Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

An updated edition of a classic text on applying statistical analyses to the social sciences, with reviews, new chapters, an expanded set of post-hoc analyses, and information on computing in Excel and SPSS Now in its second edition,Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences has been revised and updated and continues to offer an essential guide to the conceptual foundations of statistical analyses (particularly inferential statistics), placing an emphasis on connecting statistical tools with appropriate research contexts. Designed to be accessible, the text contains an applications-oriented, step-by-step presentation of the statistical theories and formulas most often used by the social sciences. The revised text also includes an entire chapter on the basic concepts in research, presenting an overall context for all the book’s statistical theories and formulas. The authors cover descriptive statistics and z scores, the theoretical underpinnings of inferential statistics, z and t tests, power analysis, one/two-way and repeated-measures ANOVA, linear correlation and regression, as well as chi-square and other nonparametric tests. The second edition also includes a new chapter on basic probability theory. This important resource: • Contains information regarding the use of statistical software packages; both Excel and SPSS • Offers four strategically positioned and accumulating reviews, each containing a set of research-oriented diagnostic questions designed to help students determine which tests are applicable to which research scenarios • Incorporates additional statistical information on follow-up analyses such as post-hoc tests and effect sizes • Includes a series of sidebar discussions dispersed throughout the text that address, among other topics, the recent and growing controversy regarding the failed reproducibility of published findings in the social sciences • Puts renewed emphasis on presentation of data and findings using the APA format • Includes supplementary material consisting of a set of “kick-start” quizzes designed to get students quickly back up to speed at the start of an instructional period, and a complete set of ready-to-use PowerPoint slides for in-class use Written for students in areas such as psychology, sociology, criminology, political science, public health, and others, Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Second Edition continues to provide the information needed to understand the foundations of statistical analyses as relevant to the behavioral and social sciences.