Do you ever feel at a loss on how to proceed with a particular set of data? Your Statistical Consultant can provide the answer. This comprehensive guide introduces, describes, and makes recommendations regarding difficult statistical problems and techniques. The authors: discuss common problems by addressing often asked questions; provide a conceptual overview of topics and techniques; give accounts of newly important topics such as the debate over statistical significance, effect sizes and meta-analysis; and highlight and explain key terms and points.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: GETTING STARTED WITH STATISTICAL ANALYSIS How Do I Prepare Data for Statistical Analysis? How Do I Examine Data Prior to Analysis? PART TWO: THE LOGIC OF STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: ISSUES REGARDING THE NATURE OF STATISTICS AND STATISTICAL TESTS Traditional Approaches to Statistical Analysis and the Logic of Statistical Inference Rethinking Traditional Paradigms Power, Effect Size and Hypothesis Testing Alternatives What Are the Assumptions of Statistical Testing? How Do I Select the Appropriate Statistical Test? PART THREE: ISSUES RELATED TO VARIABLES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTIONS How Do I Deal with Non-Normality, Missing Values and Outliers? Types of Variables and Their Treatment in Statistical Analysis PART FOUR: UNDERSTANDING THE BIG TWO: MAJOR QUESTIONS ABOUT ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE AND REGRESSION ANALYSIS Questions about Analysis of Variance Questions about Multiple Regression Analysis The Bigger Picture

Author Biography

Rae R. Newton is Professor of Sociology Emeritus at California State University Fullerton. He recently joined the faculty of the School of Psychology at Fielding Graduate University where he serves as a research consultant and statistical advisor to doctoral students and faculty. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and completed postdoctoral training in mental health measurement at Indiana University. His primary interests include longitudinal modeling of outcomes for high risk youth and foster care populations, family violence and graduate educaton. He is author, with Kjell Erik Rudestam, of Surviving Your dissertation: A comprehensive Guide to Content and Process, now in its third edition. In semi-retirement he enjoys traveling with his wife in their RV and surfing throughout Mexico and Central America.