Statistics : looking at the big picture

Abstract

This book highlights several recurrent themes that help develop a sense of what is most important in the science of statistics. These include the following issues: • the distinction between the population and a sample • the role played by sample size • the possibilities and consequences of errors in a study’s conclusions Such issues are addressed repeatedly, both in the text and in the accompanying exercises. By revisiting these ideas within the context of particular procedures, students appreciate that they need not start from scratch each time they meet a new topic. Rather, they continually build on basic principles established early in the text. Along with the structure of five variable situations within four basic processes, these recurrent themes are the common threads woven into the tapestry of the book, making it possible to present statistics as one big picture