Applying and Interpreting Statistics

In the period since the first edition was published, I have appreciated the corre- spondence from all parts of the world expressing thanks for the presentation of statistics from a user's perspective. It has been particularIy pleasing to have been invited to contribute to course restructuring and development based on the ap- proach to learning and applying statistics that underlies this book. In addition, I have taken account of suggestions and criticisms, and I hope that this new edition will address all major concerns. The range of readily accessible statistical methods has greatly expanded over the past decade, particularly with the growing accessibility of comprehensive statisti- cal computing packages. The approach adopted in this book has anticipated the changes by its emphasis on building understanding and skills in method selection and interpretation of findings. There has been a reduction in computational for- mulas to reflect the fact that basic statistical analyses are now almost universally undertaken on computers. This has allowed the inclusion of a more general cover- age of unifying methodology, particularly Generalized linear methodology, which permits users to more accurately match their requirements to statistical models and methods. A major addition is a chapter on the commonly used multivariate methods.