Statistics for Social Understanding

A Problems-Based Approach

Nancy E. Whittier, Tina Wildhagen, Howard J. Gold

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2024
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538175941
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Statistics for Social Understanding introduces statistics as it's used in the social sciences—as a tool for advancing understanding of the social world. The authors provide thorough coverage of social science statistical topics, a balanced approach to calculation, and step-by-step directions on how to use both SPSS and Stata software, giving students the ability to analyze data and explore exciting questions. "In Depth" boxes encourage critical thinking by tackling tricky statistical queries, and each chapter concludes with a chapter summary, a section on using Stata, a section on using SPSS, and practice problems. All problems have been accuracy-checked by an outside panel of reviewers. Readily available datasets for classroom use include material from institutions such as the American National Election Study, General Social Survey, World Values Survey, and the School Survey on Crime and Safety. Statistics for Social Understanding is accompanied by a learning package, written entirely by author Tina Wildhagen, that is designed to enhance the experience of both instructors and students.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Brief Contents
• Contents
• Preface
• About the Authors
• CHAPTER 1 Introduction
• CHAPTER 2 Getting to Know Your Data
• CHAPTER 3 Examining Relationships between Two Variables
• CHAPTER 4 Typical Values in a Group
• CHAPTER 5 The Diversity of Values in a Group
• CHAPTER 6 Probability and the Normal Distribution
• CHAPTER 7 From Sample to Population
• CHAPTER 8 Estimating Population Parameters
• CHAPTER 9 Differences between Samples and Populations
• CHAPTER 10 Comparing Groups
• CHAPTER 11 Testing Mean Differences among Multiple Groups
• CHAPTER 12 Testing the Statistical Significance of Relationships in Cross-Tabulations
• CHAPTER 13 Ruling Out Competing Explanations for Relationships between Variables
• CHAPTER 14 Describing Linear Relationships between Variables
• SOLUTIONS TO ODD-NUMBERED PRACTICE PROBLEMS
• GLOSSARY
• APPENDIX A Normal Table
• APPENDIX B Table of t-Values
• APPENDIX C F Table, for Alpha = .05
• APPENDIX D Chi-Square Table
• APPENDIX E Selected List of Formulas
• APPENDIX F Choosing Tests for Bivariate Relationships
• Index