Statistics for Social Understanding: With Stata and SPSS introduces students to the way statistics is used in the social sciences--as a tool for advancing understanding of the social world. Written in an engaging and clear voice and based on the latest research on the teaching and learning of quantitative material, the text is geared to introductory students in the social sciences, including those with little quantitative background. It covers the conceptual aspects of statistics even when the mathematical details are minimized. Informed by research on teaching and learning in statistics, the book takes a universal design approach to accommodate diverse learning styles. With an early chapter on cross-tabulation, a focus on comparisons between groups throughout, and a unique chapter on causality, the text shows students the power of statistics for answering important real-world questions. By providing thorough coverage of social science statistical topics, a balanced approach to calculation, and step-by-step directions on how to use statistical software, authors Nancy Whittier, Tina Wildhagen, and Howard J. Gold give students the ability to analyze data and explore and answer exciting questions. To accommodate changing undergraduate courses, the text incorporates examples from both Stata and SPSS in every chapter and provides practice problems of every type as well as readily available datasets for classroom use, including the General Social Survey, American National Election Study, and more. Each chapter concludes with a chapter summary, a section on using Stata, a section on using SPSS, and practice problems.
Preface About the Authors Chapter 1 Introduction Why Study Statistics? Research Questions and the Research Process Pinning Things Down: Variables and Measurement Units of Analysis Measurement Error: Validity and Reliability Levels of Measurement Causation: Independent and Dependent Variables Getting the Data: Sampling and Generalizing Sampling Methods Sources of Secondary Data: Existing Data Sets, Reports, and "Big Data" Big Data Growth Mindset and Math Anxiety Using This Book Statistical Software Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 2 Getting to Know Your Data Frequency Distributions Percentages and Proportions Cumulative Percentage and Percentile Percent Change Rates and Ratios Rates Ratios Working with Frequency Distribution Tables Missing Values Simplifying Tables by Collapsing Categories Graphical Displays of a Single Variable: Bar Graphs, Pie Charts, Histograms, Stem-and-Leaf Plots, and Frequency Polygons Bar Graphs and Pie Charts Histograms Stem-and-Leaf-Plots Frequency Polygons Time Series Charts Comparing Two Groups On the Same Variable Using Tables, Graphs, and Charts Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 3 Examining Relationships between Two Variables Cross-Tabulations and Relationships between Variables Independent and Dependent Variables Column, Row, and Total Percentages Interpreting the Strength of Relationships Interpreting the Direction of Relationships Graphical Representations of Bivariate Relationships Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 4 Typical Values in a Group What Does It Mean to Describe What Is Typical? Mean Median Mode Finding the Mode, Median, and Mean in Frequency Distributions Choosing the Appropriate Measure of Central Tendency Median Versus Mean Income Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 5 The Diversity of Values in a Group Range Interquartile Range Standard Deviation Using the Standard Deviation to Compare Distributions Comparing Apples and Oranges Skewed Versus Symmetric Distributions Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 6 Probability and the Normal Distribution The Rules of Probability The Addition Rule The Complement Rule The Multiplication Rule with Independence The Multiplication Rule without Independence Applying the Multiplication Rule with Independence to the "Linda" and "Birth-Order" Probability Problems The Normal Distribution Standardizing Variables and Calculating Z-Scores Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 7 From Sample to Population Repeated Sampling, Sample Statistics, and the Population Parameter Sampling Distributions Finding the Probability of Obtaining A Specific Sample Statistic Estimating the Standard Error from a Known Population Standard Deviation Finding and Interpreting the Z-Score for Sample Means Finding and Interpreting the Z-Score for Sample Proportions The Impact of Sample Size On the Standard Error Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 8 Estimating Population Parameters Inferential Statistics and the Estimation of Population Parameters Confidence Intervals Manage Uncertainty Through Margins of Error Certainty and Precision of Confidence Intervals Confidence Intervals for Proportions Constructing a Confidence Interval for Proportions: Examples Confidence Intervals for Means The t-Distribution Calculating Confidence Intervals for Means: Examples The Relationship Between Sample Size and Confidence Interval Range The Relationship Between Confidence Level and Confidence Interval Range Interpreting Confidence Intervals How Big a Sample? Assumptions for Confidence Intervals Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 9 Differences between Samples and Populations The Logic of Hypothesis Testing Null Hypotheses (H0) and Alternative Hypotheses (Ha) One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Tests Hypothesis Tests for Proportions The Steps of the Hypothesis Test One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Tests Hypothesis Tests for Means Example: Testing a Claim about a Population Mean Error and Limitations: How Do We Know We are Correct? Type I and Type II Errors What Does Statistical Significance Really Tell Us? Statistical and Practical Significance Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 10 Comparing Groups Two-Sample Hypothesis Tests The Logic of the Null Hypothesis and Alternative Hypothesis in Two-Sample Tests Notation for Two-Sample Tests The Sampling Distribution for Two-Sample Tests Hypothesis Tests for Differences Between Means Confidence Intervals for Differences Between Means Hypothesis Tests for Differences Between Proportions Confidence Intervals for Differences Between Proportions Statistical and Practical Significance in Two-Sample Tests Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 11 Testing Mean Differences among Multiple Groups Comparing Variation Within and Between Groups Hypothesis Testing Using Anova Analysis of Variance Assumptions Determining Which Means are Different: Post-Hoc Tests Anova Compared to RepeateD t-Tests Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 12 Testing the Statistical Significance of Relationships in Cross-Tabulations The Logic of Hypothesis Testing with Chi-Square The Steps of a Chi-Square Test Size and Direction of Effects: Analysis of Residuals Example: Gender and Perceptions of Health Assumptions of Chi-Square Statistical Significance and Sample Size Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 13 Ruling Out Competing Explanations for Relationships between Variables Criteria for Causal Relationships Modeling Spurious Relationships Modeling Non-Spurious Relationships Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Chapter 14 Describing Linear Relationships between Variables Correlation Coefficients Calculating Correlation Coefficients Scatterplots: Visualizing Correlations Regression: Fitting a Line to a Scatterplot The "Best-Fitting" Line Slope and Intercept Calculating the Slope and Intercept Goodness-of-Fit Measures R-Squared (r2) Standard Error of Prediction Dichotomous ("Dummy") Independent Variables Multiple Regression Statistical Inference for Regression The F-Statistic Standard Error of the Slope Assumptions of Regression Chapter Summary Using Stata Using SPSS Practice Problems Solutions to Odd Numbered Practice Problems Glossary Appendix A Normal Table Appendix B Table of t-Values Appendix C F-Table, for Alpha = .05 Appendix D Chi-Square Table Appendix E Selected List of Formulas Appendix F Choosing Tests for Bivariate Relationships Index
