Statistical Method for Psychology (Howell)

This seventh edition of Statistical Methods for Psychology, like the previous editions, surveys statistical techniques commonly used in the behavioral and social sciences, especially psychology and education. Although it is designed for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, it does not assume that students have had either a previous course in statistics or a course in mathematics beyond high-school algebra. Those students who have had an introductory course will find that the early material provides a welcome review. The book is suitable for either a one-term or a full-year course, and I have used it successfully for both. Since I have found that students, and faculty, frequently refer back to the book from which they originally learned statistics when they have a statistical problem, I have included material that will make the book a useful reference for future use. The instructor who wishes to omit this material will have no difficulty doing so. I have cut back on that material, however, to include only what is still likely to be useful. The idea of including every interesting idea had led to a book that was beginning to be daunting. My intention in writing this book was to explain the material at an intuitive level. This should not be taken to mean that the material is “watered down,” but only that the emphasis is on conceptual understanding. The student who can successfully derive the sampling distribution of t, for example, may not have any understanding of how that distribution is to be used. With respect to this example, my aim has been to concentrate on the meaning of a sampling distribution, and to show the role it plays in the general theory of hypothesis testing. In my opinion, this approach allows students to gain a better understanding, than would a more technical approach, of the way a particular test works and of the interrelationships among tests.