Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics: And Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll

It is the best book available in the market. Today I have received it after placing order one month back. It is a brand new imported edition.

VERY good book!

Excellent intro to stats. I appreciate that he was trying to make statistics fun and easy, but I found there were too many stories.

This is the first book review I have ever given, largely because I don't usually have the time to write a thoughtful review that I think would benefit readers. This book, however, warranted taking the time to try. I practice applied statistics and teach introductory and advanced statistics classes at a university, and I can say hands down this is the best text I have ever used for introductory to intermediate topics. It is the book I would have loved to write if I were smarter and wanted no life for several years -- I thank Andy Field for doing that for us instead. This single work could replace a dozen other quality statistics books I have because of its comprehensiveness. It is almost an anthology of statistics, but you should not let the size of the book scare you off; it is easy to read and even enjoyable. Examples have been carefully compiled and will certainly keep your interest. Even students who say they have found some examples to be a bit crass have also remarked that they don't forget the examples because they are certainly novel.I have to strongly disagree with the few reviews stating the book is a how-to for SPSS. This is absolutely not a point and click guide. I am a firm believer that students need to know the fundamental mathematics behind statistical tests, or serious mistakes will occur, including violations of assumptions and use of the wrong tests entirely. I have seen it as a journal reviewer, and as an instructor. Field covers basic to advanced analyses with great foundational detail, but he does it in a way that does not leave readers feeling overwhelmed by the math (though it is all there). He occasionally leaves the complicated math to his additional web material, but you will find 99% of what you and/or your students need to know in the text.Even though I have been in the field for many years, I keep his book on my desk to double check procedures. I firmly believe that students and/or faculty could use this book as their single reference to walk them through their own dissertation and peer-reviewed journal quality research on almost all of the topics covered. The only statistic where that is not true in my opinion is the chapter on multilevel models. However, as people in the field know, that topic is incredibly complicated and esoteric. You will not be an expert in multilevel models from that chapter, but you will have an excellent foundation for understanding them, and even the best complete texts on the topic do not do as good of a job as this book at introducing the concepts.Whether you're scared of statistics or use them nearly every day, get this book. It is a remarkable resource!

Ottimo testo (nella versione cartacea) che non necessita di competenze matematiche particolari. Inglese facilmente comprensibile. Spiegazioni molto semplici con ottime tabelle, grafici e figure. Non consiglio invece la versione in e-book soprattutto per la scarsa leggibilità di tutte le figure, che peraltro mancano del colore che le rende, nella versione cartacea, particolarmente fruibili.

Andy field created a whole learning universe - he is present on Facebook, with diverse websites (e.g. the statisticshell), mobile app, the Sage Pub website, and lots and lots of practical examples with entertaining contexts (e.g., men who are married to goats versus men who are married to dogs; purportedly based on true facts) - you can immerse yourself in statistics throughout the day (and night of course). Metal fans and cat fans will experience particular pleasure in reading this book.As far as I can judge, it covers the necessary topics up to loglinear modeling and multivariate analyses. The book's unique feature is that it's actually teaching, not just reporting or describing. Thanks to its pedagogic structure and the illustrative examples I was able to comprehend concepts that had remained simple facts that you have to take as give through my masters program.Here is my favorite example: what are degrees of freedom? Well, I always knew this concept as N-1, in some cases you were told to take N-2. No doubt, my statistics prof had explained the concept at some point, probably in very abstract terms, but what made me get the idea was Andy Fields simple example: the soccer coach has 11 positions to assign to his players. For 10 players, he has the freedom to choose among at least 2 positions. The 11th player has to take what is left, no choice anymore. Thus there were N-1=10 degrees of freedom. Cool, right?

I bought Andy Field 'Discovering Statistics using SPSS' at the beginning of my Psychology masters (MSc Health Psychology) course. It has definitely been money well spent! As someone who is not completely confident with the quantitative/SPSS based aspects of Psychology this book has been incredibly useful.Also, given that statistics can be a bit of a dry subject at times - I've found the Andy Field book really engaging and feel that I'm actually understanding and learning, instead of just flicking through and looking for instructions to copy into SPSS! Would definitely recommend to postgraduates as well as undergraduates.