The Wiley-Interscience Paperback Series consists of selected books that have been made more accessible to consumers in an effort to increase global appeal and general circulation. With these new unabridged softcover volumes, Wiley hopes to extend the lives of these works by making them available to future generations of statisticians, mathematicians, and scientists.

"This is a nice book containing a wealth of information, much of it due to the authors. . . . If an instructor designing such a course wanted a textbook, this book would be the best choice available. . . . There are many stimulating exercises, and the book also contains an excellent index and an extensive list of references."
—Technometrics

"[This] book should be read carefully by anyone who is interested in dealing with statistical models in a realistic fashion."
—American Scientist

Introducing concepts, theory, and applications, Robust Statistics is accessible to a broad audience, avoiding allusions to high-powered mathematics while emphasizing ideas, heuristics, and background. The text covers the approach based on the influence function (the effect of an outlier on an estimater, for example) and related notions such as the breakdown point. It also treats the change-of-variance function, fundamental concepts and results in the framework of estimation of a single parameter, and applications to estimation of covariance matrices and regression parameters.

Statistics provides tools and strategies for the analysis of data. While much has been written about the methodology, sometimes without reference to data, little has been said about the data. In this volume we present sets of data obtained from many situations without any direct reference to a particular type of analysis. Our view of the usefulness of bringing together a broad collection of sets of data has been shared by many friends and contributors. Students of statistics need to gain facility with their art by applying their knowledge to many sets of data. Textbook examples tend to be small and selected primarily to illustrate a particular technique, thus failing to demonstrate the questioning, iterative nature of statistical analysis. The situations which gave rise to the more extensive sets of data given in this volume are colourful and interesting, and can be readily understood by laymen, students and research workers with diverse interests. These sets were often chosen for their perverse reluctance to yield under the naive application of standard procedures. They do not have correct solutions. They describe situations where the statisti cian can develop skills and learn the limitations of statistical methods.

One of Wall Street Journal's Best Ten Works of Nonfiction in 2012
 
New York Times Bestseller

“Not so different in spirit from the way public intellectuals like John Kenneth Galbraith once shaped discussions of economic policy and public figures like Walter Cronkite helped sway opinion on the Vietnam War…could turn out to be one of the more momentous books of the decade.”
—New York Times Book Review
 
"Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise is The Soul of a New Machine for the 21st century."
—Rachel Maddow, author of Drift

"A serious treatise about the craft of prediction—without academic mathematics—cheerily aimed at lay readers. Silver's coverage is polymathic, ranging from poker and earthquakes to climate change and terrorism."
—New York Review of Books

Nate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair’s breadth, and became a national sensation as a blogger—all by the time he was thirty. He solidified his standing as the nation's foremost political forecaster with his near perfect prediction of the 2012 election. Silver is the founder and editor in chief of FiveThirtyEight.com.
 
Drawing on his own groundbreaking work, Silver examines the world of prediction, investigating how we can distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data. Most predictions fail, often at great cost to society, because most of us have a poor understanding of probability and uncertainty. Both experts and laypeople mistake more confident predictions for more accurate ones. But overconfidence is often the reason for failure. If our appreciation of uncertainty improves, our predictions can get better too. This is the “prediction paradox”: The more humility we have about our ability to make predictions, the more successful we can be in planning for the future.

In keeping with his own aim to seek truth from data, Silver visits the most successful forecasters in a range of areas, from hurricanes to baseball, from the poker table to the stock market, from Capitol Hill to the NBA. He explains and evaluates how these forecasters think and what bonds they share. What lies behind their success? Are they good—or just lucky? What patterns have they unraveled? And are their forecasts really right? He explores unanticipated commonalities and exposes unexpected juxtapositions. And sometimes, it is not so much how good a prediction is in an absolute sense that matters but how good it is relative to the competition. In other cases, prediction is still a very rudimentary—and dangerous—science.

Silver observes that the most accurate forecasters tend to have a superior command of probability, and they tend to be both humble and hardworking. They distinguish the predictable from the unpredictable, and they notice a thousand little details that lead them closer to the truth. Because of their appreciation of probability, they can distinguish the signal from the noise.

With everything from the health of the global economy to our ability to fight terrorism dependent on the quality of our predictions, Nate Silver’s insights are an essential read.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

“Brilliant, funny . . . the best math teacher you never had.”—San Francisco Chronicle Once considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly evolving into a discipline Hal Varian, chief economist at Google, has actually called “sexy.” From batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics continues to grow by leaps and bounds. How can we catch schools that cheat on standardized tests? How does Netflix know which movies you’ll like? What is causing the rising incidence of autism? As best-selling author Charles Wheelan shows us in Naked Statistics, the right data and a few well-chosen statistical tools can help us answer these questions and more.

For those who slept through Stats 101, this book is a lifesaver. Wheelan strips away the arcane and technical details and focuses on the underlying intuition that drives statistical analysis. He clarifies key concepts such as inference, correlation, and regression analysis, reveals how biased or careless parties can manipulate or misrepresent data, and shows us how brilliant and creative researchers are exploiting the valuable data from natural experiments to tackle thorny questions.

And in Wheelan’s trademark style, there’s not a dull page in sight. You’ll encounter clever Schlitz Beer marketers leveraging basic probability, an International Sausage Festival illuminating the tenets of the central limit theorem, and a head-scratching choice from the famous game show Let’s Make a Deal—and you’ll come away with insights each time. With the wit, accessibility, and sheer fun that turned Naked Economics into a bestseller, Wheelan defies the odds yet again by bringing another essential, formerly unglamorous discipline to life.

Over Half a Million Copies Sold--an Honest-to-Goodness Bestseller Darrell Huff runs the gamut of every popularly used type of statistic, probes such things as the sample study, the tabulation method, the interview technique, or the way the results are derived from the figures, and points up the countless number of dodges which are used to full rather than to inform.

With the born storyteller's command of narrative and imaginative approach, Leonard Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how our lives are profoundly informed by chance and randomness and how everything from wine ratings and corporate success to school grades and political polls are less reliable than we believe.

By showing us the true nature of chance and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow gives us the tools we need to make more informed decisions. From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, Mlodinow's intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives will intrigue, awe, and inspire.

 


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Statistics Essentials For Dummies not only provides students enrolled in Statistics I with an excellent high-level overview of key concepts, but it also serves as a reference or refresher for students in upper-level statistics courses. Free of review and ramp-up material, Statistics Essentials For Dummies sticks to the point, with content focused on key course topics only. It provides discrete explanations of essential concepts taught in a typical first semester college-level statistics course, from odds and error margins to confidence intervals and conclusions. This guide is also a perfect reference for parents who need to review critical statistics concepts as they help high school students with homework assignments, as well as for adult learners headed back into the classroom who just need a refresher of the core concepts.

The Essentials For Dummies Series
Dummies is proud to present our new series, The Essentials For Dummies. Now students who are prepping for exams, preparing to study new material, or who just need a refresher can have a concise, easy-to-understand review guide that covers an entire course by concentrating solely on the most important concepts. From algebra and chemistry to grammar and Spanish, our expert authors focus on the skills students most need to succeed in a subject.

Statistics For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781119293521) was previously published as Statistics For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9780470911082). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

The fun and easy way to get down to business with statistics

Stymied by statistics? No fear? this friendly guide offers clear, practical explanations of statistical ideas, techniques, formulas, and calculations, with lots of examples that show you how these concepts apply to your everyday life.

Statistics For Dummies shows you how to interpret and critique graphs and charts, determine the odds with probability, guesstimate with confidence using confidence intervals, set up and carry out a hypothesis test, compute statistical formulas, and more.

Tracks to a typical first semester statistics course Updated examples resonate with today's students Explanations mirror teaching methods and classroom protocol

Packed with practical advice and real-world problems, Statistics For Dummies gives you everything you need to analyze and interpret data for improved classroom or on-the-job performance.

Learn to program SAS by example! If you like learning by example, then Learning SAS by Example: A Programmer's Guide makes it easy to learn SAS programming. In an instructive and conversational tone, author Ron Cody clearly explains each programming technique and then illustrates it with one or more real-life examples, followed by a detailed description of how the program works. The text is divided into four major sections: Getting Started; DATA Step Processing; Presenting and Summarizing Your Data; and Advanced Topics. Subjects addressed include: Reading data from external sources Learning details of DATA step programming Subsetting and combining SAS data sets Understanding SAS functions and working with arrays Creating reports with PROC REPORT and PROC TABULATE Learning to use the SAS Output Delivery System Getting started with the SAS macro language Introducing PROC SQL You can test your knowledge and hone your skills by solving the problems at the end of each chapter. (Solutions to odd-numbered problems are located at the back of this book. Solutions to all problems are available to instructors by visiting Ron Cody's author page for details.) This book is intended for beginners and intermediate users. Readers should know how to enter and submit a SAS program from their operating system. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

Are you above average? Is your child an A student? Is your employee an introvert or an extrovert? Every day we are measured against the yardstick of averages, judged according to how closely we come to it or how far we deviate from it.

The assumption that metrics comparing us to an average—like GPAs, personality test results, and performance review ratings—reveal something meaningful about our potential is so ingrained in our consciousness that we don’t even question it. That assumption, says Harvard’s Todd Rose, is spectacularly—and scientifically—wrong.

In The End of Average, Rose, a rising star in the new field of the science of the individual shows that no one is average. Not you. Not your kids. Not your employees. This isn’t hollow sloganeering—it’s a mathematical fact with enormous practical consequences. But while we know people learn and develop in distinctive ways, these unique patterns of behaviors are lost in our schools and businesses which have been designed around the mythical “average person.” This average-size-fits-all model ignores our differences and fails at recognizing talent. It’s time to change it.

Weaving science, history, and his personal experiences as a high school dropout, Rose offers a powerful alternative to understanding individuals through averages: the three principles of individuality. The jaggedness principle (talent is always jagged), the context principle (traits are a myth), and the pathways principle (we all walk the road less traveled) help us understand our true uniqueness—and that of others—and how to take full advantage of individuality to gain an edge in life.

Read this powerful manifesto in the ranks of Drive, Quiet, and Mindset—and you won’t see averages or talent in the same way again.

An Introduction to Statistical Learning provides an accessible overview of the field of statistical learning, an essential toolset for making sense of the vast and complex data sets that have emerged in fields ranging from biology to finance to marketing to astrophysics in the past twenty years. This book presents some of the most important modeling and prediction techniques, along with relevant applications. Topics include linear regression, classification, resampling methods, shrinkage approaches, tree-based methods, support vector machines, clustering, and more. Color graphics and real-world examples are used to illustrate the methods presented. Since the goal of this textbook is to facilitate the use of these statistical learning techniques by practitioners in science, industry, and other fields, each chapter contains a tutorial on implementing the analyses and methods presented in R, an extremely popular open source statistical software platform.

Two of the authors co-wrote The Elements of Statistical Learning (Hastie, Tibshirani and Friedman, 2nd edition 2009), a popular reference book for statistics and machine learning researchers. An Introduction to Statistical Learning covers many of the same topics, but at a level accessible to a much broader audience. This book is targeted at statisticians and non-statisticians alike who wish to use cutting-edge statistical learning techniques to analyze their data. The text assumes only a previous course in linear regression and no knowledge of matrix algebra.

If you are a researcher or student with experience in multiple linear regression and want to learn about logistic regression, Paul Allison's Logistic Regression Using SAS: Theory and Application, Second Edition, is for you! Informal and nontechnical, this book both explains the theory behind logistic regression, and looks at all the practical details involved in its implementation using SAS. Several real-world examples are included in full detail. This book also explains the differences and similarities among the many generalizations of the logistic regression model. The following topics are covered: binary logistic regression, logit analysis of contingency tables, multinomial logit analysis, ordered logit analysis, discrete-choice analysis, and Poisson regression. Other highlights include discussions on how to use the GENMOD procedure to do loglinear analysis and GEE estimation for longitudinal binary data. Only basic knowledge of the SAS DATA step is assumed. The second edition describes many new features of PROC LOGISTIC, including conditional logistic regression, exact logistic regression, generalized logit models, ROC curves, the ODDSRATIO statement (for analyzing interactions), and the EFFECTPLOT statement (for graphing nonlinear effects). Also new is coverage of PROC SURVEYLOGISTIC (for complex samples), PROC GLIMMIX (for generalized linear mixed models), PROC QLIM (for selection models and heterogeneous logit models), and PROC MDC (for advanced discrete choice models). This book is part of the SAS Press program.

While many think of algorithms as specific to computer science, at its core algorithmic thinking is defined by the use of analytical logic to solve problems. This logic extends far beyond the realm of computer science and into the wide and entertaining world of puzzles. In Algorithmic Puzzles, Anany and Maria Levitin use many classic brainteasers as well as newer examples from job interviews with major corporations to show readers how to apply analytical thinking to solve puzzles requiring well-defined procedures. The books unique collection of puzzles is supplemented with carefully developed tutorials on algorithm design strategies and analysis techniques intended to walk the reader step-by-step through the various approaches to algorithmic problem solving. Mastery of these strategies--exhaustive search, backtracking, and divide-and-conquer, among others--will aid the reader in solving not only the puzzles contained in this book, but also others encountered in interviews, puzzle collections, and throughout everyday life. Each of the 150 puzzles contains hints and solutions, along with commentary on the puzzles origins and solution methods. The only book of its kind, Algorithmic Puzzles houses puzzles for all skill levels. Readers with only middle school mathematics will develop their algorithmic problem-solving skills through puzzles at the elementary level, while seasoned puzzle solvers will enjoy the challenge of thinking through more difficult puzzles.

JSL Companion: Applications of the JMP Scripting Language provides novice scripters with a resource that helps them go beyond the basics of the JMP Scripting Language (JSL) and serves as a companion to writing applications. Taking a task-oriented approach rather than focusing on showing the syntax, the authors help users with much more than the basic task of capturing a script. The book starts with an introduction that is suitable for someone who is just beginning to learn JSL. It quickly moves to importing and saving data, working with variables, modifying data tables, and working with JMP data structures (lists, matrices, and associative arrays). Later chapters deal with JMP output, communicating with users, and customizing displays. The last two chapters cover writing flexible code and include several tips that help solve problems with which novice users often struggle. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

Doing Bayesian Data Analysis: A Tutorial with R, JAGS, and Stan, Second Edition provides an accessible approach for conducting Bayesian data analysis, as material is explained clearly with concrete examples. Included are step-by-step instructions on how to carry out Bayesian data analyses in the popular and free software R and WinBugs, as well as new programs in JAGS and Stan. The new programs are designed to be much easier to use than the scripts in the first edition. In particular, there are now compact high-level scripts that make it easy to run the programs on your own data sets.

The book is divided into three parts and begins with the basics: models, probability, Bayes’ rule, and the R programming language. The discussion then moves to the fundamentals applied to inferring a binomial probability, before concluding with chapters on the generalized linear model. Topics include metric-predicted variable on one or two groups; metric-predicted variable with one metric predictor; metric-predicted variable with multiple metric predictors; metric-predicted variable with one nominal predictor; and metric-predicted variable with multiple nominal predictors. The exercises found in the text have explicit purposes and guidelines for accomplishment.

This book is intended for first-year graduate students or advanced undergraduates in statistics, data analysis, psychology, cognitive science, social sciences, clinical sciences, and consumer sciences in business.

Accessible, including the basics of essential concepts of probability and random samplingExamples with R programming language and JAGS softwareComprehensive coverage of all scenarios addressed by non-Bayesian textbooks: t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and comparisons in ANOVA, multiple regression, and chi-square (contingency table analysis)Coverage of experiment planningR and JAGS computer programming code on websiteExercises have explicit purposes and guidelines for accomplishment

Provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct Bayesian data analyses in the popular and free software R and WinBugs

Most questions in social and biomedical sciences are causal in nature: what would happen to individuals, or to groups, if part of their environment were changed? In this groundbreaking text, two world-renowned experts present statistical methods for studying such questions. This book starts with the notion of potential outcomes, each corresponding to the outcome that would be realized if a subject were exposed to a particular treatment or regime. In this approach, causal effects are comparisons of such potential outcomes. The fundamental problem of causal inference is that we can only observe one of the potential outcomes for a particular subject. The authors discuss how randomized experiments allow us to assess causal effects and then turn to observational studies. They lay out the assumptions needed for causal inference and describe the leading analysis methods, including matching, propensity-score methods, and instrumental variables. Many detailed applications are included, with special focus on practical aspects for the empirical researcher.

With its flexible capabilities and open-source platform, R has become a major tool for analyzing detailed, high-quality baseball data. Analyzing Baseball Data with R provides an introduction to R for sabermetricians, baseball enthusiasts, and students interested in exploring the rich sources of baseball data. It equips readers with the necessary skills and software tools to perform all of the analysis steps, from gathering the datasets and entering them in a convenient format to visualizing the data via graphs to performing a statistical analysis.

The authors first present an overview of publicly available baseball datasets and a gentle introduction to the type of data structures and exploratory and data management capabilities of R. They also cover the traditional graphics functions in the base package and introduce more sophisticated graphical displays available through the lattice and ggplot2 packages. Much of the book illustrates the use of R through popular sabermetrics topics, including the Pythagorean formula, runs expectancy, career trajectories, simulation of games and seasons, patterns of streaky behavior of players, and fielding measures. Each chapter contains exercises that encourage readers to perform their own analyses using R. All of the datasets and R code used in the text are available online.

This book helps readers answer questions about baseball teams, players, and strategy using large, publically available datasets. It offers detailed instructions on downloading the datasets and putting them into formats that simplify data exploration and analysis. Through the book’s various examples, readers will learn about modern sabermetrics and be able to conduct their own baseball analyses.

Are you aware of how design of experiments can positively effect your work? Have you been avoiding DOE due to its mathematical structure? Now there is a tool that explains the basics of DOE with little mathematical know-how while maintaining statistical correctness. By minimizing DOE's mathematics in favor of a logical, structured approach, the author demonstrates that nearly anyone can adapt DOE to their needs. You'll find yourself working through the book in a step-by-step manner allowing you to immediately apply what you've learned to your own situation. Each procedure is illustrated by an example. Case studies and exercises guide you through the book to help you evaluate your understanding before moving ahead to another section. a glossary of common DOE terms is also included making this one of the most thorough, basic, introductions to this useful tool.

Many of the concepts and terminology surrounding modern causal inference can be quite intimidating to the novice. Judea Pearl presents a book ideal for beginners in statistics, providing a comprehensive introduction to the field of causality.  Examples from classical statistics are presented throughout to demonstrate the need for causality in resolving decision-making dilemmas posed by data. Causal methods are also compared to traditional statistical methods, whilst questions are provided at the end of each section to aid student learning.

1,001 practice opportunities to score higher in statistics

1,001 Statistics Practice Problems For Dummies takes you beyond the instruction and guidance offered in Statistics For Dummies to give you a more hands-on understanding of statistics. The practice problems offered range in difficulty, including detailed explanations and walk-throughs.

In this series, every step of every solution is shown with explanations and detailed narratives to help you solve each problem. With the book purchase, you’ll also get access to practice statistics problems online. This content features 1,001 practice problems presented in multiple choice format; on-the-go access from smart phones, computers, and tablets; customizable practice sets for self-directed study; practice problems categorized as easy, medium, or hard; and a one-year subscription with book purchase.

Offers on-the-go access to practice statistics problems Gives you friendly, hands-on instruction 1,001 statistics practice problems that range in difficulty

1,001 Statistics Practice Problems For Dummies provides ample practice opportunities for students who may have taken statistics in high school and want to review the most important concepts as they gear up for a faster-paced college class.

Need to learn statistics for your job? Want help passing a statistics course? Statistics in a Nutshell is a clear and concise introduction and reference for anyone new to the subject. Thoroughly revised and expanded, this edition helps you gain a solid understanding of statistics without the numbing complexity of many college texts.

Each chapter presents easy-to-follow descriptions, along with graphics, formulas, solved examples, and hands-on exercises. If you want to perform common statistical analyses and learn a wide range of techniques without getting in over your head, this is your book.

Learn basic concepts of measurement and probability theory, data management, and research designDiscover basic statistical procedures, including correlation, the t-test, the chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests, and techniques for analyzing nonparametric dataLearn advanced techniques based on the general linear model, including ANOVA, ANCOVA, multiple linear regression, and logistic regressionUse and interpret statistics for business and quality improvement, medical and public health, and education and psychologyCommunicate with statistics and critique statistical information presented by others

What gives statistics its unity as a science? Stephen Stigler sets forth the seven foundational ideas of statistics—a scientific discipline related to but distinct from mathematics and computer science and one which often seems counterintuitive. His original account will fascinate the interested layperson and engage the professional statistician.

During the past decade there has been an explosion in computation and information technology. With it have come vast amounts of data in a variety of fields such as medicine, biology, finance, and marketing. The challenge of understanding these data has led to the development of new tools in the field of statistics, and spawned new areas such as data mining, machine learning, and bioinformatics. Many of these tools have common underpinnings but are often expressed with different terminology. This book describes the important ideas in these areas in a common conceptual framework. While the approach is statistical, the emphasis is on concepts rather than mathematics. Many examples are given, with a liberal use of color graphics. It is a valuable resource for statisticians and anyone interested in data mining in science or industry. The book's coverage is broad, from supervised learning (prediction) to unsupervised learning. The many topics include neural networks, support vector machines, classification trees and boosting---the first comprehensive treatment of this topic in any book.

This major new edition features many topics not covered in the original, including graphical models, random forests, ensemble methods, least angle regression & path algorithms for the lasso, non-negative matrix factorization, and spectral clustering. There is also a chapter on methods for ``wide'' data (p bigger than n), including multiple testing and false discovery rates.

Trevor Hastie, Robert Tibshirani, and Jerome Friedman are professors of statistics at Stanford University. They are prominent researchers in this area: Hastie and Tibshirani developed generalized additive models and wrote a popular book of that title. Hastie co-developed much of the statistical modeling software and environment in R/S-PLUS and invented principal curves and surfaces. Tibshirani proposed the lasso and is co-author of the very successful An Introduction to the Bootstrap. Friedman is the co-inventor of many data-mining tools including CART, MARS, projection pursuit and gradient boosting.

Statistics is a class that is required in many college majors, and it's an increasingly popular Advanced Placement high school course. In addition to math and technical students, many business and liberal arts students are required to take it as a fundamental component of their majors. A knowledge of statistical interpretation is vital for many careers. Idiot's Guides: Statistics explains the fundamental tenets in language anyone can understand. Content includes:
- Calculating descriptive statistics
- Measures of central tendency: mean, median, and mode
- Probability
- Variance analysis
- Inferential statistics
- Hypothesis testing
- Organizing data into statistical charts and tables

This book provides a broad, mature, and systematic introduction to current financial econometric models and their applications to modeling and prediction of financial time series data. It utilizes real-world examples and real financial data throughout the book to apply the models and methods described.

The author begins with basic characteristics of financial time series data before covering three main topics:

Analysis and application of univariate financial time series The return series of multiple assets Bayesian inference in finance methods

Key features of the new edition include additional coverage of modern day topics such as arbitrage, pair trading, realized volatility, and credit risk modeling; a smooth transition from S-Plus to R; and expanded empirical financial data sets.

The overall objective of the book is to provide some knowledge of financial time series, introduce some statistical tools useful for analyzing these series and gain experience in financial applications of various econometric methods.

Praise for the First Edition

". . . [this book] should be on the shelf of everyone interested in . . . longitudinal data analysis."
—Journal of the American Statistical Association

Features newly developed topics and applications of the analysis of longitudinal data

Applied Longitudinal Analysis, Second Edition presents modern methods for analyzing data from longitudinal studies and now features the latest state-of-the-art techniques. The book emphasizes practical, rather than theoretical, aspects of methods for the analysis of diverse types of longitudinal data that can be applied across various fields of study, from the health and medical sciences to the social and behavioral sciences.

The authors incorporate their extensive academic and research experience along with various updates that have been made in response to reader feedback. The Second Edition features six newly added chapters that explore topics currently evolving in the field, including:

Fixed effects and mixed effects models Marginal models and generalized estimating equations Approximate methods for generalized linear mixed effects models Multiple imputation and inverse probability weighted methods Smoothing methods for longitudinal data Sample size and power

Each chapter presents methods in the setting of applications to data sets drawn from the health sciences. New problem sets have been added to many chapters, and a related website features sample programs and computer output using SAS, Stata, and R, as well as data sets and supplemental slides to facilitate a complete understanding of the material.

With its strong emphasis on multidisciplinary applications and the interpretation of results, Applied Longitudinal Analysis, Second Edition is an excellent book for courses on statistics in the health and medical sciences at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book also serves as a valuable reference for researchers and professionals in the medical, public health, and pharmaceutical fields as well as those in social and behavioral sciences who would like to learn more about analyzing longitudinal data.

Early in his rise to enlightenment, man invented a concept that has since been variously viewed as a vice, a crime, a business, a pleasure, a type of magic, a disease, a folly, a weakness, a form of sexual substitution, an expression of the human instinct. He invented gambling.

Recent advances in the field, particularly Parrondo's paradox, have triggered a surge of interest in the statistical and mathematical theory behind gambling. This interest was acknowledge in the motion picture, "21," inspired by the true story of the MIT students who mastered the art of card counting to reap millions from the Vegas casinos. Richard Epstein's classic book on gambling and its mathematical analysis covers the full range of games from penny matching to blackjack, from Tic-Tac-Toe to the stock market (including Edward Thorp's warrant-hedging analysis). He even considers whether statistical inference can shed light on the study of paranormal phenomena. Epstein is witty and insightful, a pleasure to dip into and read and rewarding to study. The book is written at a fairly sophisticated mathematical level; this is not "Gambling for Dummies" or "How To Beat The Odds Without Really Trying." A background in upper-level undergraduate mathematics is helpful for understanding this work.

o Comprehensive and exciting analysis of all major casino games and variants o Covers a wide range of interesting topics not covered in other books on the subject o Depth and breadth of its material is unique compared to other books of this nature

Richard Epstein's website: www.gamblingtheory.net

Making advanced stats simple, practical, and fun for hockey fans

Advanced stats give hockeyÍs powerbrokers an edge, and now fans can get in on the action. Stat Shot is a fun and informative guide hockey fans can use to understand and enjoy what analytics says about team building, a playerÍs junior numbers, measuring faceoff success, recording save percentage, the most one-sided trades in history, and everything you ever wanted to know about shot-based metrics. Acting as an invaluable supplement to traditional analysis, Stat Shot can be used to test the validity of conventional wisdom, and to gain insight into what teams are doing behind the scenes „ or maybe what they should be doing.

Whether looking for a reference for leading-edge research and hard-to-find statistical data, or for passionate and engaging storytelling, Stat Shot belongs on every serious hockey fanÍs bookshelf.

Change is constant in everyday life. Infants crawl and then walk, children learn to read and write, teenagers mature in myriad ways, the elderly become frail and forgetful. Beyond these natural processes and events, external forces and interventions instigate and disrupt change: test scores may rise after a coaching course, drug abusers may remain abstinent after residential treatment. By charting changes over time and investigating whether and when events occur, researchers reveal the temporal rhythms of our lives. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis is a much-needed professional book for empirical researchers and graduate students in the behavioral, social, and biomedical sciences. It offers the first accessible in-depth presentation of two of today's most popular statistical methods: multilevel models for individual change and hazard/survival models for event occurrence (in both discrete- and continuous-time). Using clear, concise prose and real data sets from published studies, the authors take you step by step through complete analyses, from simple exploratory displays that reveal underlying patterns through sophisticated specifications of complex statistical models. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis offers readers a private consultation session with internationally recognized experts and represents a unique contribution to the literature on quantitative empirical methods. Visit http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/examples/alda.htm for:
· Downloadable data sets
· Library of computer programs in SAS, SPSS, Stata, HLM, MLwiN, and more
· Additional material for data analysis

While many think of algorithms as specific to computer science, at its core algorithmic thinking is defined by the use of analytical logic to solve problems. This logic extends far beyond the realm of computer science and into the wide and entertaining world of puzzles. In Algorithmic Puzzles, Anany and Maria Levitin use many classic brainteasers as well as newer examples from job interviews with major corporations to show readers how to apply analytical thinking to solve puzzles requiring well-defined procedures. The books unique collection of puzzles is supplemented with carefully developed tutorials on algorithm design strategies and analysis techniques intended to walk the reader step-by-step through the various approaches to algorithmic problem solving. Mastery of these strategies--exhaustive search, backtracking, and divide-and-conquer, among others--will aid the reader in solving not only the puzzles contained in this book, but also others encountered in interviews, puzzle collections, and throughout everyday life. Each of the 150 puzzles contains hints and solutions, along with commentary on the puzzles origins and solution methods. The only book of its kind, Algorithmic Puzzles houses puzzles for all skill levels. Readers with only middle school mathematics will develop their algorithmic problem-solving skills through puzzles at the elementary level, while seasoned puzzle solvers will enjoy the challenge of thinking through more difficult puzzles.

Discover what you can do with R! Introducing the R system, covering standard regression methods, then tackling more advanced topics, this book guides users through the practical, powerful tools that the R system provides. The emphasis is on hands-on analysis, graphical display, and interpretation of data. The many worked examples, from real-world research, are accompanied by commentary on what is done and why. The companion website has code and datasets, allowing readers to reproduce all analyses, along with solutions to selected exercises and updates. Assuming basic statistical knowledge and some experience with data analysis (but not R), the book is ideal for research scientists, final-year undergraduate or graduate-level students of applied statistics, and practising statisticians. It is both for learning and for reference. This third edition expands upon topics such as Bayesian inference for regression, errors in variables, generalized linear mixed models, and random forests.

In The Improbability Principle, the renowned statistician David J. Hand argues that extraordinarily rare events are anything but. In fact, they're commonplace. Not only that, we should all expect to experience a miracle roughly once every month.
But Hand is no believer in superstitions, prophecies, or the paranormal. His definition of "miracle" is thoroughly rational. No mystical or supernatural explanation is necessary to understand why someone is lucky enough to win the lottery twice, or is destined to be hit by lightning three times and still survive. All we need, Hand argues, is a firm grounding in a powerful set of laws: the laws of inevitability, of truly large numbers, of selection, of the probability lever, and of near enough.
Together, these constitute Hand's groundbreaking Improbability Principle. And together, they explain why we should not be so surprised to bump into a friend in a foreign country, or to come across the same unfamiliar word four times in one day. Hand wrestles with seemingly less explicable questions as well: what the Bible and Shakespeare have in common, why financial crashes are par for the course, and why lightning does strike the same place (and the same person) twice. Along the way, he teaches us how to use the Improbability Principle in our own lives—including how to cash in at a casino and how to recognize when a medicine is truly effective.
An irresistible adventure into the laws behind "chance" moments and a trusty guide for understanding the world and universe we live in, The Improbability Principle will transform how you think about serendipity and luck, whether it's in the world of business and finance or you're merely sitting in your backyard, tossing a ball into the air and wondering where it will land.

We live in a new age for statistical inference, where modern scientific technology such as microarrays and fMRI machines routinely produce thousands and sometimes millions of parallel data sets, each with its own estimation or testing problem. Doing thousands of problems at once is more than repeated application of classical methods. Taking an empirical Bayes approach, Bradley Efron, inventor of the bootstrap, shows how information accrues across problems in a way that combines Bayesian and frequentist ideas. Estimation, testing and prediction blend in this framework, producing opportunities for new methodologies of increased power. New difficulties also arise, easily leading to flawed inferences. This book takes a careful look at both the promise and pitfalls of large-scale statistical inference, with particular attention to false discovery rates, the most successful of the new statistical techniques. Emphasis is on the inferential ideas underlying technical developments, illustrated using a large number of real examples.

Hash objects, an efficient look-up tool in the SAS DATA step, are object-oriented programming structures that function differently from traditional SAS language statements. Michele Burlew's SAS Hash Object Programming Made Easy shows readers how to use these powerful features, which they can program to quickly look up and manage data and to conserve computing resources. SAS provides various look-up techniques, and hash objects are among the newest, so therefore many users may not have yet used them. Because the examples presented vary in complexity, SAS Hash Object Programming Made Easy is useful to SAS users of all experience levels, from novice programmer to advanced programmer. Novice programmers can adapt some of the simpler hash programming techniques as they develop their SAS programming skills. This book helps more experienced programmers learn how to take advantage of hash object programming by comparing traditional processing techniques to those that use hash objects. Additionally, users from diverse fields with different requirements can adapt the examples in SAS Hash Object Programming Made Easy to fit their unique situations. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

Developed from celebrated Harvard statistics lectures, Introduction to Probability provides essential language and tools for understanding statistics, randomness, and uncertainty. The book explores a wide variety of applications and examples, ranging from coincidences and paradoxes to Google PageRank and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). Additional application areas explored include genetics, medicine, computer science, and information theory. The print book version includes a code that provides free access to an eBook version.

The authors present the material in an accessible style and motivate concepts using real-world examples. Throughout, they use stories to uncover connections between the fundamental distributions in statistics and conditioning to reduce complicated problems to manageable pieces.

The book includes many intuitive explanations, diagrams, and practice problems. Each chapter ends with a section showing how to perform relevant simulations and calculations in R, a free statistical software environment.

Learn how to use R to turn raw data into insight, knowledge, and understanding. This book introduces you to R, RStudio, and the tidyverse, a collection of R packages designed to work together to make data science fast, fluent, and fun. Suitable for readers with no previous programming experience, R for Data Science is designed to get you doing data science as quickly as possible.

Authors Hadley Wickham and Garrett Grolemund guide you through the steps of importing, wrangling, exploring, and modeling your data and communicating the results. You’ll get a complete, big-picture understanding of the data science cycle, along with basic tools you need to manage the details. Each section of the book is paired with exercises to help you practice what you’ve learned along the way.

You’ll learn how to:

Wrangle—transform your datasets into a form convenient for analysisProgram—learn powerful R tools for solving data problems with greater clarity and easeExplore—examine your data, generate hypotheses, and quickly test themModel—provide a low-dimensional summary that captures true "signals" in your datasetCommunicate—learn R Markdown for integrating prose, code, and results

Help your organization determine the value of its customer relationships with Segmentation and Lifetime Value Models Using SAS. This book contains a wealth of information that will help you perform analyses to identify your customers and make informed marketing investments. It answers core questions on customer relationship management (CRM), provides an overall framework for thinking about CRM, and offers real-world examples across a variety of industries. Edward C. Malthouse introduces you to a number of useful models, ranging from simple to more complicated examples, and discusses their applications. You'll learn about segmentation models for identifying groups of customers and about lifetime value models for estimating the future value of the segments. You'll learn how to prepare data and estimate models using Base SAS, SAS/STAT, SAS/IML, and SQL. Marketing analysts, CRM analysts, database managers, and anyone looking to address the challenges of allocating marketing resources to different customer groups will benefit from the concepts and exercises in this book. Analysts will learn how to approach unique business problems. Managers will gain a sense of what's possible and what to ask of their analytics departments. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

For Honours, Post Graduate and M.Phil Students of All Indian Universities, Engineering Students and Various Competitive Examinations

Business intelligence (BI) software provides an interface for multiple audiences to dissect, discover, and decide what the data means. These reporting tools make dynamic information available to all users, giving everyone the ability to manipulate results and further understand the business. There is significant power in reducing the data gatekeeper role in your organization so that each person can quickly interact with data and uncover additional value. SAS offers a BI solution that provides mechanisms to reach every level of the organization. Each tool in this solution provides a different amount of complexity and functionality to aid a broad deployment. Building Business Intelligence Using SAS: Content Development Examples, by Tricia Aanderud and Angela Hall, clarifies how you can fully leverage each SAS BI solution component to ensure a successful implementation. Focusing on the SAS BI Clients, the authors provide a quick-start guide loaded with examples and tips that will help users move quickly from using only one of the SAS BI Clients to using a significant portion of the system. So if you are a SAS BI or SAS Enterprise BI user, but you aren't yet using all the components of the solution, this book is the resource that you need. In addition, the tips and techniques provided in this book will prove invaluable for advanced SAS BI and SAS Enterprise BI users who are studying for SAS Certified BI Content Developer certification. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

This tutorial for data analysts new to SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Enterprise Miner provides valuable experience using powerful statistical software to complete the kinds of business analytics common to most industries. Today’s businesses increasingly use data to drive decisions that keep them competitive. Especially with the influx of big data, the importance of data analysis to improve every dimension of business cannot be overstated. Data analysts are therefore in demand; however, many hires and prospective hires, although talented with respect to business and statistics, lack the know-how to perform business analytics with advanced statistical software. Business Analytics Using SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Enterprise Miner is a beginner’s guide with clear, illustrated, step-by-step instructions that will lead you through examples based on business case studies. You will formulate the business objective, manage the data, and perform analyses that you can use to optimize marketing, risk, and customer relationship management, as well as business processes and human resources. Topics include descriptive analysis, predictive modeling and analytics, customer segmentation, market analysis, share-of-wallet analysis, penetration analysis, and business intelligence. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

Mathematics and Climate is a timely textbook aimed at students and researchers in mathematics and statistics who are interested in current issues of climate science, as well as at climate scientists who wish to become familiar with qualitative and quantitative methods of mathematics and statistics. The authors emphasize conceptual models that capture important aspects of Earth's climate system and present the mathematical and statistical techniques that can be applied to their analysis. Topics from climate science include the Earth’s energy balance, temperature distribution, ocean circulation patterns such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation, ice caps and glaciation periods, the carbon cycle, and the biological pump. Among the mathematical and statistical techniques presented in the text are dynamical systems and bifurcation theory, Fourier analysis, conservation laws, regression analysis, and extreme value theory. The following features make Mathematics and Climate a valuable teaching resource: issues of current interest in climate science and sustainability are used to introduce the student to the methods of mathematics and statistics; the mathematical sophistication increases as the book progresses and topics can thus be selected according to interest and level of knowledge; each chapter ends with a set of exercises that reinforce or enhance the material presented in the chapter and stimulate critical thinking and communication skills; and the book contains an extensive list of references to the literature, a glossary of terms for the nontechnical reader, and a detailed index.

Annotation Based on real-world applications, Analyzing and Interpreting Continuous Data Using JMP: A Step-by-Step Guide, written by Jose Ramirez and Brenda Ramirez, combines statistical instructions with a powerful and popular software platform to solve common problems in engineering and science. In the many case studies provided, the authors clearly set up the problem, explain how the data were collected, show the analysis using JMP, interpret the output in a user-friendly way, and then draw conclusions and make recommendations. This step-by-step format enables users new to statistics or JMP to learn as they go, but the book will also be helpful to those with some familiarity with statistics and JMP.

The standard rules of probability can be interpreted as uniquely valid principles in logic. In this book, E. T. Jaynes dispels the imaginary distinction between 'probability theory' and 'statistical inference', leaving a logical unity and simplicity, which provides greater technical power and flexibility in applications. This book goes beyond the conventional mathematics of probability theory, viewing the subject in a wider context. New results are discussed, along with applications of probability theory to a wide variety of problems in physics, mathematics, economics, chemistry and biology. It contains many exercises and problems, and is suitable for use as a textbook on graduate level courses involving data analysis. The material is aimed at readers who are already familiar with applied mathematics at an advanced undergraduate level or higher. The book will be of interest to scientists working in any area where inference from incomplete information is necessary.

The analysis of integrated and co-integrated time series can be considered as the main methodology employed in applied econometrics. This book not only introduces the reader to this topic but enables him to conduct the various unit root tests and co-integration methods on his own by utilizing the free statistical programming environment R. The book encompasses seasonal unit roots, fractional integration, coping with structural breaks, and multivariate time series models. The book is enriched by numerous programming examples to artificial and real data so that it is ideally suited as an accompanying text book to computer lab classes.

The second edition adds a discussion of vector auto-regressive, structural vector auto-regressive, and structural vector error-correction models. To analyze the interactions between the investigated variables, further impulse response function and forecast error variance decompositions are introduced as well as forecasting. The author explains how these model types relate to each other.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become the most popular method for imaging brain function. Handbook of Functional MRI Data Analysis provides a comprehensive and practical introduction to the methods used for fMRI data analysis. Using minimal jargon, this book explains the concepts behind processing fMRI data, focusing on the techniques that are most commonly used in the field. This book provides background about the methods employed by common data analysis packages including FSL, SPM and AFNI. Some of the newest cutting-edge techniques, including pattern classification analysis, connectivity modeling and resting state network analysis, are also discussed. Readers of this book, whether newcomers to the field or experienced researchers, will obtain a deep and effective knowledge of how to employ fMRI analysis to ask scientific questions and become more sophisticated users of fMRI analysis software.

The Wiley Classics Library consists of selected books that have become recognized classics in their respective fields. With these new unabridged and inexpensive editions, Wiley hopes to extend the life of these important works by making them available to future generations of mathematicians and scientists.

Rcpp is the glue that binds the power and versatility of R with the speed and efficiency of C++. With Rcpp, the transfer of data between R and C++ is nearly seamless, and high-performance statistical computing is finally accessible to most R users. Rcpp should be part of every statistician's toolbox. -- Michael Braun, MIT Sloan School of Management

"Seamless R and C++ integration with Rcpp" is simply a wonderful book. For anyone who uses C/C++ and R, it is an indispensable resource. The writing is outstanding. A huge bonus is the section on applications. This section covers the matrix packages Armadillo and Eigen and the GNU Scientific Library as well as RInside which enables you to use R inside C++. These applications are what most of us need to know to really do scientific programming with R and C++. I love this book. -- Robert McCulloch, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Rcpp is now considered an essential package for anybody doing serious computational research using R. Dirk's book is an excellent companion and takes the reader from a gentle introduction to more advanced applications via numerous examples and efficiency enhancing gems. The book is packed with all you might have ever wanted to know about Rcpp, its cousins (RcppArmadillo, RcppEigen .etc.), modules, package development and sugar. Overall, this book is a must-have on your shelf. -- Sanjog Misra, UCLA Anderson School of Management

The Rcpp package represents a major leap forward for scientific computations with R. With very few lines of C++ code, one has R's data structures readily at hand for further computations in C++. Hence, high-level numerical programming can be made in C++ almost as easily as in R, but often with a substantial speed gain. Dirk is a crucial person in these developments, and his book takes the reader from the first fragile steps on to using the full Rcpp machinery. A very recommended book! -- Søren Højsgaard, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Aalborg University, Denmark

"Seamless R and C ++ Integration with Rcpp" provides the first comprehensive introduction to Rcpp. Rcpp has become the most widely-used language extension for R, and is deployed by over one-hundred different CRAN and BioConductor packages. Rcpp permits users to pass scalars, vectors, matrices, list or entire R objects back and forth between R and C++ with ease. This brings the depth of the R analysis framework together with the power, speed, and efficiency of C++.

Dirk Eddelbuettel has been a contributor to CRAN for over a decade and maintains around twenty packages. He is the Debian/Ubuntu maintainer for R and other quantitative software, edits the CRAN Task Views for Finance and High-Performance Computing, is a co-founder of the annual R/Finance conference, and an editor of the Journal of Statistical Software. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Economics from EHESS (Paris), and works in Chicago as a Senior Quantitative Analyst.

This lively and engaging book explains the things you have to know in order to read empirical papers in the social and health sciences, as well as the techniques you need to build statistical models of your own. The discussion in the book is organized around published studies, as are many of the exercises. Relevant journal articles are reprinted at the back of the book. Freedman makes a thorough appraisal of the statistical methods in these papers and in a variety of other examples. He illustrates the principles of modelling, and the pitfalls. The discussion shows you how to think about the critical issues - including the connection (or lack of it) between the statistical models and the real phenomena. The book is written for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in statistics, as well as students and professionals in the social and health sciences.

Thoroughly updated for SAS 9, this second edition
addresses tasks that nearly every SAS programmer needs to do - that is, make
sure that data errors are located and corrected. This book develops and
demonstrates data cleaning programs and macros that you can use as written or
modify for your own special data cleaning needs.

Praise for the Third Edition

"It is, as far as I'm concerned, among the best books in math ever written....if you are a mathematician and want to have the top reference in probability, this is it." (Amazon.com, January 2006)

A complete and comprehensive classic in probability and measure theory

Probability and Measure, Anniversary Edition by Patrick Billingsley celebrates the achievements and advancements that have made this book a classic in its field for the past 35 years. Now re-issued in a new style and format, but with the reliable content that the third edition was revered for, this Anniversary Edition builds on its strong foundation of measure theory and probability with Billingsley's unique writing style. In recognition of 35 years of publication, impacting tens of thousands of readers, this Anniversary Edition has been completely redesigned in a new, open and user-friendly way in order to appeal to university-level students.

This book adds a new foreward by Steve Lally of the Statistics Department at The University of Chicago in order to underscore the many years of successful publication and world-wide popularity and emphasize the educational value of this book. The Anniversary Edition contains features including:

An improved treatment of Brownian motion Replacement of queuing theory with ergodic theory Theory and applications used to illustrate real-life situations Over 300 problems with corresponding, intensive notes and solutions Updated bibliography An extensive supplement of additional notes on the problems and chapter commentaries

Patrick Billingsley was a first-class, world-renowned authority in probability and measure theory at a leading U.S. institution of higher education. He continued to be an influential probability theorist until his unfortunate death in 2011. Billingsley earned his Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy where he served as an officer. he went on to receive his Master's Degree and doctorate in Mathematics from Princeton University.Among his many professional awards was the Mathematical Association of America's Lester R. Ford Award for mathematical exposition. His achievements through his long and esteemed career have solidified Patrick Billingsley's place as a leading authority in the field and been a large reason for his books being regarded as classics.

This Anniversary Edition of Probability and Measure offers advanced students, scientists, and engineers an integrated introduction to measure theory and probability. Like the previous editions, this Anniversary Edition is a key resource for students of mathematics, statistics, economics, and a wide variety of disciplines that require a solid understanding of probability theory.

This book provides an introduction and application of statistics to business analytic problems.

Dig deep into the data with a hands-on guide to machine learning

Machine Learning: Hands-On for Developers and Technical Professionals provides hands-on instruction and fully-coded working examples for the most common machine learning techniques used by developers and technical professionals. The book contains a breakdown of each ML variant, explaining how it works and how it is used within certain industries, allowing readers to incorporate the presented techniques into their own work as they follow along. A core tenant of machine learning is a strong focus on data preparation, and a full exploration of the various types of learning algorithms illustrates how the proper tools can help any developer extract information and insights from existing data. The book includes a full complement of Instructor's Materials to facilitate use in the classroom, making this resource useful for students and as a professional reference.

At its core, machine learning is a mathematical, algorithm-based technology that forms the basis of historical data mining and modern big data science. Scientific analysis of big data requires a working knowledge of machine learning, which forms predictions based on known properties learned from training data. Machine Learning is an accessible, comprehensive guide for the non-mathematician, providing clear guidance that allows readers to:

Learn the languages of machine learning including Hadoop, Mahout, and Weka Understand decision trees, Bayesian networks, and artificial neural networks Implement Association Rule, Real Time, and Batch learning Develop a strategic plan for safe, effective, and efficient machine learning

By learning to construct a system that can learn from data, readers can increase their utility across industries. Machine learning sits at the core of deep dive data analysis and visualization, which is increasingly in demand as companies discover the goldmine hiding in their existing data. For the tech professional involved in data science, Machine Learning: Hands-On for Developers and Technical Professionals provides the skills and techniques required to dig deeper.

Introduction to Probability with Texas Hold’em Examples illustrates both standard and advanced probability topics using the popular poker game of Texas Hold’em, rather than the typical balls in urns. The author uses students’ natural interest in poker to teach important concepts in probability.

This classroom-tested book covers the main subjects of a standard undergraduate probability course, including basic probability rules, standard models for describing collections of data, and the laws of large numbers. It also discusses several more advanced topics, such as the ballot theorem, the arcsine law, and random walks, as well as some specialized poker issues, such as the quantification of luck and skill in Texas Hold’em. Homework problems are provided at the end of each chapter.

The author includes examples of actual hands of Texas Hold’em from the World Series of Poker and other major tournaments and televised games. He also explains how to use R to simulate Texas Hold’em tournaments for student projects. R functions for running the tournaments are freely available from CRAN (in a package called holdem).

See Professor Schoenberg discuss the book.

An insightful, hands-on focus on the statistical methods used by compensation and human resources professionals in their everyday work

Across various industries, compensation professionals work to organize and analyze aspects of employment that deal with elements of pay, such as deciding base salary, bonus, and commission provided by an employer to its employees for work performed. Acknowledging the numerous quantitative analyses of data that are a part of this everyday work, Statistics for Compensation provides a comprehensive guide to the key statistical tools and techniques needed to perform those analyses and to help organizations make fully informed compensation decisions.

This self-contained book is the first of its kind to explore the use of various quantitative methods—from basic notions about percents to multiple linear regression—that are used in the management, design, and implementation of powerful compensation strategies. Drawing upon his extensive experience as a consultant, practitioner, and teacher of both statistics and compensation, the author focuses on the usefulness of the techniques and their immediate application to everyday compensation work, thoroughly explaining major areas such as:

Frequency distributions and histograms

Measures of location and variability

Model building

Linear models

Exponential curve models

Maturity curve models

Power models

Market models and salary survey analysis

Linear and exponential integrated market models

Job pricing market models

Throughout the book, rigorous definitions and step-by-step procedures clearly explain and demonstrate how to apply the presented statistical techniques. Each chapter concludes with a set of exercises, and various case studies showcase the topic's real-world relevance. The book also features an extensive glossary of key statistical terms and an appendix with technical details. Data for the examples and practice problems are available in the book and on a related FTP site.

Statistics for Compensation is an excellent reference for compensation professionals, human resources professionals, and other practitioners responsible for any aspect of base pay, incentive pay, sales compensation, and executive compensation in their organizations. It can also serve as a supplement for compensation courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels.

Since their popularization in the 1990s, Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods have revolutionized statistical computing and have had an especially profound impact on the practice of Bayesian statistics. Furthermore, MCMC methods have enabled the development and use of intricate models in an astonishing array of disciplines as diverse as fisheries science and economics. The wide-ranging practical importance of MCMC has sparked an expansive and deep investigation into fundamental Markov chain theory.

The Handbook of Markov Chain Monte Carlo provides a reference for the broad audience of developers and users of MCMC methodology interested in keeping up with cutting-edge theory and applications. The first half of the book covers MCMC foundations, methodology, and algorithms. The second half considers the use of MCMC in a variety of practical applications including in educational research, astrophysics, brain imaging, ecology, and sociology.

The in-depth introductory section of the book allows graduate students and practicing scientists new to MCMC to become thoroughly acquainted with the basic theory, algorithms, and applications. The book supplies detailed examples and case studies of realistic scientific problems presenting the diversity of methods used by the wide-ranging MCMC community. Those familiar with MCMC methods will find this book a useful refresher of current theory and recent developments.

Praise for the Fourth Edition:

"This book is . . . an excellent source of examples for regression analysis. It has been and still is readily readable and understandable."

—Journal of the American Statistical Association Regression analysis is a conceptually simple method for investigating relationships among variables. Carrying out a successful application of regression analysis, however, requires a balance of theoretical results, empirical rules, and subjective judgment. Regression Analysis by Example, Fifth Edition has been expanded and thoroughly updated to reflect recent advances in the field. The emphasis continues to be on exploratory data analysis rather than statistical theory. The book offers in-depth treatment of regression diagnostics, transformation, multicollinearity, logistic regression, and robust regression.

The book now includes a new chapter on the detection and correction of multicollinearity, while also showcasing the use of the discussed methods on newly added data sets from the fields of engineering, medicine, and business. The Fifth Edition also explores additional topics, including:

Surrogate ridge regression Fitting nonlinear models Errors in variables ANOVA for designed experiments

Methods of regression analysis are clearly demonstrated, and examples containing the types of irregularities commonly encountered in the real world are provided. Each example isolates one or two techniques and features detailed discussions, the required assumptions, and the evaluated success of each technique. Additionally, methods described throughout the book can be carried out with most of the currently available statistical software packages, such as the software package R.

Regression Analysis by Example, Fifth Edition is suitable for anyone with an understanding of elementary statistics.

This new book provides a unified, in-depth, readable introduction to the multipredictor regression methods most widely used in biostatistics: linear models for continuous outcomes, logistic models for binary outcomes, the Cox model for right-censored survival times, repeated-measures models for longitudinal and hierarchical outcomes, and generalized linear models for counts and other outcomes.

Treating these topics together takes advantage of all they have in common. The authors point out the many-shared elements in the methods they present for selecting, estimating, checking, and interpreting each of these models. They also show that these regression methods deal with confounding, mediation, and interaction of causal effects in essentially the same way.

The examples, analyzed using Stata, are drawn from the biomedical context but generalize to other areas of application. While a first course in statistics is assumed, a chapter reviewing basic statistical methods is included. Some advanced topics are covered but the presentation remains intuitive. A brief introduction to regression analysis of complex surveys and notes for further reading are provided. For many students and researchers learning to use these methods, this one book may be all they need to conduct and interpret multipredictor regression analyses.

The authors are on the faculty in the Division of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, and are authors or co-authors of more than 200 methodological as well as applied papers in the biological and biomedical sciences. The senior author, Charles E. McCulloch, is head of the Division and author of Generalized Linear Mixed Models (2003), Generalized, Linear, and Mixed Models (2000), and Variance Components (1992).

From the reviews:

"This book provides a unified introduction to the regression methods listed in the title...The methods are well illustrated by data drawn from medical studies...A real strength of this book is the careful discussion of issues common to all of the multipredictor methods covered." Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, 2005

"This book is not just for biostatisticians. It is, in fact, a very good, and relatively nonmathematical, overview of multipredictor regression models. Although the examples are biologically oriented, they are generally easy to understand and follow...I heartily recommend the book" Technometrics, February 2006

"Overall, the text provides an overview of regression methods that is particularly strong in its breadth of coverage and emphasis on insight in place of mathematical detail. As intended, this well-unified approach should appeal to students who learn conceptually and verbally." Journal of the American Statistical Association, March 2006

The increasing importance in laboratory situations of minutely precise measurements presents the chemist and physicist with numerous problems in data analysis. National Bureau of Standards statistics consultant John Mandel here draws a clear and fascinating blueprint for a systematic science of statistical analysis — geared to the particular needs of the physical scientist, with approach and examples aimed specifically at the statistical problems he is likely to confront.
The first third of The Statistical Analysis of Experimental Data comprises a thorough grounding in the fundamental mathematical definitions, concepts, and facts underlying modern statistical theory — math knowledge beyond basic algebra, calculus, and analytic geometry is not required. Remaining chapters deal with statistics as an interpretative tool that can enable the laboratory researcher to determine his most effective methodology. You'll find lucid, concise coverage of over 130 topics, including elements of measurement; nature of statistical analysis; design/analysis of experiments; statistics as diagnostic tool; precision and accuracy; testing statistical models; between-within classifications; two-way classifications; sampling (principles, objectives, methods); fitting of non-linear models; measurement of processes; components of variance; nested designs; the sensitivity ratio, and much more.
Also included are many examples, each worked in step-by-step fashion; nearly 200 helpful figures and tables; and concluding chapter summaries followed by references for further study.
Mandel argues that, when backed by an understanding of its theoretic framework, statistics offers researchers "not only a powerful tool for the interpretation of experiments but also a task of real intellectual gratification." The Statistical Analysis of Experimental Data provides the physical scientist with the explanations and models he requires to impress this invaluable tool into service.

Designed as an introductory-level text, this accessible book gives a clear explanation of the fundamental principles of probability and statistics. In doing so, it uses only the minimum amount of mathematics that is necessary for understanding the concepts, so that even an average student can understand the concepts with ease. The text gives a coherent and comprehensive coverage of the fundamental principles of probability and statistics. The methods of computation of probability are presented in a concise and clear manner with the help of the concepts of probability distribution and integral calculus. The text provides a large number of solved examples to illustrate the principles. Graphical illustrations are provided in many of these solved examples to elucidate the principles discussed. These are augmented with exercises at the end of each section to gauge the understanding of the subject. The book is intended to serve as a text for undergraduate students of engineering, mathematics and statistics, as well as postgraduate students of computer applications. It can also be immensely useful for students from any other discipline who wish to acquire a basic understanding of probability and statistics.

There are many books that are excellent sources of knowledge about individual stastical tools (survival models, general linear models, etc.), but the art of data analysis is about choosing and using multiple tools. In the words of Chatfield "...students typically know the technical details of regressin for example, but not necessarily when and how to apply it. This argues the need for a better balance in the literature and in statistical teaching between techniques and problem solving strategies." Whether analyzing risk factors, adjusting for biases in observational studies, or developing predictive models, there are common problems that few regression texts address. For example, there are missing data in the majority of datasets one is likely to encounter (other than those used in textbooks!) but most regression texts do not include methods for dealing with such data effectively, and texts on missing data do not cover regression modeling.