Interdisciplinary Studies

This supplementary text helps students learn about and practice working with graphs and tables of numbers found in popular and scholarly publications, and understand the output from statistical software.

• Written in non-technical, everyday language.
• Designed as a supplementary text for anyone who wants a quick understanding of how to read data, or who is learning statistics from a standard research methods or statistics text.
• Starts with basic concepts and definitions, and proceeds to more advanced statistical techniques and their meanings.
• Each different kind of statistic, table, graph, or figure discussed is presented in four steps. The author:

1. Defines it.
2. Describes where it should or should not be used.
3. Shows how it is used in a popular magazine or newspaper, academic journal, or in output from SPSS software.
4. Discusses how to interpret its meaning.

• Sections called “Now It’s Your Turn” in every chapter use real examples from across the disciplines that allow students to put what they learn into practice.
• Many examples in the book are taken from articles available through Pearson's Research Navigator Guide™ service.
• A free Research Navigator Guide, with a six-month subscription to Research Navigator, is included with every new copy of the text.

Introduction.

Definitions.

        Variables.

        Values.

        Independent Variables.

        Dependent Variables.

        Nominal Measured Variables.

        Ordinal Measured Variables.

        Interval and Ratio Measured Variables.

        Hypothesis.

        Population.

        Sample.

        Generalizability.

        Sampling Error.

        Significance Level.

Statistical Analysis Decision Tree.

1. Describing Data.

Definitions.

        Measures of Central Technology.

        Mean.

        Median.

        Mode.

        Standard Deviation.

        Percentiles.

        Frequency Tables.

        Bar Charts or Graphs.

        Histograms.

        Frequency Polygons and Line Graphs.

        Pie Charts.

Data from Popular Publications.

        Pie Chart.

        Bar Graph.

        Line Graph.

        Frequency Tables.

        Other Frequency Tables and Statistics.

Scholarly Article.

        Frequency Tables.

        Descriptive Statistics.

SPSS Output.

        Frequency Table.

        Bar Graph.

        Descriptive Statistics.

Summary of Descriptive Statistics, Tables, and Graphs.

2. Understanding Tables.

Definitions.

        Cross-tabulations or Contingency Tables.

        Rows, Columns, and Cells.

Data from Popular Publications.

        Simple Bivariate Table.

        Multiple Variables Crosstabs.

Scholarly Article.

        Simple Bivariate Table.

        Multivariate Crosstabs.

SPSS Output.

        Bivariate Tables.

        Multivariate Tables.

Summary of Crosstabs or Contigency Tables.

3. Interpreting Relationships.

Definitions.

        Chi Square (x²).

        Pearson r correlation coefficient.

Data from Popular Publications.

Scholarly Article.

        Pearson r Correlations.

        Chi-Square Tests of Significance.

SPSS Output.

        Chi-Square Analysis.

        Pearson r Correlations.

Summary of Correlations.

4. Explaining Mean Differences.

Definitions.

        t-tests.

        Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

Scholarly Article.

        t-tests.

        Another t-test example.

        ANOVA.

        Another ANOVA example.

SPSS Output.

        Paired Samples t-test.

        Independent Samples t-test.

        ANOVA.

Summary of Means.

5. Reading Regressions.

Definitions.

        Multiple Correlation (R).

        Regression Coefficients: B and Beta.

Scholarly Article.

        The Enter Method Regression Model.

        The Stepwise Method Regression.

SPSS Output.

        The Enter Method Regression Model.

        The Stepwise Method Regression.

Summary of Regressions.

Social Statistics  (Sociology)
Data Analysis  (Sociology)
Assessment  (Family Studies & Human Development)
Research Methods in Sociology  (Sociology)

"Interpreting Data: A Guide to Understanding Research is a little book that serves its mission well."

Teaching Sociology, Volume 34, 2006

Review by Susanne Morgan, Ithaca College

Interpreting Data is straightforward, and an instructor could use it to devise exercises in locating and analyzing sources. With its companion Research Navigator Guide, this book could be a particularly valuable package for a research methods or statistics course that requires students to find sources, analyze their structure, understand the data presented, and write competently.

Teaching Sociology, Volume 34, 2006

Review by Susanne Morgan, Ithaca College

Written in non-technical, everyday language, this supplementary text is a quick guide to understanding data. Readers will learn about and practice working with graphs and tables found in popular and scholarly publications, and understand the output from statistical software.

Statistics, tables, graphs, and figures discussed are presented in four steps:

1. Defining it
2. Describing where it should or should not be used.
3. Showing how it is used in a popular magazine or newspaper, academic journal, or in output from SPSS software.
4. Discussing how to interpret its meaning.

Allyn & Bacon Digital Media Archive CD-ROM for Sociology, 2006 edition
Allyn & Bacon
©2006 | Allyn & Bacon | CD-ROM Only | Instock
ISBN-10: 020546727X | ISBN-13: 9780205467273

Breaking the Ice: A Guide to Understanding People from Other Cultures, 3/E
Kabagarama
©2004 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 112 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205417957 | ISBN-13: 9780205417957
Buy from myPearsonStore

Building Bridges: The Allyn & Bacon Student Guide to Service-Learning
Hamner
©2002 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 128 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205319742 | ISBN-13: 9780205319749
Buy from myPearsonStore

Careers in Sociology, 3/E
Stephens
©2004 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 192 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205379222 | ISBN-13: 9780205379224
Buy from myPearsonStore

InterWrite PRS RF (Personal Response System)
InterWrite PRS & Allyn & Bacon/Longman
©2005 | Allyn & Bacon | Electronic Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205436951 | ISBN-13: 9780205436958

Pearson Guide to Research Navigator
Prentice Hall
©2009 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 48 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205633404 | ISBN-13: 9780205633401

RELATE and READY User's Guide, 2/E
Loyer-Carlson, Busby & BYU
©2005 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper Bound with PIN; 32 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205452469 | ISBN-13: 9780205452460
Buy from myPearsonStore

ResearchNavigator.com Guide
Allyn & Bacon
©2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 48 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205517196 | ISBN-13: 9780205517190

ResearchNavigator.com Guide
Allyn & Bacon & Barr
©2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 48 pp | Out of Stock
ISBN-10: 020552396X | ISBN-13: 9780205523962

ResearchNavigator.com Guide: Sociology (Valuepack item only)
Jacoby & Barr
©2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 96 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205517242 | ISBN-13: 9780205517244

Sociology Active Learning Library
Allyn & Bacon
©2010 | Allyn & Bacon | Website | Estimated Availability : 10/15/2009
ISBN-10: 0205594581 | ISBN-13: 9780205594580
URL:  http://www.activelearninglibrary.com

Thinking Sociologically: A Critical Thinking Activities Manual (Valuepack item only), 2/E
Ruggiero
©1999 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 89 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205278183 | ISBN-13: 9780205278183

iClicker Classroom Response System
iClicker & Allyn & Bacon/Longman
©2008 | Allyn & Bacon | Electronic Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205594506 | ISBN-13: 9780205594504

MySearchLab (access code required)
Pearson
©2010 | Allyn & Bacon | Website | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205699391 | ISBN-13: 9780205699391
URL:  http://www.mysearchlab.com

Allyn & Bacon Social Research Website (Open access)
Allyn & Bacon
©2004 | Allyn & Bacon | Website; 0 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205405916 | ISBN-13: 9780205405916
URL:  http://www.ablongman.com/socialresearch

MySearchLab (access code required)
Pearson
©2010 | Allyn & Bacon | Website | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205699391 | ISBN-13: 9780205699391
URL:  http://www.mysearchlab.com

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students contact your Pearson Higher Education representative.