Elementary Statistics: A Step By Step Approach

by Allan G. Bluman

This text is aimed at students who do not have a mathematical background. It therefore uses a non-theoretical approach, and concepts are explained intuitively, without the use of formal proofs; they are instead supported by example.

Genres: Textbooks, Mathematics, Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Academic, School

801 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the humble textbook; what can one say about it that hasn’t been said thousands of times before? When I evaluate a textbook there are different standards that you have to follow due to the intention of the authors being different than it would be for a novel or a work of nonfiction. The first thing to consider is whether or not the book is useful. The difficulty of the book comes second.

Elementary Statistics is a textbook written by Allan G Bluman. The book takes a step-by-step approach which is what a math textbook should do. It assumes a basic understanding of Algebra and explains all of the symbols it uses. In the text, we also find how to arrange the symbols to find out various points of interest from data. The book supplements the text with information on how to use Minitab, a TI-83 Calculator, or a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to solve the problems.

Initially, the text begins with the most basic aspects of Statistics. It talks about data, how to graph data, how to tell a good graph from a bad graph, and how to take the three different kinds of average. Eventually, it talks about Chi-Square Tests and Probability Distributions. All the while, the book breaks down the steps and clearly explains them. The book is packed with examples and workable problems to solve. It even has little tidbits of trivia in the margins and historical notes along with that.

So in short, I liked this textbook. I don’t have to read anything for school since I am not attending right now. The only issue is that the book is old; I managed to find the fifth edition, which came out in 2004. Although this is the case, it isn’t like the book would be better with more modern examples or references. The only other thing with the book is that the offer from the publisher for an online experience is probably defunct.

[itselv]

The pipeline from liking statistics to loving data science.

[Jaeyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

mediocre as far as textbooks go.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have hair and want to lose it violently, read this book. Also good for sadists. Math people too I suppose.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The practice exercises were helpful but the actual content was not presented in a friendly manner. The CD that came with the book wasn't as helpful as the book suggests.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay textbook. Extremely confusing at times, should be clarified in a future edition but knowing textbook companies it'll be even more vague in the future.

[Bobbi Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my bleeding heck. This book. Wow.
To start with the positive:
1) From this book, I learned (for long enough to be quizzed and take exams) how some basic statistics are calculated.
2) I got an "A" in the online class attached to it without any lecture time or instructor assistance, with only this book and a study buddy (also got an "A") who also only had this book.

Now for the not so great:
1) I may have felt more comfortable with the material in a long term way if I had found the time to watch the hours and hours of lectures the instructor has on YouTube explaining what the book fails to really explain but I feel like the text should be able to give me everything I need to master a subject. In this it failed.
2) As my study buddy (and man friend) noted every time we sat down to study from this text, this was the 10th edition of the book. The number of errors it contained--in computation, grammar, punctuation, omitted words and symbols--was truly appalling for any published work, much less one that has been through 10 iterations. I'm used to an error here and there in any book, textbook or otherwise, but this was several times a chapter and sometimes per page.

[quack quack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me cry.

[Mel]

This book was used for my Introduction to Statistics class (8th edition though).
I didn't really use it for my course work so I didn't actually read it past chapter 2 or 3.
The little side notes were enjoyable with historical and application tid-bits.

The McGraw Hill Math Connect (online supplement/practice) that goes with it was great.
It provided walkthroughs and offered a variety of practice problems (with instant feedback). In hindsight I probably could have skipped the book and just bought the online subscription.

[Shadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, a really good step by step approach to Elementary Statistics. There is no guessing or confusion. Extremely straight forward. A bit repetitive without explanation as to why you're seemingly doing the same thing twice. This book would be good for even independent study, but to fully understand statistics, a good teacher goes a long way.

[Bob Prophet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a very user-friendly guide for students learning about statistics.

[Jill Bragdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't believe I read this book from cover to cover, but I did.

[Trish Bodine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although required for stats class, it was well written with plenty of examples for the math inept (like me).

[Hamed Atuah]

THINK YOU

[Winston Ponce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my subject

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

so much for step-by-step. I thought that would mean it was all laid out and easy to follow. You have to be a math wiz to understand the book after chapter 2.

[حموودي الحربي]

,/kjl.

[Trương Duy · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list...#

[Melinda Fierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as statistics books go, this was a good one. Easy to read and follow. This was the textbook for a graduate level statistics course I took for my doctorate program.