Interpreting Basic Statistics

Students get valuable practice in interpreting statistical reporting as it actually appears in journals. In each of the 62 exercises, your students will read a brief excerpt of statistical reporting from a published research article. Each exercise begins with guidelines for interpreting the statistics in the excerpt. The questions on the excerpts promote learning by requiring students to interpret information in tables and figures, perform simple calculations to further their interpretations, critique data-reporting techniques, and evaluate procedures used to collect data. Each exercise covers a limited number of statistics, making it easy for you to coordinate the exercises with lectures and a main textbook. The questions in each exercise are divided into two parts: (1) Factual Questions and (2) Questions for Discussion. The factual questions require careful reading for details, while the discussion questions show students that interpreting statistics is more than a mathematical exercise. These questions require them to apply good judgment as well as statistical reasoning in arriving at appropriate interpretations. Thirteen new exercises interspersed throughout show how to interpret a greater array of statistical reporting.