Page 17 - Statistics II for Dummies

Introduction

o you’ve gone through some of the basics of statistics. Means, medians,
Sand standard deviations all ring a bell. You know about surveys and
experiments and the basic ideas of correlation and simple regression. You’ve
studied probability, margin of error, and a few hypothesis tests and confidence
intervals. Are you ready to load your statistical toolbox with a new level of
tools? Statistics II For Dummies picks up right where Statistics For Dummies
(Wiley) leaves off and keeps you moving along the road of statistical ideas
and techniques in a positive, step-by-step way.

The focus of Statistics II For Dummies is on finding more ways of analyzing
data. I provide step-by-step instructions for using techniques such as multiple
regression, nonlinear regression, one-way and two-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA), Chi-square tests, and nonparametric statistics. Using these new
techniques, you estimate, investigate, correlate, and congregate even more
variables based on the information at hand.

About This Book

This book is designed for those who have completed the basic concepts
of statistics through confidence intervals and hypothesis testing (found in
Statistics For Dummies) and are ready to plow ahead to get through the final
part of Stats I, or to tackle Stats II. However, I do pepper in some brief over-
views of Stats I as needed, just to remind you of what was covered and make
sure you’re up to speed. For each new technique, you get an overview of
when and why it’s used, how to know when you need it, step-by-step directions
on how to do it, and tips and tricks from a seasoned data analyst (yours
truly). Because it’s very important to be able to know which method to use
when, I emphasize what makes each technique distinct and what the results
say. You also see many applications of the techniques used in real life.

I also include interpretation of computer output for data analysis purposes. I
show you how to use the software to get the results, but I focus more on how
to interpret the results found in the output, because you’re more likely to be
interpreting this kind of information rather than doing the programming
specifically. And because the equations and calculations can get too involved
by hand, you often use a computer to get your results. I include instructions
for using Minitab to conduct many of the calculations in this book. Most
statistics teachers who cover these topics hold this philosophy as well.
(What a relief!)

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