Published
Feb 13, 2013Page count
232 pagesISBN
978-1447306276Dimensions
240 x 172 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Feb 13, 2013Page count
232 pagesISBN
978-1447306283Dimensions
240 x 172 mmImprint
Policy Press
SPSS Step by Step
SPSS Step by Step: Essentials for Social and Political Science is a concise text for beginners and intermediate statistical test users. Clearly written and with no mathematical formulae, it features a chapter on qualitative data analysis; multiple regression; survival analysis (‘the time until events’); and a brief cogent introduction to factor analysis. A logically ordered guide to analysing everyday problems, SPSS Step by Step is distinctive in being both easy to grasp and readable. Tests throughout the book are accompanied by clear worked examples. These include Wilcoxon; Friedman; Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis; paired and unpaired T tests; ANOVA; binomial; McNemar; Chi-square; Pearson; Spearman; partial correlation; simple linear regression; multiple regression; factor analysis; Kaplan-Meier and life tables. Invaluable for undergraduate and postgraduate students and academics undertaking or teaching research, this unique book will also be of interest to professionals in social care, the criminal justice system, health and education.
"Very clearly written with plenty of good examples; it helps make sense of some of those and compliments them well.. a good beginners or returners guide" 5* review on Amazon
"A useful book for students and people who are fairly new to social research" SRA Research Matters
"Cole Davis’s new book is practical, well written and very reader friendly, especially by those who are not or would not describe themselves as mathematicians or skilled in the science of numbers. For those wanting to use SPSS, this book clearly explains what the software can do and how to achieve its potential. I particularly liked the way the book does not assume (as so many manuals do) that we are all familiar with statistical terms. It explains what they mean and offers practical examples of how they are used.
As a freelance researcher engaged in many areas of social investigation, I would strongly recommend this book both as a practical and easy to understand guide to the use of SPSS but also for its valuable introduction to data analysis and statistics." Geraldine Pettersson, Social Researcher
Cole Davis is a freelance researcher with a background in social care, careers guidance and education. His research has covered fields as diverse as psychotherapies, computer software usability, employment and training, websites and marketing analysis. He is particularly well-known for his distinctive research style and his ability to make dry subjects readable. Previously, he also created CareerSteer, an internationally recognised computerised career choice computer program.
Part One: Background knowledge; Introduction; Descriptive statistics introduced; Inferential statistics introduced; On the nature of numbers; Data entry in SPSS; Data analysis in practice; Part Two: Statistical testing; The analysis of differences; Qualitative analysis; Correlations, regression and factor analysis; Factorial analysis of variance; The time until events: survival analysis; Part Three: Beyond the tests; Exercises; Reporting in applied research; A taste of further statistical methods.
