Business Statistics (Barron's Business Review)

by Douglas Downing, Jeffrey Clark

This updated title in Barron’s Business Review series shows how to apply statistical methods to a variety of business situations in order to produce enlightening and profitable information. Topics covered include probability and hypothesis testing, random variables, polls and sampling, multiple linear regression, analyzing business data, decision theory, and more. Business Review books are designed for classroom use, but are also valuable as self-teaching volumes for businesspersons engaged in various fields. When used in college business courses, these titles make fine supplements to main textbooks. Instructors in adult education and brush-up programs often choose these books as their main classroom text. Each title includes review questions with answers.

Genres: Business

584 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2010

About the author

Douglas Downing is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Seattle Pacific University, where he taught from 1983 to 2018. He holds a BS and a PhD in economics from Yale University. At SPU, he taught economics, quantitative methods, astronomy, and globalization. Dr. Downing also served in various leadership roles and authored 15 books, including a trilogy of math adventure novels. His 2015 book, Freedom, Opportunity, and Security, explores the relationship between economic policy and the political system.

Reviews

[Mark Oppenlander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good introductory textbook for a topic that many people find quite dry - statistics. The writing is accessible and the chapters are of a length that is appropriate for properly digesting one concept before moving on to the next.

Downing and co-author Jeffrey Clark also do a nice job of providing real-world examples and business applications that help make the content seem relevant. They have a somewhat dry sense of humor that pops up from time to time as well, which make the text a touch more entertaining than your average textbook. Given that Dr. Downing is a colleague of mine at SPU, I can actually hear his "voice" and lecture delivery style as I read the text.

I confess that I read this book primarily to understand statistical concepts at a high level, but I didn't do the exercises in the book as I went along. What this means is that by the time I reached the end of the book, I had a harder time connecting with some of the models being presented. I couldn't visualize the concepts as well as I had been able to in the earlier chapters. I am sure that if I had done the work as I went, this would not have been as much of a problem.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well worth reading, even if you just have a general interest in statistics and you're not compelled by the business angle.

[Angeliki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate statistics... I REALLY hate statistics. But I guess it was ok for a statistics textbook...

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read book on analysis for knowledge workers, managers, and entrepreneurs.