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Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
Book Description
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an econo-mist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn conventional wisdom on its head.
Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They usually begin with a mountain of data and a simple question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of . . . well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Klu Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking.
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
Download Description
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Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But
Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author
Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In
Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But
Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
"
Customer Reviews:
Much ado about nothing new.......2007-10-23
'Freakonomics' bills itself as a revolutionary application of the principles of microeconomics to everyday life: some life-or-death, others trivial (or, in the authors' description, 'freakish'). Hence both the title, and the subtitle: 'A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything.' The dust-jacket blurb gushes, 'Through forceful storytelling and wry insight ... [the authors] 'show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing.'
Well duh. I hate to burst their bubble, and their storytelling IS pretty good. But the study of incentives ain't the hidden side of anything -- it's classic microeconomics, pure and simple. Good economics textbook writers and lecturers have always resorted to quirky (or 'freakish') everyday scenarios to elucidate difficult concepts. Are good, innovative lecturers and texts rare? Sure. Are they unknown? Hardly.
Pardon a brief digression into an analogous, but otherwise unrelated topic from the early 1980s. A clique of Western military theorists noisily heralded the advent of 'maneuver warfare,' which was supposed to revolutionize military tactics and strategy. Their vaporing dominated publications like Proceedings of the US Naval Institute and the Marine Corps Gazette. Driven by controversy over the Reagan-era military buildup, it even found its way into the mainstream press. But on closer examination, 'maneuver warfare' proved to be much ado about nothing new. It was just a glitzy reprise of principles that successful generals have always grasped, from Hannibal to Attila to Saladin to Schwarzkopf. Indeed, Confederate cavalry general Nathan Bedford Forrest -- one of history's wiliest, most innovative and dangerous warriors -- stripped 'maneuver warfare' of its jargon and put it in its place more than a century before the term was even coined. Asked the secret of his success, the unlettered Tennesseean shrugged, 'I just aim to git there fust, with the mostest.'
'Freakonomics' is very well-written and addresses many topics of value. But like 'maneuver warfare,' there is nothing really new about it. The conceit that there is derives, I suspect, from two main factors: [1] the youth and inexperience of wunderkind coauthor and economist Steven D Levitt, only 26 when work on the book began in 2003; and [2] the fact that his literary collaborator is a New York Times Magazine journalist, Stephen J Dubner.
Levitt clearly is a gifted economist. I surmise that, during his ballistic rise to prominence, he simply wasn't exposed to micro texts or lecturers employing his own approach. I was luckier. My 12-year-old Econ 101 text doesn't leave out graphs or mathematics: a responsible text simply can't. But -- to cite just one example -- in illustrating the key micro concepts of total and marginal utility, it features a thirsty tennis player gulping glass after glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade at a sidewalk stand, each -- as he grows less thirsty -- at a lower price than the one before (cf cheaper coffee 'refills' at many convenience stores) ... until he is so waterlogged that the lemonade purveyor has to offer to pay HIM before he'll consider another glass!
Regarding Dubner: The New York Times has long been a wellspring of political and economic disinformation. In recent years, columnist Paul Krugman, a crypto-Marxist charlatan, has been perhaps the worst offender. There is little question that the Gray Lady's newsroom -- like the chattering classes in general -- is packed with his socialist fellow-travelers. Dubner, on the other hand, is something of a free thinker. If he weren't, he wouldn't be so delighted at Levitt's politically incorrect demonstration that a backyard swimming pool is more dangerous to a home's inhabitants than a handgun in the bedside table; or by Levitt's adroit debunking of campaign-finance-reform hokum. But then again, if Dubner weren't an NYT hack, he wouldn't be surprised at either finding. That is, if Dubner regularly read National Review, Reason magazine or the Wall Street Journal opinion pages, he wouldn't find either of those conclusions in the least remarkable. It's clear that, like most of the bicoastal American pseudointellgentsia, Dubner has led a sheltered life of the mind. Hence his misplaced enthusiasm for Levitt's 'innovative' approach.
Dubner appears even more delighted by Levitt's finding that legalizing abortion in 1973 resulted in the dramatic drop in violent crime during the 1990s. This is the centerpiece of the pair's occasional efforts to debunk conservative causes -- presumably so they will keep getting invited to parties on the Upper West Side. Mind you, Levitt makes a sound case. He argues, with impressive statistical backup, that among the 30 million or so babies aborted since 1973 were a statistically significant number of children who would have grown up to be vicious predators; and that their abortions resulted in a striking drop in violent crime. He and Dubner very nearly miss the point altogether. But in a passage that shows every sign of having been tacked on as an afterthought, they hasten to add: '[This finding] calls to mind a long-ago dart attributed to GK Chesterton: when there aren't enough hats to go around, the problem isn't solved by lopping off some heads ... Indeed, there are plenty of people who consider abortion itself to be a violent crime.' Clearly neither of the authors have any close friends who are strongly anti-abortion. If they did, they would have understood from the start that committed anti-abortion voters would gladly accept higher crime as a trade-off for ending a practice they detest on purely moral grounds ... especially since so many of them own guns, and know how to use them.
That brings us to Levitt and Dubner's disingenuous dismissal of economist John Lott and his book 'More Guns, Less Crime.' In the brief passage in which they discuss his work, they misrepresent his findings and air ad hominem attacks: highly questionable charges that Lott faked survey data (which in any case addressed issues far from central to the firearms-crime deterrence question), and an incident in which Lott defended himself in an online forum by posing as a former student who thought he was the bomb. The latter strikes me at worst as an amusing prank -- unless, like most gun-control activists, you're a humorless harridan. In fact, Lott argues that liberal handgun laws in general -- especially, but not only concealed carry laws -- restrain rising crime, or result in marginal reductions. He does not claim they 'drive crime down' dramatically, as Levitt and Dubner insinuate. Here, too, 'Freakonomics' misses the point: Government crime statistics show that firearms are used about 2.5 million times a year to deter potential or attempted crimes. That means that firearms deter a great many individual burglaries, batteries, rapes and murders. There is at most an indirect relationship between the 2.5 million non-crimes and the ones that actually wind up being committed ... whose incidence may rise or fall, from year to year, based on many other factors. It would be absurd to argue that stopping 2.5 million violent crimes is not a desirable outcome. Shame on Levitt and Dubner for slandering a scholar who argues just that.
A major 'Freakonomics' shortcoming is one of omission. The authors should have addressed the agitprop generated over the last two decades by proponents of a 'single-payer' (ie socialist) health care system. I, for one, would like to hear an honest, in-depth discussion of the concept of moral hazard in the context of health-insurance premium costs and deductibles. The ballyhooed 'plight of the uninsured' and the allure of 'free' health care are desperately vulnerable to the blowtorch of microeconomic analysis. One suspects Dubner, at least, shied from that discussion for that very reason -- perhaps realizing that 'single-payer' proponents, who likely include his friends and/or political icons, have strayed into a political, economic and intellectual minefield.
By far the best and most engaging chapter, from a standpoint of pure microeconomics, is 'Drug dealers living with their moms.' The mastermind behind this investigation of inner-city drug dealing is not Levitt but Sudhir Venkatesh, an Indian-American graduate student in sociology who wasn't afraid to risk his life for his studies by befriending trigger-happy gangstas. By itself, this chapter -- which exposes drug gangs as a 'corporate' enterprise, with highly paid CEOs and street-level flunkies earning less than minimum wage -- is worth the price of 'Freakonomics.' And it's the only thing that prompted me to award this entertaining, but flawed book three stars instead of just two.
Fun read, not always analytically rigorous.......2007-10-19
The guy is smart. No argument about that. He also has a gift for analyzing data and turning his analysis into a good story. What I'm not sure he is good at, though, is looking to see whether the data plausibly supports more than one story. (Hint: there are usually at least two sides to a story.)
Simply stunning and eye opening.......2007-10-19
This book will show the hidden side of many things, the thing which will let you have a better insight in your own life. since I read this book, I analyze numbers in the news and try to come up another side of the realistic conclusion. and guess what, few weeks later it shows up on TV..
I love this book.
Insightful.......2007-10-18
This book is definitely an eye opener. It brings a whole new dimension to the way I think about the way the world works. It truly gets your mind thinking and is very interesting b/c the material presented is honestly brand new and fresh.
Bold interpretation and Out of the Box Perspective .......2007-10-17
The book is all about bold ideas connecting things in ways that seem quite logical at the end.
Lewitt covers a wide range of topics and links them up in interesting ways: incentive systems that motivate us in daily life, the surprising relationship between abortion and crime rate, how teachers are similar to sumo wrestlers when it comes to grading, and how statistics are often wrongly interpreted and are misused to spread the wrong idea about reality, how real estate agents operate quite like the ku-klux clan used to, how crack gangs run very much like large corporations where the guy at the bottom gets peanuts, how the people at the lower rung of the ladder keep running in hope that they'll make it big one day with the full knowledge that they only have a slight chance.
This is not a bland book on economics and statistics, but makes for an interesting read. The book is full of topics that might enhance your perspective a little bit and may make you take at all those wild newspaper polls with a grain of salt.
The way he relates Roe.Vs.Wade to falling crime rate is particularly interesting. Also, his chapter on crack gang dynamics based on actual research is thought provoking. Some of the facts that most crack dealers at the bottom hardly make money at all and how swimming pools are more dangerous than guns when it comes to kid safety may amaze some of us, but are quite real when you see the statistics.
Book Description
This worldwide best-selling business statistics text teaches students how to apply statistics to real business problems through the author's unique three-step approach to problem solving. Students learn to IDENTIFY the right technique by focusing on the problem objective and data type. They then learn to COMPUTE the statistics either by hand, using Excel, or using MINITAB. Finally, they INTERPRET the results in the context of the problem. Keller's approach enhances student comprehension as well as practical skills. The book offers maximum flexibility to instructors wishing to teach concepts by hand or with the computer, or by using both hand and computer methods.
Customer Reviews:
Not so good!.......2005-12-10
Now in my second statistics course, I have a great base in statistics. This book seems to confuse everything that i've already learned. I would recommend using The Basic Practice of Statistics over this book anyday.
Book Description
The million-copy bestseller, revised and updated with new investment strategies for retirement and the most current research into behavioral finance.
Updated with a new chapter that draws on behavioral finance, the field that studies the psychology of investment decisions, here is the best-selling, authoritative, and gimmick-free guide to investing. Burton Malkiel evaluates the full range of investment opportunities, from stocks, bonds, and money markets to real estate investment trusts and insurance, home ownership, and tangible assets such as gold and collectibles. This edition includes new strategies for rearranging your portfolio for retirement, along with the book's classic life-cycle guide to investing, which matches the needs of investors in any age bracket. A Random Walk Down Wall Street long ago established itself as a must-read, the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio. So whether you want to brief yourself on the ways of the market before talking to a broker or follow Malkiel's easy steps to managing your own portfolio, this book remains the best investing guide money can buy.
Customer Reviews:
Quarterlife Finance says, "A Classic that Every Investor Should Read".......2007-10-03
I recently finished reading the 9th edition of Burton Malkiel's classic text A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition. First published in 1973, this book is a classic text that deserves a place on any investor's bookshelf.
Malkiel presents two possible security valuation models - one based on a firm foundation of value and one based on finding a "greater fool" to sell your speculative buys to. He analyzes the history of investment bubbles from the Dutch tulip mania some two hundred years ago all the way through the tech stock bubble of the late 1990s. He discusses fundamental analysis of stocks and thoroughly trashes technical analysis. Finally, Malkiel presents a strategy that virtually guarantees that your investments will keep pace with the market with minimal investment of time.
I enjoyed and recommend this book for several reasons. First and foremost, it blows the whistle on many common "beat the market" strategies, including all manner of technical analysis. As a relatively young investor, I was always intimidated by the chartist strategies (moving averages, buy points, etc) but after reading Malkiel there is no cause for fear. Those strategies simply do not work.
Moreover, I found the book to be an easy read relative to many texts on investment. While he covers different types of stock analysis, modern portfolio theory, the efficient market hypothesis, and asset allocation in detail, the book is not weighted down with too much heavy terminology. His writing style, use of historical anecdotes, and ability to challenge your beliefs again and again keeps you riveted to the book.
Finally, I believe that the strategies presented in the book are clear, concise, and can be employed by anyone to their immense gain. Too many people pay for poor investment advice, make mistakes by chasing gains and paying for active portfolio management, or even pay absurd 12b-1 fees on underperforming mutual fund investments. By reading this book and taking Malkiel's advice to heart, I believe that just about anyone can end up with more dollars in hand.
On the other hand, the book does delve into financial topics that may be intimidating for someone completely new to the investment world. The basic message (buy and hold a well-diversified portfolio of extremely low-cost index funds) could be expressed much more succinctly. However, I wouldn't change a thing with this book...just be prepared for a wild ride that challenges everything you thought you knew about investing.
not a fan........2007-10-03
This book was not what it was trumped up to be, as far as I am concerned. It's a gloomy, negative, pessimistic, unending drivel of known and common sense information and data presented in a much more complicated manner that they are in real life. After reading this book you may be inclined to start taking anti-depressants and definitely stay away from the stock and other securities markets. Weeooogh!!
Excellent Message. Sweeps some exceptions (particularly those noted herein) under the rug........2007-10-02
Particularly in a day and age where mutual funds are often touting themselves on the television, this book has an excellent, largely unbiased message for the average investor: buy low cost index funds and stay in them for the long haul.
The book is exceptionally well written, covering most of the lessons of an introductory to intermediate finance course in a very accessible format (i.e. all the right *ideas* without the confusing math). He utilizes dozens of powerful examples and good data to show that his basic premise, despite now being 30 years old, is sound. Due to its theoretical strength and accessible style, this book could be of particular value to Undergrad Business and MBA students who find the professor's academic approach to an Introductory Finance course confusing. Get the big picture here, making the math just that much easier to follow. (5 stars for making difficult financial concepts readable and interesting)
Despite my strong recommendation for both his message and style, the book does have some drawbacks. Number one is that he has clearly taken a side on the issue and has thrown impartiality to the wind. Regularly, the author depends on "transaction costs" (the cost to trade) to ensure that a trading strategy cannot beat his preferred portfolio (implying that it would have succeeded without the transaction costs). This "sweeps under the rug" several clear counter-examples to the basic efficient market thesis in order to reinforce his index-investment message. While I understand his reasoning for doing so -- a desire not to encourage investment in high cost funds or heaven forbid day trading -- it does lead to some skepticism about his willingness to admit any possibility that his thesis has weaknesses. To that end, I would discourage readers who are familiar with CAPM and efficient-markets from reading the book (2 stars as a brush up).
In the end, however, I think the message is sound. Rather than cite trading costs, I think the message can effectively be said another way: If you spent 5h a day investigating stocks, what are the odds that you can beat a professional manager? If a manager has a staff of 20 that invest 8h per day investigating stocks, what are the odds that they're going to beat the whole financial services industry? If the whole industry is taking advantage of every opportunity to profit from small deviations, and you're going to pay a manager most if not all of that profit anyway, investing in an index basically gets you the benefit of thousands of mutual funds and investment bankers without the cost of any of them (or of your time to do research).
With qualifications to the highly technical reader, who should pass on the book, I can't, in good conscience, fail to give this book 5 stars for a profoundly valuable message targeted at the individual investor.
Best guide ever.......2007-10-02
A good informative writing on the handling of your finances in regards to investing. I found it to be quite basic but I have been investing since a club in the 1960's. It still gave me a lot of information and ideas that I knew a little or nothing on. I would recommend it highly to any and all that wish to have anything in the future for their retirement.
Still the Best.......2007-09-10
I first read this book in its seventh edition. I was great then. I recently purchased the ninth edition as a "refresher." It's still a great book and the one I recommend to prospective clients or other investors prone to believe all of the active management garbage out there. Burton Malkiel does a masterful job of dismantling all of the Wall Street hype and laying out investing in a simple, straight-forward, and long-term approach.
If you read this book and still believe in the Wall Street gurus then you're hopeless. And, you deserve every bit of the bad advice you're following.
Book Description
Well-suited for the non-statistician, this applications-oriented introduction to multivariate analysis focuses on the fundamental concepts that affect the use of specific techniques rather than the mathematical derivation of the technique.
Provides an overview of several techniques and approaches that are available to analysts today — e.g., data warehousing and data mining, neural networks and resampling/bootstrapping. Chapters are organized to provide
a practical, logical progression of the phases of analysis and to
group similar types of techniques applicable to most situations.
Customer Reviews:
Best general Multivariate stats book.......2007-06-07
This is without question THE BEST introduction to Multivariate Statistics book currently available. It is designed for the user of the techniques, not someone who wants to examine the math underlying the techniques. I have created a collection of the various editions of this book and I have all of them going from the 1st edition to the current one. Personally I really likely the 2nd and 3rd editions but the current one is also very good. Whether you are interested in Exploratory Factor Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis, Discriminant Analysis [I think that there should have been more on classification analysis in this section], Logistic regression, multivariate analysis of variance, conjoint analysis, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, Confirmatory Factor Analysis or Structural Equation Modeling, this book provides a good broad overview as to how to use and interpret the techniques. The key terms for each technique are defined clearly technique by technique. Having taught faculty how to teach multivariate statistics this is the book that I chose to use. It is important to remember that it is BROAD overview and if you are going to do serious analyses that you'd likely want to get additional books about the specific technique or techniques that you are going to use.
Probably the best advanced stats book ever written...GOD bless the authors!.......2007-05-12
Over the course of my undergrad, grad, and post grad, I have read a variety of statistics books. Without a doubt, Hair's Multivariate Data Analysis is THE BEST book of them all. Here is a brief outline of the awesome features of the book:
1. The book itself is very well organized - chapter order and the order within each chapter helps the reader in knowing what is coming next and provides a sense of direction. I think this is a very important feature for any book to have especially when the topics are complex and are discussed over 800 odd pages.
2. The HBAT data set that comes along with the book (or that is provided by the instructor of the course depending on the version of the book you purchase) is really a very good resource. All multivariate techniques in the book can be carried out using this data set. The data set is clearly explained at the end of the first chapter.
3. Tables of examples, the 'Rules of thumb" after each important concept discussion prove invaluable. This is akin to the managerial implication written at the end of lenghty academic articles. This is almost like saying - Here is the deal folks.....Much precise than the summary section, in bullet points, these rules of thumb acts as quick referece that captures the content of the discussion.
4. From chapter 4 onwards till the very end of the book, each chapter is divided into two halves - the first half is the concept dicsussion - in detail, with examples and in very simple and understandable language. The second half is the illustration of the discussed concept through a very elaborate example using the HBAT data set. This arrangement not only helps the reader in better understanding the complex concepts, but also allows the reader to get their hands dirty by actually working out.
5. Keywords at the begining of each chapter provides a list of all the 'jargon' that would be used in that chapter. This list provides a detail definition of each term. Many times while reading the chapter, you would come across a confusing term and in those times the keyword list can prove invaluable.
All in all, this is an invaluable book. If you are a taking stats and you have not read this book, you are missing something. In spite of all the above great things, the best feature of this book is the writing style. I have not come across a book that explains concepts is such easy to understand language but at the same time not over simplifying the subject matter.
My advanced stats became enjoyable because of this book. Really may GOD bless these authors for writing this book!!
Sure it's good, and a good price by the pund too!.......2005-10-26
A pretty good overview and a lot of in-depth material on Multivariate data analysis. Not quite a bed time read though.
I recommend this book as part of your analytical library.
If you liked this book, another good book on multivariate data analysis you may want to check out as well is Sharma, S.; Applied Multivariate Techniques, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.
If you want something easier to read/more practical, and you prefer SPSS over SAS you may want to check out either `Discovering Statistics using SPSS for Windows' by Andy Field, or probably even better/simpler `SPSS Survival Manual' by Pallant.
Tom Anderson
Anderson Analytics, LLC
(...)
Good for a second stats course & reference.......2005-08-03
We used this book for our Stats 2 course in grad school, and although our professor was good enough to eclipse Hair, et al. (he had written his own Stats text), I am most pleased at how much mileage I have drawn from Hair, et al. in the years since I took the course. In my subsequent career, reviewers have often sent me back to Hair, et al. when they have questions about something I'm doing with a data analysis, so it has become an invaluable reference for that reason alone.
The chapters on structural equation modeling, MANOVA, and factor analysis are particularly useful and well-written. I recommend this book without reservations for graduate students and others who work with advanced statistics as part of their daily work.
simple but great!!.......2005-06-02
I used this book as a reference on the topics while I was working on a research project at the university. Because the book does not use complex mathematics to explain the multivariate statistics, it is easy for social sciences students to understand. Each chapter starts with an overview, step-by step procedures and ends with an example from the data set that is used throughout the book.
In addition to the common topics in multivariate, the book also includes the new analysis techniques as CHAID, neural network, and data mining.
Book Description
Used by hundreds of thousands of students since its first edition, INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS continues to blend the best of its proven coverage with new innovations. While retaining the straightforward presentation and traditional outline for descriptive and inferential statistics, the Twelfth Edition incorporates exciting new learning aids like MyPersonal Trainer, MyApplet, and MyTip to ensure that students learn and understand the relevance of the material. The book takes advantage of modern technology, including computational software and interactive visual tools, to facilitate statistical reasoning as well as the understanding and interpretation of statistical results. In addition to showing how to apply statistical procedures, the authors explain how to meaningfully describe real sets of data, what the statistical tests mean in terms of their practical applications, how to evaluate the validity of the assumptions behind statistical tests, and what to do when statistical assumptions have been violated. This new edition retains the statistical integrity, examples, exercises and exposition that have made it a market leader, and builds upon this tradition of excellence with new technology integration.
Customer Reviews:
Unfortunately Book Required By Professor!.......2007-09-09
I purchased textbook because it was required by my Biostatistics professor in my graduate program. Personally, I do not like the book. It makes problems more complicated than they need to be. I feel a good textbook is one in which you can read on your own and basically understand it without a whole lot of instruction and review by your professor. It would be very difficult to just read this textbook and then take an exam. I have only had the book for several weeks and I think it makes Biostats more complicated. I did purchase the supplement that goes with it, which is good for practice and the CD allows you to take self-test. If you are not savvy in stats, purchasing the supplemental practice book may be the thing for you to do if your professor requires use of the textbook.
Poorly written freshman level probability and statistics book.......2007-07-19
First, I cant believe that people actually used this book in a graduate class. I taught out of this book to freshmen.
A lot of the notation in this book is horrible and I feel this makes it harder for people new to the subject to read. Also there are very few exercises for the students to practice. In addition, too many of the answers in the back of the book are incorrect (this really confuses students).
I will not be teaching out of this book again.
Very poorly written........2004-03-15
I had to buy this book for an introductory graduate stats class. This book assumes you have some knowledge of stats and so provides very brief explanations for most concepts. This is a big problem for students with little or no stats background.
Another problem is that there are too few examples. Considering their meager explanations, one would hope they would at least provide enough examples to help students understand the concepts. But they usually provide only one or two problems, which are woefully inadequate.
Also, the CD is totally useless. Most of the practice is multiple choice, which I think is pretty silly for a stats class. In addition, there is no explanation for how they got to the answer, so if you can't figure it out and choose the wrong answer, you're out of luck for any explanation.
I stopped using this book for my course and instead began using Elementary Statistics, A Step by Step Approach by Bluman. This book is excellent; it explains everything from step 1. There are also many, many examples and lots of pictures to help you further understand stats. Also, they explain very clearly when you should use the different formulas, which I found extremely helpful in bringing all the concepts together.
Disappointing.......2004-01-16
The text we used for our undergrad Stats class covered the exact same material as this text, which we used for a graduate level class and which cost about 60 bucks more, but the undergrad text was written more clearly, concisely and logically. We even found a mistake in one of the tables in the back of this book.
An "easy" introduction but lacks content.......2003-09-18
Author: Computer Science/Mathematics Undergraduate at Cameron University
This book was required for an introductory non-calculus based statistics course at my school and it turned out to be a mixed bag. The theories are explained well in most cases but the book doesn't have enough examples for all of the theorems. Many times only one case is explained in dynamic situations leaving this reader more than a little lost. Usually the theorems are explained well enough that this is not a big deal, but not so in every case. So there tends to be those points where the student may get a little stuck without assistance from their professor.
Another problem I found was that the book was a little bit dumbed down in many areas. This book uses no calculus, so the theories are presented often without the mathematical rigor required to properly formulate accurate results. The book still presents the theorems and formulas in a way where the student can get something out of this without calculus, but it becomes a problem later in the book in the sections on regression. For a non-calculus based class like the one I took, this is all unavoidable, so the book handled the situation well considering the constraints.
This book presents a very light introduction to statistics and is good prep for more advanced statistics courses, but as a stand-alone only the most basic material is presented since it is non-calculus based and the material is spread thin between combinatorics, probability, binomial distributions, normal distributions, t distributions, ANOVA tests, regression, non-parametric statistics, etc... To attain a significant amount of useful knowledge you really need to buy separate books tackling each of these subjects independantly, so this book is really unneccessary even for an introductory text but might serve well the student who needs to be eased into statistics lightly or just wants a brief overview of the subject.
Average customer rating:
- Fantastic book!
- Stats and Andy Field
- Easy Read and Comprehensive too
- Outstanding Source for SPSS
- Better than any graduate level statistics course I have taken
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Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Introducing Statistical Methods S.) (2nd Edition)
Andy Field
Manufacturer: Sage Publications Ltd
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Similar Items:
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SPSS Survival Manual
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Reading And Understanding More Multivariate Statistics
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SPSS For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
ASIN: 0761944524 |
Book Description
Get the Statistics Book That's Sweeping the Nation!
Appropriate for All Levels--Undergraduate to Doctorate Programs in Every Discipline!
This new edition of Field's bestselling textbook provides students of statistical methods with everything they need to understand, use and report statistics - at every level. Written in Andy Field's vivid and entertaining style, and furnished with playful examples from everyday student life (among other places), the book forms an accessible gateway into the often intimidating world of statistics and a unique opportunity for students to ground their knowledge of statistics through the use of SPSS. The text is fully compliant with the latest release of SPSS (version 13).
Key updates in
Second Edition:
- More coverage with completely new material on non-parametric statistics, loglinear analysis, effect sizes and how to report statistical analysis
- Even more student-friendly features, including a glossary of key statistical terms and exercises at the end of chapters for students to work through, with datasets and answers to chapter exercises on the accompanying CD-ROM
- A larger and more easy-to-reference format: notation in each section identifies the intended level of study while the new 2-color text design enhances the features in the book and, together with the larger format, provides extra clarity throughout
- A companion website is available at
www.sagepub.co.uk/field, containing resources for both students and instructors: a testbank of MCQs for students to test their own knowledge; online glossary in flash card format; multiple choice questions and answers to use for class assessment – available on restricted access basis to instructors via entry password; and PowerPoint Slides of all formatted artwork in the textbook for instructors to include in their own lecture slides.
Andy Field is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The University of Sussex, U.K. where his success in making statistics accessible was recognized with a teaching award in 2001.
"The Second Edition of Andy Field's
Discovering Statistics Using SPSS is an excellent book and a valuable addition to the teaching of statistics in the behavioral sciences. The title of the book accurately reflects the approach taken. This is not simply a primer on how to use SPSS, but is a very good statistics text using SPSS as a vehicle for illustrating and expanding on the statistical content of the book. At the same time it also serves as a manual for SPSS, and has taught me things that I had not known about the software. I find this flexible approach to the blending of content and software to be an effective way of teaching the material. It is impossible to review this book without commenting on Andy's particular style. I enjoyed it immensely and think that it would appeal to both students and their instructors. It is refreshing to see someone who doesn't take himself too seriously."
-- David C Howell, Professor Emeritus,
University of Vermont
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic book!.......2007-09-30
I could not have lived through my dissertation without this book. It finally helped me to conceptually understand statistics.
Also,(many of) his jokes are belly-busting funny. I used one humorous musing in my oral defense about Fisher's alpha levels:"I wonder how different my career would be if Fisher had woken up that day in 90% type of mood."
Stats and Andy Field.......2007-08-19
Andy's book is an excellent aid in learning statistics. If you want the executive summary (aka cliff notes), Andy provides sections where you can get a quick overview of a specific test. If you want the details, Andy provides those also in his book.
I used his book to help me in my doctoral quest, when I was in my second statistics class as a supplemental text. However, it is of a quality that any person seeking to learn more about stats will come away with knowledge of how stats can help us know more about the world in which we live.
Easy Read and Comprehensive too.......2007-08-04
In my job, I often train others how to use SPSS. This book comes up in conversation a lot. It is outstanding. I have come to the conclusion that if a serious user of SPSS's statistical features is to get only one reference; this is it. Something I have noticed is that when I meet someone that has spent time with the book, the are invariably quite good at SPSS. Even if they may not have mastered all the techniques in this large book, they know their stuff.
The Pallant book SPSS Survival Manual, which I have also reviewed, is designed to help survive a first course (and presumably last) in basic statistics. The Field book, however, could be revisited again and again, each time reaching a deeper understanding.
I already know the statistics in this book well, so I can't claim that this book has taught me the basics, but it simultaneously covers all the major topics of interest while keeping it as simple as possible. I wish I had existed earlier in my career. The main advantage to users of SPSS is that all of the examples are SPSS examples. However, make no mistake, this is a serious introduction to statistics, not merely a point and click guide. It is not current with version 15.0, but I don't think this is a major strike against it, given the excellent review of theory. If, however, you really need to keep up on the current features like I do, you will want to consider books in addition this one. Consider one or more of the three Norusis books depending on your level and needs.
Outstanding Source for SPSS.......2007-07-15
This is one of the best statistics and SPSS guidebooks that I have seen. I believe that it can be very useful for novice to expert. It is both technical and conceptual and can function as a textbook for statistics as well as an operational handbook for navigating through SPSS. Although it is based on SPSS 13.0, I have found it to be quite applicable to the SPSS version 15.0 that I am using. This book is an invaluable source for the completion of my doctoral dissertation and I would highly recommend it for the student or advanced statistician! B. Cliff, PhD Candidate, Western Michigan University
Better than any graduate level statistics course I have taken.......2007-06-14
I am a 4th year PhD student and wish I had discovered this book earlier. It is far better than any of the graduate level statistics course I have taken, and definitely better than any of the textbooks I have seen. In fact, I have thrown out all my other statistics textbooks - this is the only one I need. Aside from explaining the theory in an easy to understand way, Andy Field provides the practical aspect that no other texts or courses do (or, if they do, they fail to link it to the theory). Field shows you how to use SPSS to implement the theory in an easy, step by step way; he even tells you how to report the results in APA format. Don't waste your money on any other statistics textbooks!
Book Description
Addison-Wesley is proud to celebrate the Tenth Edition of Elementary Statistics. This text is highly regarded because of its engaging and understandable introduction to statistics. The author's commitment to providing student-friendly guidance through the material and giving students opportunities to apply their newly learned skills in a real-world context has made Elementary Statistics the #1 best-seller in the market.
Customer Reviews:
Elementary statistics-not.......2007-08-28
This book was for a elementary statistics class. This book to me was not easy to use. The examples where very hard to follow and didn't make sense most of the time. The book was used for a online stats class thank god my professor provided great notes and examples, cause if I had to just depend on this books examples I would have made a BIG FAT "F". The author should think about making this book more user friendly.
Trash -- utter trash........2007-04-16
I am saddened to see the textbook community to mistake color, flash, graphics, and artifical examples as quality textbook. Although I understand they need to market, this book demonstrates the effect of marketing upon education.
My students complain that the text is difficult to read. Although I know they are new, I have to agree with their opinion. I sat and read the text -- and found it lacking respectable composition and clarity. I feel for my students and will not use the text again.
In addition, the examples are useless. They match the homework at the end of the chapter, but only "teach to the test". What's the point if the student don't learn methods on how to critically think and approach problems? Oh wow, they know what P(Z>1) is, but what do they know to do with it? Nothing!
Perhaps it is time for the educational community to produce their own compact books, customized to what students (and not publishers) need. I cannot recommend this book for anyone and would beg you to reconsider.
Does the trick.......2007-03-21
I think it's a well written book and it simplifies concepts well enough so that you can understand them better.
Elementary Statistics .......2007-02-22
This was the worst book I have ever come across. The only thing this "book" had was definitions in it. Definitions are fine for other subject, but not for a math subject where formulas are important. I am also disappointed at the fact that this was not a text, but a "study guide" for the text. perhaps this would be useful for someone who was going to take a CLEP test or something.
Really good book for a basic course!.......2007-01-03
I purchased this book for a basic statistic course. It's easy to understand and the best way to get an idea of statistic without long formulas or derivations. Recommandable for basic and intermediate stat-classes!
Book Description
This brief version of Gravetter and Wallnau's proven best-seller offers the straightforward instruction, accuracy, built-in learning aids, and wealth of real-world examples that professors AND students have come to appreciate. The authors take time to explain statistical procedures so that students can go beyond memorizing formulas and gain a conceptual understanding of statistics. By integrating applications to ensure that even students with a weak background in mathematics can understand statistics, the authors skillfully demonstrate that having an understanding of statistical procedures help them comprehend published findings, and become savvy consumers of information. Known for its exceptional accuracy and examples, this text also has a complete supplements package to support instructors with class preparation and testing.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't find it helpful.......2007-09-02
I didn't find this a helpful assistance to the text. It didn't give any explanations to the formulas or shortcuts that I expected. It was more like a dictionary for the text book (words and definitions).
Great for people who ask "but why..." at the end of every statement. .......2006-05-10
This book is absolutely excellent. I have looked through other stats books and lost interest immediately, but this book is written in such a way that it actually makes you want to learn the material. Rather than just telling you how to solve the problem, the authors inform you as to why learning it is necessary, and frequently give you real-life, interesting scenarios regarding how specific formulas are used by psychologists.
Statistics, of course, becomes progressively more difficult over time, and you may need to seek outside help once you reach the last few chapters in particular. However, I believe that this book is the best of its kind, and it might be worth purchasing even if it is not your primary source for class, etc.
Good moral support.......2006-03-23
My first impression was that this book was priceless since it really helped me through the first couple of chapters in the main text. At the beginning it goes into lengthy, step-by-step instructions. I may not have felt as confident in the class if it had not been for this supplement. Once I reached chapter 6 and 7 it was all over!There was not enough information to help me understand what the book was losing me on, I needed to seek private tutoring at this point. Occasionally I still go to the book in the hopes that it can pick me up and get me through the homework but it does not. These later chapters may be too complicated to go into in a study guide but what would a study guide be for if not walking you through the steps? I am glad I bought it, just dissappointed that it quit so early.
Fantastic Statistics Resource.......2005-09-22
This is the very best statistics book that I have purchased (and I have purchased 5 others trying to help me get a grasp on this subject)! I would recommend it to anyone who needs an easy--to-read and easy-to-understand textbook on this difficult subject! I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me!
Wow! Clear, Concise, Excellent Book.......2005-05-19
Having seriously struggled for the last two years with the statistics side of my Psychology studies, this book has really made things so much clearer. An excellent book for anyone struggling to grasp the basic statistical concepts required in behavioral sciences.
Book Description
Gain the statistical tools and techniques you need to understand today's financial markets with the Second Edition of this critically acclaimed book.
Youll find a comprehensive and systematic introduction to financial econometric models and their applications in modeling and predicting financial time series data. This edition continues to emphasize empirical financial data and focuses on real-world examples. Youll master key aspects of financial time series, including volatility modeling, neural network applications, market microstructure and high-frequency financial data, continuous-time models and Ito's Lemma, Value at Risk, multiple returns analysis, financial factor models, and econometric modeling via computation-intensive methods.
This is an ideal textbook for MBA students and a key reference for researchers and professionals in business and finance. Order your copy today.
Download Description
Analysis of Financial Time Series, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to current financial econometric models and their applications to modeling and prediction of financial time series data. It utilizes real-world examples and real financial data throughout the book to apply the models and methods described. The author begins with basic characteristics of financial time series data before covering three main topics: analysis and application of univariate financial time series; the return series of multiple assets; and Bayesian inference in finance methods.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent and detailed reference.......2007-05-03
The coverage of the topic is broad and deep. It is one of the few introductory books that devotes some space to transfer function modeling and does so intelligibly.
A must have for the novice as well as those more familiar with the topic that need a solid reference.
The best for Masters level, great all-around.......2007-02-12
This text is absolutely perfect for Masters students learning financial econometrics. There is a little theory, clear explanations, and quite a few real world examples. (I don't think any text would tell the reader what model to use when, because that's application-specific.) It assumes some knowledge of finance and basic econometrics/statistics, which is fair enough. To get more theory, Hamilton (1994) remains the authority, and Campbell, Lo, MacKinlay (1997) is a great introduction for PhD students, and generally an ideal companion volume to this one.
Excellent reference!.......2006-11-05
This book is an excellent toolbox for anyove dealing in the field of financial engineering, however, as a real toolbox, the author doesn't explain the exact use of all tools and how to interpret the results. This is why this book is for advanced users who need a well documented reference but it is not very suitable for beginners in the field. The Splus code is welcome.
Broad coverage, but not for the faint-hearted.......2006-07-05
Written by a University of Chicago professor, this book comprehensively covers times series topics relative to investment and trading-oriented finance (i.e., Wall Street money-making machines). Treatment is generally clear and thorough, but an advanced math and stat background is an absolute prerequisite for understanding the materials.
S-Plus/R code is given, but strangely, there is very little on *why* and
*when* one uses each of the techniques. Under what cirmcustances should I use or not use GARCH? What exactly is PCA good for in real-world applications? These important questions are not answered, in other words, you don't get a sense of the real-world context for these topics.
Best textbook I have ever read .......2005-09-19
First of all, it is well written in a very practical point of view. The whole book is aimed fullly to real financial data(appended in the author's web). People can gain not only the well-explained theories but the hand-on experience with data analysis using SPLUS or any other package.
Secondly, the author is a real expert in this field and has been publishing lots of nice work. All models in the book are clearly illustrated and commented.
Thirdly, it covers a lot of topics in analysis of FT. Reader can learn almost all the valuable things in this field from this book.
If anyone wanna truly learn this book, she/he has to sit down and plays some real data on computer. I think this is the best way and the only way to use this book.
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