How to use SPSS by Dr. Brian Cronk
Main text referred to in Speaking Statistics course. Fabulous resource showing step by step how to use SPSS with clear explanations and examples. You will be able to create databases, run and interpret results for descriptive statistics, make charts and graphs, then progress to multiple statistical analyses.
It is OK to purchase any edition for the Speaking Statistics course; even a used copy will serve you well.
Making Sense of Statistics: A Conceptual Overview by Dr. Fred Pyrczak
My absolute favorite introductory text for statistics! This would be my first choice to recommend to anyone interested in learning the basics and particularly anyone feeling lost in a traditional stats course.
This textbook is easy to understand, has self-paced learning, and is a wonderful resource to further explain concepts and terms in the Speaking Statistics course!
Suggested reading if you would like to progress further on your own
This is Dr. William Bannon's ("The Stats Whisperer") textbook. Very clear, fun to read, and progresses further into statistics. You might enjoy checking out his website thestatswhisperer.com as well
One of Polit & Beck's many excellent references. This text will guide you through all steps of research as well as application of statistics.
Highly recommend an edition of this classic for your library if you are continuing on a research path.
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Everyday Expertise is an easy to navigate, very complete tutorial showing you step by step how to design and produce your own class using the Thinkific platform. You will find all you need from start to finish, from the conception of your idea to publication of a polished course.
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How to Calculate the Standard Deviation for Scary Smart People like You
You can do this! Fun, empowering, and allows you to really understand SD
Get that dollar store calculator out!
Totally empowering! Helps you understand exactly what the Standard Deviation is.
SD is really just a calculated average of how far each individual data point varies from the mean. Here is how it is calculated:
Say you have a small data set: 20, 18, 16, 24, 30 and calculate the mean (add them all up and divide by 5 = 21.6.
Now, figure out how far each varies from the mean by subtracting each value from the mean of 21.6 and squaring each answer:
21.6 – 20 = 1.6 1.62= 2.56
21.6-18 = 3.6 3.62= 12.96
21.6-16 = 5.6 5.62= 31.36
21.6 – 24 = -2.4 -2.42= 5.76
21.6- 30 = -8.4 -8.42= 16.8
Next, get the mean of all these squared differences by adding them up and dividing by 5: 2.56 + 12.96+ 31.36 + 5.76 + 16.8 = 69.44/5 = 13.88
Then you finish by getting the square root of that number: square root of 13.88 = 3.73. Your SD is 3.73.
Yes! You finally get to use that square root button on your calculator!
Now why did we do all of that? Visualize your normal curve. The mean 21.6, is in the middle. You have subtracted each data point from the mean to see how far away it lies either to the right or left of the mean (positives on the right, negatives on the left). What you want to know is on average, how far do your data points vary from the mean? Well, on average, they vary about 3.73 points to the right and to the left.
(We squared everything to get rid of the negatives—when you times a number by itself, a negative number x a negative number = a positive number. Then we did the square root to put everything back in order, without the negatives).
It just so happens mathematically on a normal curve, 64% of the data lie within one SD to either side of the mean, and 95% lies within two SDs.
And, all of this is explained in the Speaking Statistics Course. . .so you can understand how to apply this in a useful and practical way.
Wasn’t that fun?