Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Introducing Statistical Methods series)

Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Introducing Statistical Methods series)

By: Andy Field  

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Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

        The Bestselling Student-Friendly Statistics Textbook is Completely Updated!

“Field has introduced important new introductory material on statistics... This book is the best blend that I know of a textbook in statistics and a manual on SPSS.”
-David C. Howell, University of Vermont (Emeritus)

Written in his vivid and entertaining style, Andy Field continues to provide students with everything they need to understand, use and report statistics-at every level-in the brand-new Third Edition of Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. Retaining the strong pedagogy from previous editions, he makes statistics meaningful by including playful examples from everyday student life (among other places), creating a gateway into the often intimidating world of statistics. In the process, he presents an opportunity for students to ground their knowledge of statistics through the use of SPSS.

What is NEW in the Third Edition:

• Expands on the first 6 chapters to more “gently” introduce basic level concepts
• Complies with the new SPSS 17
• Offers a stunning new 4-color textbook design to illustrate SPSS 17 mechanisms (at no additional cost to students!)
• Contains an additional chapter on multilevel modeling
• Incorporates playful “real world” examples to go alongside those made up by the author
• Includes both new and more robust pedagogical features

This new edition is accompanied by an updated Companion Web site at www.sagepub.co.uk/field3e designed for both professors and students!

Student resources include:

• Animated “SPSS walk-through” videos clearly demonstrating how to use the latest SPSS modules
• Self-checking multiple choice questions
• Datasets for Psychology, Business & Management and Health Sciences
• A flash-card glossary for testing knowledge of key concepts
• Access to support material from SAGE study skills books

The password-protected instructor’s section offers:

• A test bank with over 300 multiple choice questions ready to upload to WebCT, Blackboard or other virtual learning environments
• Electronic charts and diagrams for classroom use
• PowerPoint slides written by the author

Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Bless you, Andy Field! - This should be the first book you buy if you need help with stats and SPSS. When I first began doing empirical research I knew almost nothing about statistics or SPSS, and had to learn virtually everything I needed to know about complex multivariate tests on my own. I had suffered through many of the relevant, canonical books before I happened upon Field. It was a V-8 moment. Not only does the book explain everything in engaging, easy to understand, often hilarious terms (a favorite example is the caption of the photo of statistician Bonferroni: "Carlo Bonferroni before the celebrity of his correction lead to drink, drugs and statistics groupies"), but again and again it answered questions I had that other sources didn't address in a practical way. One example out of many is how to calculate and interpret effect sizes, which SPSS doesn't calculate for all multivariate tests, or calculates using a measure that has been widely criticized. Field describes the rationale behind several measures of effect size as well as formulas for calculating them, including clear indicators of where to find the data in SPSS output.

Other reviewers have commented that this book is light on theory. I don't know enough about statistical theory to know if this is a valid criticism. But, I do think the book provides ample and detailed "whys" behind the "hows" that I haven't found elsewhere and that were necessary to help me justify the tests I run and how I interpret them. The level of detail and abstraction, in my opinion, is completely appropriate for most researchers and students.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A relief when help was needed! - This book was an enormous help to me in writing my doctoral dissertation. Now, I am a Communications scholar and I did a content analysis, so I didn't need to master a lot of highly advanced techniques. But nor had I taken courses that taught statistics in any depth. I was feeling quite at sea on some things. And for a dissertation, you really have to understand things, so you can defend it at the end. Although I had other statistics books and they certainly were helpful, this one that walked me through the tests I had been doing and -- quite simply, with patience and good humor -- helped me to understand why they were necessary and basically how they worked. I liked the fact I could read much or as little detail as I could absorb at the time -- there are quick summaries, clearly marked, or longer, quite simple explanations for those in a hurry, as well as in-depth explanations for things you really need to know thoroughly. It was having those choices that made this book incredibly helpful.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Finally statistics is easy to understand - This book is perfect!! Very informative, the layout is systematically and on top of it all; statistics becomes fun. It is a pleasure to read this book!!
Thanks to Andy Field which made my life as a PhD easier!!:O)

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Andy Field is absolutely brilliant! - Useful and entertaining stats books are hard to come by but this one has hit the mark! Comprehensive and clear explanations of statistical theory are provided as well as of SPSS output. Love the examples and icons. Who would have thought a stats text could make me laugh out loud?!

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
must have text! - dr. field has done an excellent job of making stats understandable and spss user friendly. as a social psychology grad student, i enjoy the ease of use found with the index. if i forget the differences in rotation methods for factor analysis, i can quickly find clear explanations in the book. i suggest to all grad students and advanced undergrads using spss to get a copy of this text!

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