Table Of ContentNeil Burdess
S
t
a
r St
t arti
n
i g
n
g
Starting Statistics, A short, clear guide is an accessible and humorous
S
t
introduction to statistics for students in Business, Education, Health and across a
St
the Arts and Social Sciences. tis atistics
t
In this refreshing book, experienced author and academic Neil Burdess demonstrates i
c
s
that statistics are not the result of some mysterious ‘black magic’, but rather the result
of some very basic arithmetic. Getting rid of confusing x’s and y’s, he shows that what is
im pWorhtaant ta arer et hthe eb ienstt estllaecttisutaicl sq tuoe sutiseo nws itthha yt ocuorm dea bteaf?ore and after the calculations: A shor A short, clear Guide
t
What do the calculated statistics tell you? cl
e
a
Starting Statistics, A short, clear guide will help students make sense of the logic r
G
of statistics and to decide how best to use statistics to analyse their own u
i
d
e
data. What’s more, it is not reliant on students having access to b
y
any particular kind of statistical software package. N
e
This is a very useful book for any student doing a i
l
statistics course or needing to do statistics for the first B
u
r
time and is ideal reading for those who feel uncomfortable
d
e
with mathematics and with the prospect of doing s
s
statistics for themselves.
Neil Burdess is Senior Lecturer in the
Faculty of Arts and Education at
Deakin University, Australia
ISBN-13: 978-1-84920-098-1
9 781849 200981
Cover design and illustration by Francis Kenney
Burdess_Starting statistics AW.indd 1 22/1/10 11:31:55
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page i
Starting Statistics
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page ii
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page iii
Starting Statistics
A Short, Clear Guide
Neil Burdess
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page iv
©NeilBurdess2010
Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposesofresearchorprivate
study,orcriticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct,1988,thispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedortransmittedinanyform,orbyanymeans,onlywiththe
priorpermissioninwritingofthepublishers,orinthecaseof
reprographicreproduction,inaccordancewiththetermsoflicences
issuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency. Enquiriesconcerning
reproductionoutsidethosetermsshouldbesenttothepublishers.
SAGEPublicationsLtd
1Oliver’sYard
55CityRoad
LondonEC1Y1SP
SAGEPublicationsInc.
2455TellerRoad
ThousandOaks,California91320
SAGEPublicationsIndiaPvtLtd
B1/I1MohanCooperativeIndustrialArea
MathuraRoad
NewDelhi110044
SAGEPublicationsAsia-PacificPteLtd
33PekinStreet#02-01
FarEastSquare
Singapore048763
LibraryofCongressControlNumberAvailable
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationdata
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
ISBN978-1-84920-097-4
ISBN978-1-84920-098-1
TypesetbyC&MDigitals(P)Ltd,Chennai,India
PrintedinGreatBritainbyCPIAntonyRowe,Chippenham,Wiltshire
Printedonpaperfromsustainableresources
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page v
To the memory of Jessie,Doug and Norman
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page vi
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page vii
Contents
Welcome to Starting Statistics ix
Part I Measurement 1
1 Introducing measurement 3
2 Measuring numbers 9
3 Measuring categories 19
Part II Standardisation 25
4 Introducing standardisation 27
5 Standardising categories 34
6 Standardising numbers 40
Part III Correlations 51
7 Introducing correlations 53
8 Correlations between categories 60
9 Correlations between numbers 72
Part IV Sampling and estimation 93
10 Introducing sampling 95
11 Estimating numbers 102
12 Estimating categories 115
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page viii
viii StartingStatistics
PartV Hypothesis testing 125
13 Introducing hypothesis testing 127
14 Hypotheses about categories 138
15 Hypotheses about numbers 152
16 Hypotheses about categories and numbers 164
References 180
Index 184
00-Burdess-4007-Prelims:Cross-3915-Prelims.qxp 18/01/2010 2:09 PM Page ix
Welcome to Starting Statistics
Statisticsareeverywhereaswedelightinmeasuringanythingandeverything.For
example,Ilearnedthismorningthat40%of3-month-oldbabiesintheUSAreg-
ularlywatchtelevision,andthatonaverageChinesepeoplehavetheirfirstkissat
23 years of age.The trend to measure and quantify has also happened in colleges
and universities,where an increasing number of students in arts,business,educa-
tion, and health are directed (rather than choose) to become familiar with some
of the basic tools of statistical analysis.
Unfortunately, becoming familiar with some of the basic tools of statistical
analysisformanystudentsisonthesamelevelasstrokingspiders,andabitlower
than going to the dentist or speaking in public!You will often see terms such as
numerophobia,math(s)anxiety,andsadisticsbandiedaround.Thisisapitybecause
many of the concepts that underlie statistical analysis are not particularly com-
plex.The aim of this little book is to show that the basics of statistics are some-
thing that virtually everyone can handle with a bit of time and effort.
Inthepreviousparagraph,Iusedthewordlittleinapositivesense.Indeed,the
‘mostwidelyreadstatisticsbookinthehistoryoftheworld’isDarrellHuff’sclas-
sic text HowTo Lie With Statistics,which Michael Steele describes as a‘slim vol-
ume’(2005:205).SlimnessisalsoimportantinStartingStatisticsasthebook’saim
istoexplainas clearlyand brieflyaspossible the basic ideasbehindthestatistics.
StartingStatisticsshowsthatstatisticsarenottheproductofsomeblackmagicbut,
instead,are the result of some very basic arithmetic.None of the calculations in the
book include xs or ys,because you don’t need them to understand what’s going on.
Actuallydoingthecalculationsisjusthack-work–andcomputerscandothatmuch
morequicklyandaccuratelythanyouorIcan.It’stheintellectualquestionsthatcome
beforeandafterthecalculationsthatareimportant.Themostbasicquestionsare:
•
Whatarethebeststatisticstousewithmydata?
•
Whatdothecalculatedstatisticstellme?
Basically, statistics help people see the wood rather than the trees, the group
rather than the individual.For example,imagine trying to describe what you see
below to a friend on the telephone:
