Statistics in Action: Understanding a World of Data

Ann E. Watkins, California State University, Northridge,

Richard L. Scheaffer, University of Florida,

George W. Cobb, Mt. Holyoke College

Ancillary package available to qualified adopters or selectively for examination.

If you teach a one-semester introductory statistics course and you …

• encourage your students to be active participants in your classroom,
• emphasize modern statistical methods,
• believe that if your students have only pretend data, they can only pretend to analyze it,
• want your students to know that the analysis must be tailored to the data rather than “assuming” the data meet the assumptions of some technique, and
• use statistical software or graphing calculators,

… then Statistics in Action is the book you've been waiting for.

Statistics in Action is intended to be used as much as a dialog as a reference: your students will have to be thoughtful as they read. An activity introduces each major topic, allowing students to experience the major concepts of statistical thinking before going on to confirm them through further analysis (often involving simulation) and practice with data. This text is unique in that the design and analysis of both experiments and surveys are given an honest treatment, rather than forcing both into an overly simplistic model that is adequate for neither.

The authors are well known for their work in helping the introductory statistics course evolve into one that emphasizes activity-based learning of statistical concepts while reflecting modern statistical practice. This book is a product of what they have learned from many others who have been actively involved along with them in the MAA’s STATS project and Focus Group on Statistics, the ASA’s Quantitative Literacy projects, and the College Board’s AP Statistics course. This book is written in the spirit of the recommendations from these projects.

Each copy of the Statistics in Action student textbook now includes Chapter 13: Analysis of Variance on CD (1-931914-27-3). Instructors may also optionally bundle a printed version of Chapter 13 with the text for a nominal charge (1-931914-91-5). Contact your Key College Publishing representative at 888-877-7240 for more details about Chapter 13 and other Statistics in Action ancillaries: