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Chapter 1
Beyond Number Crunching: The
Art and Science of Data Analysis
In This Chapter
Realizing your role as a data analyst
Avoiding statistical faux pas
Delving into the jargon of intermediate statistics
ecause you’re reading this book, you’re likely familiar with the basics
Bof statistics. You’re now ready to take it up a notch. That next level
involves using what you know, picking up a few more tools and techniques
at the intermediate level, and finally putting it all to use to help you answer
more realistic questions by using real data.
In statistical terms, you’re ready to enter the world of the data analyst. This
world’s an exciting one, with many options to explore and many tools avail-
able. But, as you may have guessed, you have to navigate this world very
carefully, choosing the right methods for each situation. In this book, you can
see that I’m including the underlying theories and ideas behind the methods
where necessary to help you make good decisions — and not just get into the
point-and-click mode that today’s software packages offer.
In this chapter, you review the terms involved in statistics as they pertain to
data analysis at the intermediate level. You get a glimpse of the impact that your
results can have by seeing what these analysis techniques can do. You also gain
insight into some of the common misuses of data analysis and their effects.

Data Analysis: It’s Not Just for

Statisticians Anymore

It used to be that statisticians were the only ones who really analyzed data.
The reason for this is because the only computer programs that were available