Deborah J. Rumsey - Statistics For Dummies

Statistics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Deborah J. Rumsey, PhD

Statistics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011921775

ISBN: 978-0-470-91108-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Deborah J. Rumsey, PhD, is a Statistics Education Specialist and Auxiliary Professor in the Department of Statistics at The Ohio State University. Dr. Rumsey is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. She has won the Presidential Teaching Award from Kansas State University and has been inducted into the Wall of Inspiration at her high school alma mater, Burlington High School, in Burlington, Wisconsin. She is also the author of Statistics II For Dummies, Statistics Workbook For Dummies, Probability For Dummies, and Statistics Essentials For Dummies. She has published numerous papers and given many professional presentations and workshops on the subject of statistics education. She is the original conference designer of the biennial United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS). Her passions include being with her family, camping and bird watching, getting seat time on her Kubota tractor, and cheering the Ohio State Buckeyes on to their next national championship.

Dedication

To my husband Eric: My sun rises and sets with you. To my son Clint: I love you up to the moon and back.

Authors Acknowledgments

My heartfelt thanks to Lindsay Lefevere and Kathy Cox for the opportunity to write For Dummies books for Wiley; to my project editors Georgette Beatty, Corbin Collins, and Tere Drenth for their unwavering support and vision; to Marjorie Bond, Monmouth College, for agreeing to be my technical editor (again!); to Paul Stephenson, who also provided technical editing; and to Caitie Copple and Janet Dunn for great copy editing.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Stasny, Joan Garfield, Kythrie Silva, Kit Kilen, Peg Steigerwald, Mike OLeary, Tony Barkauskas, Ken Berk, and Jim Higgins for inspiration and support along the way; and to my entire family for their steadfast love and encouragement.

Publishers Acknowledgments

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(Previous Edition: Tere Drenth)

Senior Project Editor: Georgette Beatty

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Copy Editor: Caitlin Copple

(Previous Edition: Janet S. Dunn, PhD)

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Technical Editors: Marjorie E. Bond, Paul L. Stephenson III

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Introduction

Y ou get hit with an incredible amount of statistical information on a daily basis. You know what Im talking about: charts, graphs, tables, and headlines that talk about the results of the latest poll, survey, experiment, or other scientific study. The purpose of this book is to develop and sharpen your skills in sorting through, analyzing, and evaluating all that info, and to do so in a clear, fun, and pain-free way. You also gain the ability to decipher and make important decisions about statistical results (for example, the results of the latest medical studies), while being ever aware of the ways that people can mislead you with statistics. And you see how to do it right when its your turn to design the study, collect the data, crunch the numbers, and/or draw the conclusions.