Learning to Use Statl Tests Psyc

For a very long time I had been looking for a basic book--a sort of map if you will--to the myriad number of statistical tests available for conducting research. After speaking to multiple people and reviewing many books, I finally stumbled into two gems. The first one is Learning to use statistical tests in psychology by Judith Greene and Manuela D'Oliveira (209 pp.). I loved the second edition but bought the third edition, which follows a similar line. In the third edition, however, the most important feature of the book, a set of decision charts fell off. The third edition only includes one chart and so you better make sure it is included before you buy, or write to Open University Press and they will send you a PDF you can print and paste in the back cover. The book is interesting and reads like a page turning novel. The focus is on helping you decide which of the many statistical tests should be selected when conducting a research study. I was looking for a book that spoke about Likert-type questions and the analysis required (answer = Chi-square) and was surprised that Likert scales are not mentioned. The advantage of the Greene-D'Oliveira book is that it has the decision chart and is translated into Spanish (which is important for me). A week later I found the second book, Statistics in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference by Sarah Boslaugh and Paul Andrew Watters (O'Reilly, 452 pp.) that had everything I was looking for and more. The book is also very well written and entertaining. It has a better index and includes a discussion of Likert scales and the Chi-square. Besides being more thorough, Boslaugh-Watters provide a better discussion of statistical packages. If I could only choose one of the two books, I would purchase Boslaugh-Watters, but I am thrilled to have found both of these superb reference books.

This book is ideal for researchers who are familiar with statistical procedures but have problems choosing which one to use etc.