Statistics For Dummies

Statistics for Dummies is an excellent overview of the fundamentals of statistics for those who have forgotten some of what they previously learned, those whose instructors left them dazed and confused, or those who just need a quick reference. Like all of the "for Dummies" books, it's not really intended to be a comprehensive instructional program or a definitive reference book. In my view, the book does exactly what it's intended to do. Several reviewers have mentioned the lack of examples or exercises. They're right; however, there is a companion volume by the same author, Statistics Workbook for Dummies, that solves that problem. Why didn't they do it all in one book? Probably because it would have totaled over 600 pages. So, this book won't teach you statistics from scratch, but it is a very good introductory level overview of the subject. Like all of the Dummies books, the format is attractive, the organization is clear, and the information is presented in small, easily digestible blocks. More importantly, the author uses just the right approach. She is both thorough and authoritative, but she doesn't assume much expertise among the readers. At the same time, she's never condescending. This book is well worth the cost, and I recommend it highly.

This text is a wonderful introductory work to the terms and reasoning used in statistical analysis, but it also provides something most books on statistics lack: the ability to explain in simple, clear words which tests are available, when to use them and WHY to use them as compared to one another. It's entertaining to read, easy to understand and excites the interest for further exploration of the subject, which is probably the best thing a book can do.

This book is well organized, contains meaningful examples, explains concepts in conversational English, and shows step-by-step how to work problems. You can go to any chapter and start reading -- all concepts not pertaining to that chapter are carefully referenced. The author's patience, kindness and humor are evident in her examples of how stats permeate our everyday lives. I ended up thinking this would be a fun person to hang out with - not exactly what I expected of an author of a book on statistics. While shopping, I glanced through about a dozen stats books and had about 3 "maybes". Then I saw this one, and it was a slam-dunk. After a short time with it, I decided to remain in enrolled in a stats class I was about to drop.

This author is great, and the book has helped me tremendously! There are tons of problems in the book, and the author walks us step by step through the calculations. If you want to understand statistics, I would recommend this book.