9780321044600

This best-selling text in the field provides a broad, fluent introduction to statistics for students in the social sciences especially those with a limited background in mathematics. Focusing on the hows and whys of statistics, Levin and Fox integrate theory and practice with detailed step-by-step illustrations of statistical procedures. Clear explanations of statistical concepts are also provided. A review of basic mathematics, statistical tables, a list of formulas, and a glossary of terms are located in the appendixes at the end of the book.

Jack Levin is The Brudnick Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University, where he directs its Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict. A prolific author, he appears frequently on national television, has given numerous keynote addresses to college, professional, and community audiences (including the White House), and has served as an expert witness or consultant in various trials. In 1992, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education named him Professor of the Year in Massachusetts. James Alan Fox is The Lipman Family Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. A nationally recognized authority on homicide, he often gives expert testimony and has spoken before the U.S. Congress and at the White House on many occasions. Dubbed the "Dean of Death" in a USA Today cover story, Fox also appears regularly on national television and is frequently quoted by the press. He has published numerous books, articles, and newspaper columns on a variety of topics related to crime and justice.

Preface

xiii

Why the Social Researcher Uses Statistics

1

(22)

The Nature of Social Research

1

(5)

Why Test Hypotheses?

6

(1)

The Stages of Social Research

7

(1)

Using Series of Numbers to Do Social Research

8

(4)

Functions of Statistics

12

(6)

Summary

18

(1)

Terms to Remember

18

(1)

Problems

18

(5)

Looking at the Larger Picture A Student Survey

20

(3)

PART ONE Description

23

(100)

Organizing the Data

25

(48)

Frequency Distributions of Nominal Data

25

(1)

Comparing Distributions

26

(1)

Proportions and Percentages

27

(1)

Ratios and Rates

28

(3)

Simple Frequency Distributions of Ordinal and Interval Data

31

(1)

Grouped Frequency Distributions of Interval Data

32

(4)

Cumulative Distributions

36

(2)

Percentile Ranks

38

(6)

Dealing with Decimal Data

44

(1)

Flexible Class Intervals

45

(2)

Cross-Tabulations

47

(7)

Graphic Presentations

54

(11)

Summary

65

(1)

Terms to Remember

66

(1)

Problems

66

(7)

Measures of Central Tendency

73

(23)

The Mode

73

(1)

The Median

74

(1)

The Mean

75

(3)

Taking One Step at a Time

78

(2)

Comparing the Mode, Median, and Mean

80

(3)

Obtaining the Mode, Median, and Mean from a Simple Frequency Distribution

83

(3)

Obtaining the Mode, Median, and Mean from a Grouped Frequency Distribution

86

(3)

Summary

89

(1)

Terms to Remember

90

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Mode, Median, and Mean for Raw Scores

90

(1)

Problems

91

(5)

Measures of Variability

96

(27)

The Range

97

(1)

The Mean Deviation

98

(2)

The Variance and Standard Deviation

100

(4)

The Raw-Score Formula for Variance and Standard Deviation

104

(2)

The Meaning of the Standard Deviation

106

(3)

Comparing Measures of Variability

109

(1)

Obtaining the Variance and Standard Deviation from a Simple Frequency Distribution

110

(3)

Obtaining the Variance and Standard Deviation from a Grouped Frequency Distribution

113

(2)

Summary

115

(1)

Terms to Remember

115

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Variance and Standard Deviation for Raw Scores

115

(1)

Problems

116

(7)

Looking at the Larger Picture Describing Data

120

(3)

PART TWO From Description to Decision Making

123

(72)

Probability and the Normal Curve

125

(33)

Rules of Probability

126

(3)

Probability Distributions

129

(4)

The Normal Curve as a Probability Distribution

133

(1)

Characteristics of the Normal Curve

133

(1)

The Model and the Reality of the Normal Curve

134

(2)

The Area under the Normal Curve

136

(5)

Standard Scores and the Normal Curve

141

(4)

Finding Probability under the Normal Curve

145

(4)

Obtaining Percentile Ranks from the Normal Curve

149

(3)

Summary

152

(1)

Terms to Remember

152

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Probability under the Normal Curve

153

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Percentile Ranks from the Normal Curve

153

(1)

Problems

153

(5)

Samples and Populations

158

(37)

Sampling Methods

159

(4)

Sampling Error

163

(2)

Sampling Distribution of Means

165

(7)

Standard Error of the Mean

172

(1)

Confidence Intervals

173

(6)

The t Distribution

179

(6)

Estimating Proportions

185

(3)

Summary

188

(1)

Terms to Remember

188

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Confidence Interval for the Mean Using z

188

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Confidence Interval for the Mean Using t

189

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Confidence Interval for the Proportion

190

(1)

Problems

190

(5)

Looking at the Larger Picture Generalizing from Samples to Populations

193

(2)

PART THREE Decision Making

195

(114)

Testing Differences between Means

197

(43)

The Null Hypothesis: No Difference between Means

199

(1)

The Research Hypothesis: A Difference between Means

199

(1)

Sampling Distribution of Differences between Means

200

(4)

Testing Hypotheses with the Distribution of Differences between Means

204

(3)

Levels of Significance

207

(5)

Standard Error of the Difference between Means

212

(1)

Testing the Difference between Means

213

(4)

Comparing the Same Sample Measured Twice

217

(3)

Two Sample Tests of Proportions

220

(3)

One-Tailed Tests

223

(6)

Requirements for Testing the Difference between Means

229

(1)

Summary

230

(1)

Terms to Remember

231

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Means for Independent Groups

231

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Means for the Same Sample Measured Twice

232

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Proportions

233

(1)

Problems

233

(7)

Analysis of Variance

240

(25)

The Logic of Analysis of Variance

241

(2)

The Sum of Squares

243

(6)

Mean Square

249

(2)

The F Ratio

251

(5)

A Multiple Comparison of Means

256

(3)

Requirements for Using the F Ratio

259

(1)

Summary

259

(1)

Terms to Remember

260

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Means for Several Independent Groups Using Analysis of Variance

260

(1)

Problems

261

(4)

Nonparametric Tests of Significance

265

(44)

One-Way Chi-Square Test

266

(4)

Two-Way Chi-Square Test

270

(19)

The Median Test

289

(2)

The Mann-Whitney U Test

291

(4)

Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance by Ranks

295

(3)

Summary

298

(1)

Terms to Remember

298

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Groups for Nominal-Level Data Using Chi-Square

299

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Groups for Ordinal-Level Data Using the Mann-Whitney U Test

299

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Test of Differences between Several Groups for Ordinal-Level Data Using the Kruskal-Wallis Test

300

(1)

Problems

300

(9)

Looking at the Larger Picture Testing for Differences

307

(2)

PART FOUR From Decision Making to Association

309

(110)

Correlation

311

(26)

Strength of Correlation

311

(1)

Direction of Correlation

312

(1)

Curvilinear Correlation

313

(1)

The Correlation Coefficient

314

(1)

Pearson's Correlation Coefficient

315

(8)

The Importance of Scatter Plots

323

(3)

Partial Correlation

326

(5)

Summary

331

(1)

Terms to Remember

331

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Testing the Strength of Association between Interval-Level Variables Using Pearson's Correlation

332

(1)

Problems

332

(5)

Regression Analysis

337

(26)

The Regression Model

338

(5)

Interpreting the Regression Line

343

(2)

Prediction Errors

345

(3)

Regression and Pearson's Correlation

348

(2)

Regression and Analysis of Variance

350

(4)

Multiple Regression

354

(3)

Summary

357

(1)

Terms to Remember

357

(1)

Step-by-Step Study Guide: Testing the Effect of an Independent Variable on a Dependent Variable Using Regression Analysis

358

(1)

Problems

359

(4)

Nonparametric Measures of Correlation

363

(33)

Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient

363

(7)

Goodman's and Kruskal's Gamma

370

(5)

Correlation Coefficient for Nominal Data Arranged in a 2 x 2 Table

375

(2)

Correlation Coefficients for Nominal Data in Larger than 2 x 2 Tables

377

(3)

Lambda

380

(3)

Elaboration

383

(5)

Summary

388

(1)

Terms to Remember

388

(1)

Step-By-Step Study Guide: Testing the Strength of Association between Ordinal-Level Variables Using Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation

388

(1)

Step-By-Step Study Guide: Testing the Strength of Association between Cross-Tabulated, Ordinal-Level Variables Using Goodman's and Kruskal's Gamma

389

(1)

Problems

389

(7)

Applying Statistical Procedures to Research Problems

396

(23)

Research Situations

398

(12)

Research Solutions

410

(9)

APPENDIXES

419

(31)

Appendix A Social Science Data on the Internet

421

(1)

Appendix B A Review of Some Fundamentals of Mathematics

422

(5)

Appendix C Tables

427

(16)

Appendix D List of Formulas

443

(7)

Glossary

450

(7)

Answers to Selected Problems

457

(6)

Index

463

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Elementary Statistics in Social Research

Elementary Statistics in Social Research

0321044606

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials