Statistics, 3E

Introduction

Statistics. Why does this single word terrify so many of today’s students? The mere mention of this word in the classroom causes a glassy-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights reaction across a sea of faces. In one form or another, the topic of statistics has been torturing innocent students for hundreds of years. You would think the word statistics had been derived from the Latin words sta, meaning “Why” and tistics, meaning “Do I have to take this %#!$@*% class?” But it really doesn’t have to be this way. The term “stat” needn’t be a four-letter word in the minds of our students.

As you read this paragraph, you’re probably wondering what this book can do for you. Well, it’s written by people (that’s us) who (a) clearly remember being in ...