Learning to Use Statistical Tests in Psychology (Open Guides to Psychology) Book

The second edition of this widely acclaimed text is an accessible and comprehensible introduction to the use of statistical tests in psychology experiments: statistics without panic. Presented in a new textbook format, its key objective is to enable students to select appropriate statistical tests to evaluate the significance of data obtained from psychological experiments. Improvements in the organization of chapters emphasize even more clearly the principle of introducing complex experimental designs on a 'need to know' basis, leaving more space for an extended interpretation of analysis of variance. In an important development for the second edition, students are introduced to modern statistical packages as a useful tool for calculations, the emphasis being on understanding and interpretation. This book shows psychology students how psychologists plan experiments and statistical tests, why they must plan them within certain constraints, and how they can analyze and make sense of their results. The approach is that theory is always presented together with practical examples, theoretical points are summarized and understanding of them tested, and statistical principles are introduced as part and parcel of the principles of experimental design. Building on the success of the first edition, this fully revised and updated second edition provides a training in statistical methods which is accessible to psychology students at an introductory level. The easy-to-use charts for selecting statistical tests and the step-by-step approach have been retained. As before, the book starts with experimental designs and introduces statistical concepts as they are needed to interpret experimental data. It is this feature of explaining the rationale for statistics in context that has resulted in such a highly favorable reception by psychology students themselves, as well as their teachers.Read More