Statistics for the Terrified Criminologist is a user-friendly introduction to elementary statistics, intended primarily for the reluctant, math-anxious/avoidant criminology student. Written in a personal and informal style, with healthy doses of humor and encouragement, the aim of this book is to help readers make the leap from apprehension to comprehension of elementary statistics. Statistics for the Terrified Criminologist includes step-by-step instructions on how to run basic statistical tests in SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and is intended to serve as a comprehensive text for criminology courses in statistics and research methods; as a refresher for criminology students who have already taken a statistics course; and as a primer for new students of elementary statistics. Millions of people have math anxiety; yet this fact is rarely taken into consideration in textbooks on statistics. This book also presents self-help strategies (based on the cognitive behavioral techniques of rational emotive therapy) that help people manage their math anxiety so they can relax and build confidence while learning statistics. Statistics for the Terrified Criminologist makes statistics accessible to people by helping them manage their anxiety and presenting them with other essential materials for learning statistics before jumping into statistics.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Section I
Essentials for Statistics
1 Effective Strategies for Studying Statistics
Self-assessment
Assumptions about the Reader
Effective Strategies for Studying Statistics
2 Overcoming Math Anxiety
What Causes Math Anxiety?
Overview of Rational Emotive Therapy
Irrational Beliefs
How to Deal with Math Anxiety
3 How to Use SPSS
What is SPSS?
Starting SPSS
Basic Steps in SPSS Data Analysis
Entering Data
Selecting an Analysis
Running an Analysis and Examining Results
Finding Help in SPSS
Section II
Describing Univariate Data
4 Frequency Distributions
What are statistics?
Variables
Levels of Measurement
Frequency Distributions
Grouped Frequency Distributions
Graphing Data
Frequency Polygon
Histogram
Cumulative Frequency Polygon
Normal Curve
Skewed and Multimodal Distributions
Problems
Answers to Problems
5 Descriptive Statistics
What are statistics?
Measures of Central Tendency
Selecting a Measure of Central Tendency
Measures of variability
Problems
Answers to Problems
6 The Normal Curve
What is the Normal Curve?
The Normal Curve as a Model
Proportions of Scores Under the Normal Curve
Problems
Answers to Problems
7 Percentiles and Standard Scores
Percentiles
Standard Scores (Z score)
Other Standard Scores
T Scores
Converting Standard Scores to Percentiles
A Word of Warning
Problems
Answers to Problems
Section III
Inferential Statistics
8 Introduction to Inferential Statistics
Probability
The Sampling Experiment
Sample Values (Statistics) and Population Values (Parameters)
The Null Hypothesis
Type I and Type II Errors
Statistical Significance and Type I Error
Effect Size and Power
Problems
Answers to Problems
9 The t Test
The t Test for Independent Samples
Assumptions for Using the t Test for Independent Samples
Formula for the t Test for Independent Samples
The Critical Value of t: tcrit
Effect Size for the t Test for Independent Samples
The t Test for Dependent (Matched/Paired) Samples
Directional Versus Nondirectional Tests
Problems
Answers to Problems
10 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Analysis of Variance
Assumptions for using ANOVA
Conducting an ANOVA in SPSS
Strength of Association
Post hoc Analysis
The Scheffé Method of Post-Hoc Analysis
Problems
Answers to Problems
11 Nonparametric Statistics: Chi-square
Nonparametric Statistical Tests
The One-way Test of Chi-square ()
The Two-way Test of Chi-square ()
Effect Size for Chi-Square Tests of Independence
A Bit More
Problems
Answers to Problems
Section IV
Correlation Coefficients and Linear Regression
12 Correlation Coefficients
Correlation Coefficients
Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient
Interpreting Correlation Coefficients
Sources of Misleading Correlation Coefficients
Creating a Scatterplot
Other Methods of Correlation
Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient
Problems
Answers to Problems
13 Linear Regression
Regression Equations
Standard Error of the Estimate
Problems
Answers to Problems
14 Postscript
Congratulations!
Review of Book
Appendices
A Basic Math Review
B Proportions of Area Under the Standard Normal Curve
C Critical Values of t
D Glossary of Formulas
Index
John H. Kranzler is professor and director of the School Psychology Program in the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida.
Marissa P. Levy is a professor of criminal justice and interim dean in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Stockton University.
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