Understanding Statistics

An Introduction for the Social Sciences

In this comprehensive introduction to using statistics in the social sciences, Daniel B Wright describes the most popular statistical techniques, explaining their basic principles and demonstrating their use in a wide range of social research.

The book is divided into four sections. Part One explains the theoretical relationship between statistics and research, outlining the place of statistics in the research process and introducing hypothesis testing. In Part Two the two t-tests are described in detail. This serves as a foundation for the rest of the book and develops skills that are called upon in later chapters. Part Three outlines the three main families of statistical tests - regression, analysis of variance, and two-variable tests. Finally, Part Four offers a guide to more advanced techniques.