Basic statistics / Thomas E. Kurtz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kurtz, Thomas E., author.

Series:

Prentice-Hall mathematics series.

Prentice-Hall mathematics series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematical statistics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (327 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Englewood Cliffs, N.J : Prentice-Hall, 1963.

Summary:

"The purpose of this book is to present the basic concepts of statistics together with the mathematics upon which they are based, and at the same time to keep the level of mathematics required within reach of the student. This book permits us to have our cake and eat it too: the important mathematical ideas are included, yet the actual level of mathematical background required is kept low. The prerequisites are a rudimentary knowledge of elementary calculus and the simple ideas of probability. The calculus prerequisite (one term is enough) serves as much to give the reader confidence with algebraic manipulations as it does to guarantee knowledge about calculus techniques. The main features of Basic statistics are: Bypassing questions of computing averages and variances from data, grouped or otherwise, it begins with a study of statistical inference. Whenever possible, it stresses estimation--point estimation and confidence intervals--rather than testing. The book emphasizes finite and discrete experiments based on the binomial, the Poisson, and the contingency-table models where analysis by a complete listing of all cases is possible. So-called nonparametric methods, such as the sign test and the rank-sum tests, are stressed. The normal distribution is introduced initially as an approximation to the binomial before it is treated as a distribution in its own right. A careful and thorough presentation is made of the linear model, thereby permitting a smooth transition to the later study of the analysis of variance. However, the actual study of analysis of variance is not included because I feel most strongly that a superficial exposure to the subject can do more harm than good. Algebraic methods are stressed when possible: for instance, the least-squares estimates for the coefficients of the regression line are derived algebraically; the general problem of finding the minimum point for a function of two arguments is ignored. Important formulas and definitions are boxed in, while most proofs and derivations are typeset in a smaller size so they may easily be passed over by the reader primarily interested in statistical techniques"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Notes:

Description based on: online resource; title from PDF information screen (EBSCOhost, viewed June 03, 2023).

Includes bibliographical references and index.