significance

Part IV From Decision Making to Association

Chapter 10 Correlation
Chapter 11 Regression Analysis
Chapter 12 Nonparametric Measures of Correlation 

 

COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Why the Social Researcher Uses Statistics

 

The Nature of Social Research
Why Test Hypotheses?

 

The Stages of Social Research

 

Using Series of Numbers to Do Social Research

 

The Functions of Statistics

Looking at the Larger Picture: A Student Survey

 

 

 

Part I  Description

 

Chapter 2 Organizing the Data

Frequency Distributions of Nominal Data

Comparing Distributions

 

Proportions and Percentages

 

Simple Frequency Distributions of Ordinal and Interval Data

 

Grouped Frequency Distributions of Interval Data

 

Cumulative Distributions

 

Dealing with Decimal Data

 

Flexible Class Intervals

 

Cross-Tabulations

 

Graphic Presentations

 

 

Chapter 3 Measures of Central Tendency

The Mode

The Median

 

The Mean

 

Taking One Step at a Time

  Step-by-Step Illustration: Mode, Median and Mean

 

Comparing the Mode, Median, and Mean

 

 

Chapter 4 Measures of Variability

The Range

The Variance and Standard Deviation

Step-by-Step Illustration: Standard deviation

 

The Raw-Score Formula for Variance and Standard Deviation

Step-by-Step Illustration: Variance and Standard Deviation Using Raw Scores

 

The Meaning of the Standard Deviation

 

Comparing Measures of Variability

Looking at the Larger Picture: Describing Data

 

 

 

Part II  From Description to Decision Making

 

Chapter 5 Probability and the Normal Curve

Probability

Probability Distributions

 

The Normal Curve as a Probability Distribution

 

Characteristics of the Normal Curve

 

The Model and the Reality of the Normal Curve

 

The Area Under the Normal Curve

 

Finding Probability Under the Normal Curve

Step-by-Step Illustration: Probability under the Normal Curve

 

Chapter 6 Samples and Populations

Random Sampling

 

Sampling Error

 

Sampling Distribution of Means

 

Standard Error of the Mean

 

Confidence Intervals

 

The t Distribution

Step-by-Step Illustration: Confidence Interval Using t

 

Estimating Proportions

Step-by-Step Illustration: Confidence Intervals for Proportions

Looking at the Larger Picture: Generalizing From Samples to Po