Intro Stats for Adults

educational resource

posted on 2021-08-23, 16:18 authored by Kenneth G. GerowKenneth G. Gerow

First, the name… “Intro” because the text does not assume any prior statistical training. I understand that by the time you become a grad student (and beyond) that at least one statistics class is by now part of your record. That said, for a variety of reasons, not all of that material will have “stuck”. So I start from ground zero. “…for adults” because successful use of the text requires engagement; the sort of engagement I can count on from grad students.

The material is highly conceptual; there are technical sections, but the text can be read without them; indeed, they come with warnings that the material therein is for the statistical aficionado, and in some cases, nerds, simply. Coverage includes:

--Background concepts; hypothesis testing and confidence intervals, the role of Normality (which might not be what you think).

--Simple and multiple linear regression, covering all the important bases, but (again) from a conceptual perspective. I have no need for matrix algebra herein.

--One and two sample methods for measured variables as well as Binomial variables.

--A light touch on ANOVA (which, in the end, has very much in common with regression, and so I approach that material from a regression perspective).

In addition to approximately 400 pages of notes, written as a series of stand-along pdf “chapters”, the text includes a suite of interactive Excel apps that bring to life some of the technically deeper ideas.

Enjoy!