Basic Statistics: Understanding Conventional Methods and Modern Insights

by Rand R. Wilcox

This introductory statistics textbook for non-statisticians covers basic principles, concepts, and methods routinely used in applied research. What sets this text apart is the incorporation of the many advances and insights from the last half century when explaining basic principles. These advances provide a foundation for vastly improving our ability to detect and describe differences among groups and associations among variables and provide a deeper and more accurate sense of when basic methods perform well and when they fail. Assuming no prior training, Wilcox introduces students to basic principles and concepts in a simple manner that makes these advances and insights, as well as standard ideas and methods, easy to understand and appreciate.

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Farhan Niazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good intro/overview of basic statistics with periodic mention of when conventional methods work and when they don't, along with modern methods that make up for them (and their short comings). Explanations are clear, understandable and especially useful for those that don't have a solid maths background as it has little mathematics beyond basic algebra. My only gripe was with the typos: they are noticeably frequent.

Complement this book with the author's other books that focus on applications through R software or some other book that uses robust methods (such as Andy Fields Discovering Statistics 5th edition).

It seems the author is working on a newer version of this book. Given this (1st) edition was published in 2009, i expect worthwhile updates.