Summarizing Categorical Data in Statistics
Categorical data capture qualities or characteristics about the individual, such as a person's eye color, gender, political party, or opinion on some issue [more…]
How SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Works
The developers of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) made every effort to make the software easy to use. This prevents you from making mistakes or even forgetting something. That's [more…]
Raising the Bar on Bar Graphs in Statistics
A bar graph, or bar chart, is perhaps the most common data display used by the media. Like a pie chart, a bar graph breaks categorical data down by group, showing how many are in each group. A bar graph [more…]
Statistics: More than Just Numbers
Most statisticians don't want statistics to be thought of as "just statistics." While the rest of the world views them as such, statisticians don't think of themselves as number crunchers; more often, [more…]
The Four Ways to Talk to SPSS
More than one way exists for you to command the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to do your bidding. And you don't have to choose one and stick with it — you can perform tasks using whichever [more…]
Generalizing Statistical Results to the Entire Population
Making conclusions about a much broader population than your sample actually represents is one of the biggest no-no's in statistics. This kind of problem is called [more…]
Statistics Conundrums: Dealing with Survey Nonresponders
Nonresponders are always a problem when you're calculating the results of a survey. Before you can crunch the numbers in all the surveys you get back, you have to decide what to do about the surveys you [more…]
Recognizing the Impact of Statistics in Polls
A survey is an instrument that collects data through questions and answers and is used to gather information about the opinions, behaviors, demographics, lifestyles, and other reportable characteristics [more…]
How to Determine Which Data Analysis to Use in Statistics II
Statistics II is often about data analysis, and the trick is to know when to use which analysis method. The following table helps you compare, contrast, and decide what data analysis to use and when. Use [more…]
Computer Output for Statistics II
If you’re taking Statistics II, you’re likely to face questions on computer output for multiple regression and ANOVA. Professors like to give output on exams and ask you to interpret it. Sometimes they [more…]
Statistics II For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Statistics II elaborates on Statistics I and moves into new territories, including multiple regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-square tests, nonparametric procedures, and other key topics. Knowing [more…]
SPSS Syntax Language Variable Definitions
In Syntax, you can define several different characteristics for each of your variables. Here is the full collection of possibilities among SPSS Syntax language variables: [more…]
SPSS Syntax Language Statements
A single Syntax language instruction can be very simple, or it can be complex enough to serve as an entire program. A single instruction consists of a command followed by arguments to modify or expand [more…]
SPSS Syntax Language Predefined Variables
Most of the values used in Syntax are from the variables in the data set you currently have loaded and displayed in SPSS. You simply use your variable names in your program, and SPSS knows where to go [more…]
SPSS Syntax Language Comments
You can insert descriptive text, called a comment, into your program. This text doesn't do anything except help make things clear when you read (or somebody else reads) your code. You start a comment the [more…]
SSPS Syntax Language Relational Operators
Syntax offers conditional statements that are executed only if conditions are right. Usually those conditions are determined by evaluating the contents of a variable with a logical or relational operator [more…]
SPSS Syntax Language Logical Operators
Syntax offers conditional statements that are executed only if conditions are right. Usually those conditions are determined by evaluating the contents of a variable with a logical or relational operator [more…]
SPSS For Dummies Cheat Sheet
SPSS is an application that performs statistical analysis on data. Entering and manipulating information in the application can be done by using SPSS’s proprietary language, which is known as the Syntax [more…]
Statistics Terms to Know when Using Excel 2007 Data Analysis Tools
With the data analysis tools available in Excel 2007, you can create spreadsheets that show the details of any statistic you can create a formula to find — and you can find any number. It helps to know [more…]
Tips for Statistics Test Success
Working on statistics problems (especially word problems) can be frustrating; but it doesn’t have to be! You just have to avoid the urge to jump right in and start doing calculations because the key to [more…]
Statistical Standard Scores and Standard Normal Distributions — The “Z-Table”
Statistics are handy when it comes to making predictions, but to make accurate predictions, you need to know how reliable your results are. The following Z- table shows standard scores and percentiles [more…]
Statistical T-Distribution — The “T-Table”
As a statistical tool, a t-table lists critical values for two-tailed tests. You then use these values to determine confidence values. The following t-table shows degrees of freedom for selected percentiles [more…]
Statistics Workbook For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Statistics is all about interpreting numbers, which is where Z-tables and t-tables come in handy as they help you determine distribution numbers and confidence levels. And, when it comes to statistics [more…]
Understanding Formulas for Common Statistics
After data has been collected, the first step in analyzing it is to crunch out some descriptive statistics to get a feeling for the data. For example: [more…]
Statistically Figuring Sample Size
When designing a study, the sample size is an important consideration because the larger the sample size, the more data you have, and the more precise your results will be [more…]
