Seeing through Statistics

Jessica M. Utts

This second edition of Jessica Utt’s popular book develops statistical literacy and critical thinking through real-world applications, with an emphasis on ideas, not calculations. Utts focuses on two central concepts-uncertainty and data. Ideas are introduced in interesting applied and real contexts, without using an abundance of technicalities and calculations which only serve to confuse students.

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Table of contents :
1. The Benefits and Risks of Using Statistics……Page 1
2. Reading the News……Page 13
3. Measurements, Mistakes, and Misunderstandings……Page 31
4. How to Get a Good Sample……Page 49
5. Experiments and Observational Studies……Page 71
6. Getting the Big Picture……Page 93
7. Summarizing and Displaying Measurement Data……Page 107
8. Bell-Shaped Curves and Other Shapes……Page 129
9. Plots, Graphs, and Pictures……Page 143
10. Relationships Between Measurement Variables……Page 161
11. Relationships Can Be Deceiving……Page 181
12. Relationships Between Categorical Variables……Page 199
13. Reading the Economic News……Page 231
14. Understanding and Reporting Trends over Time……Page 247
15. Understanding Probability and Long-Term Expectations……Page 261
16. Psychological Influences on Personal Probability……Page 285
17. When Intuition Differs from Relative Frequency……Page 303
18. The Diversity of Samples from the Same Population……Page 321
19. Estimating Proportions with Confidence……Page 341
20. The Role of Confidence Intervals in Research……Page 357
21. Rejecting Chance – Testing Hypotheses in Research……Page 377
22. Hypothesis Testing – Examples and Case Studies……Page 395
23. Significance, Importance, and Undetected Differences……Page 415
24. Meta-Analysis: Resolving Inconsistencies across Studies……Page 429
25. Putting What You Have Learned to the Test……Page 447
Solutions to Selected Exerciss……Page 461