Reviews (10)

You need to see BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE
This fourth Tufte title continues his themes of pairing image with text, focusing on how information can be transmitted graphically and focusing on 'sparklines': data-intense, word-like graphics. Perhaps it's impossible to adequately describe this concept using plain print: for more, you need to see BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE, blending cartography, diagrams, science and art in a winning survey of measurement-based images.
Recycled?No problem!
I for one am the opposite of the people who read this and, as fans of Tufte's other works, felt let down.There seem to be a lot of complaints about recycled material.Yes, a lot of stuff in here is found in his other books.Yes, his whole Cognitive Style of PowerPoint pamphlet is reproduced here (I think?).No, I don't think that's a problem and in fact I think this is his best work ever.
Beautiful Figures, Shallow Words
I was disappointed by "Beautiful Evidence". It seems to me to be a medium primarily for the reproduction of many gorgeous drawings, graphs, and tables done by others and the author, and an opportunity to make a rant on PowerPoint. Yes, many bad figures have been created and Dr. Tufte has made valid points and good suggestions, but they are not as densely presented as one would expect from his own words.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computers    4. Graphic Methods    5. Visual communication   

Reviews (6)

Best book on interest rate models
This is the best book available on interest rate models. Very detailed. Much more focused and readable than Rebonato's book. More pragmatic and explicit than Musiela and Rutkowski. Not as theoretical as Hunt and Kennedy. James and Webber also looks very good, but I'm not that familiar with it. All other books have only bits and pieces on interest rates.

The best book I have read on the subject
With all the due respect to the other authors I would say that if one is interested in a good theoretical book whihc is also good on the implementation side then the book of Brigo and Mercurion is definetly the best book I have ever read on the subject. New stuff and nice overview: hard to beat!
In the late nineties I went through Brigo's innovative work on stochastic nonlinear filtering with differential geometry techniques. I was favorably impressed by results and style, particularly in his dissertation and in his 'geometry in present day science' very readable overview. Interesting results are found and nicely told with accurate -but not pointlessly complicated - advanced mathematics for the problems at hand, I reasoned. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Finance    3. Group Theory    4. Mathematics    5. Probability & Statistics - General    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Statistics    8. Business & Economics / Finance    9. Interest rates    10. JEL classification: G12, G13, E43    11. MSC (2000): 60H10, 60H35, 62P05, 65C05, 65C20, 90A09    12. calibration    13. pricing    14. stochastic calculus   

Reviews (25)

Great at explaining concepts!
This book is really a masterpiece when it comes to explaining the concepts!The author makes sure that students don't just memorize formulas, but rather that they understand why the formulas work.I used this book to pass the DANTES statistic exam.

not for beginners.......
This book is not very user friendly. If you have troubles with math like me then this book is not for you. I would probably recommend a book like "for dummies, or a schuam's at the beginnnig level then reread this book, and it will be a little clearer.

Stats Book
I was really suprise that it arrived on time so that i can do my homework assignments. The stats book came in good condition like what the seller described. Even though it didnt come with a cd, buti'm still happy knowing that it's an instructor's edition. I was so surprised when my sister pointed that out to me.
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Subjects:  1. Mathematics    2. Probability & Statistics - General    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Statistics    5. Mathematics / Statistics    6. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (33)

Bridge the gap
Statistics books are either too hard or way too basic for non-statisticians.
Lots of theory, not enough application
I've read the other reviews and I generally agree: This is a well written stats book, especially if you are trying to learn the underlying theories rather than just randomly banging around on a keyboard. However, don't expect this book to be a particularly good choice if you need to do anything much more difficult than a one-way ANOVA.Even though this book is 770+ pages long, Field doesn't address realistic scenarios. For example, even though he devotes about 210 pages to all sorts of ANOVA, there is no mention of repeated measures ANCOVA, which is not that unusual. In some places, he seems to suggest that something is really difficult (e.g., contrasts in repeated measures ANOVA) and then offers only weak examples of what to do about it with no mention of how to report what you've done. In fact, he offers very few examples of how to report results, and in some cases, his running examples are nonsignificant so his reporting examples stop short.All together, this is a good stats theory book with an intro to SPSS, but it's not the kind of book that is going to get you through many real-world analyses. I would recommend this book to undergraduates and graduate students who feel they need some more background, but folks in the field are better off looking elsewhere.

This was exactly what I was looking for!
The author provides clear explanation of various statistic techniques; what each of them means, when to be applied, and how to use them in a very understandable way. This was what I was exactly looking for. Good examples with step by step guide with actual dialog boxes from the SPSS window are also very helpful. I really like it a lot. It was a good priced book considering what it provides. Best stat book I've bought ever! Thank you!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Programming Languages - General    4. Research    5. Sociology    6. Statistics    7. Mathematical & statistical software    8. Probability & statistics    9. Social Science / Research   

Reviews (26)

A great book for SAS and statistics beginners
.. that is of little use for advanced users. Most of the book's chapters (1-4, 10-19) deal with general-purpose SAS programming techniques, and the rest introduce one to REG, ANOVA, TTEST, CORR, FACTOR and LOGISTIC procedures. Discussion isnon-technical and never in-depth, with the short shrift given to PROC REG especially disappointing. Many capabilities of selected procedures are not discussed, and, of course, a host of other important SAS/STAT procedures do not even make the cut. (MODEL? And speaking of non-statistical ones: what do you make of a book that devotes 200+ pages to SAS programming tips, including a chapter on merging datasets, and whose index has no mention of PROC SQL?) Overall, I think that the book is a friendly, clear and well-organized (as is typical of Ron Cody's writing) introduction for beginners, e.g. college stats students, but more seasoned statisticians should go straight to SAS/STAT User's Guide (available online). Don't even think about considering this (pricey) volume an up-to-date or reasonably broad reference on SAS's statistical capabilities.

Blergh
I did not like this book. The organization was abysmal, and I decided to sell it back to the college bookstore for use by future hapless students, because it is not good as a reference guide.
no fancy graphics
[A review of the 5th EDITION 2005.]
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Subjects:  1. Data processing    2. Mathematical statistics    3. Mathematics    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. SAS (Computer file)    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Mathematics / Statistics    8. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (14)

Great Book
I used this text in my MBA stats class and have found it to be very informative and useful.I found the examples for Excel and Minitab to be well written and of great use.I would recommend this book for anyone who uses statistics on a frequent basis or simply would like a good reference manual in their library.

12th ed. has problems
The 12th edition of this book contains a surprising number of errors.I am currently using this book for a statistics course in an MBA program.We are twelve chapters into the book now and in most every chapter I have found a mistake; more often than not there are multiple mistakes.What is worse is that the majority of the mistakes are in the practice problems which are where the student learns to apply the skills.This serves to create confusion and frustration on the student's part.Some of the mistakes are sloppy editing while others more significant are providing wrong information.The editors need to take another look at this book and the authors should also take note.

Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics with CD-Rom
The book I received did not have the cd the book was in used condition not good as stated.It was ok.It would have been nice to have the cd. It needs to be a little more detailed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Mathematics    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Statistics    6. Business & Economics / Statistics    7. Business mathematics & systems    8. Economics    9. Probability & statistics   

Editorial Review

Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Read more

Reviews (1164)

Fluff and Nonsense
The underlying theme of this book seems to be that if one can come up with enough provocative theses and find some support, however tenuous, for them, perhaps one can write a thin, light weight book which will attract attention and thereby gain one's 15 minutes of fame.
Compelling, but superficial arguments
The storytelling and economic science are the backbone of this compelling book and the scattered topics aren't enough to minimize Levitt's or Dubner's effort.The superficiality of the ideas is, however, and the wild concepts that the self-proclaimed freakonomist advances are easily put to question by simple thought experiments.For instance, the most controversial proposition that Levitt makes is that the legalization of abortion in the '70s was the single most important factor in the steep decline of crime in the US in the '90s, and that can be scrutinized easily.Levitt says that the people who would have been born to those mothers in the '70s would have gone on to live lives of the unwanted and been more likely to commit crimes in their late teens and early twenties (the '90s).Since millions were aborted, they weren't there to commit those crimes later.This eerie idea may be hard to stomach, but that's not the reason it should be doubted.If the aborted children would have a higher chance of becoming criminals, they would, no doubt, also have a higher chance of becoming poor, but the poverty rates for people above 18 remained relatively stable through the '80s and since.
It's about time Statistician speak out
I originaly bought this for my son (in college on the mainland) based on an article I read in the sunday paper. When I saw it in the library I decided to pick it up and see if the book was any good. Well I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was a very worthy book. After all how many people would ever consider a Statistician's opinion, well this is one time where you should. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics (Specific Aspects)    5. Economics - General    6. General    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Probability & Statistics - General    9. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (25)

Be aware of the errors of the book
The book consists of two parts: probability (the first 250 pages) and statistics. The first part is extremely well written; however, the second part (I read page 427 totally so far) is not satisfying.The theorm derivations have missing steps, and not easy to follow.Moreover, it has ERRORS (which are not listed in the errata available in the authors' website).For example, Definition 8.3.16 of monotone likelihood ratio is wrong (page 891): it can only be non-decreasing (cannot be non-increasing).With the wrong definition, no way to approve Thm 8.3.17.I want to ask the author:how did you write down that proofby referring the wrong definition?Another example: Line 5 of example 8.3.19.You cannot draw the conclusion by using the analysis in Example 8.3.18.Instead, you have to use the analysis in Thm 8.3.17!Third example, the definition of power function is not accruate.The definition of power should be independant of H0 or H1.(In fact, the author did a poor job in give the insight of power function.Without such an insight, no way to solution example 8.3.19).Forth example, the second 8.3.4 on p-values is poorly written.The author does not bother to point out that p-values is the smallest level at which we can reject null hypothesis with given samples.Instead, the author's definition on p-values based on an formula whose meaning is very hard to understand!Do you know how many hours I have to spend to figure out these?
Very Good Text
Very good intro to grad level stats - does not use any real analysis.

One of the best textbooks
The is one great textbook and is as good as Cormen's introduction to algorithms. It does not require advanced math. I was a biology major and did not learn much Calculus at all. I had to use it in a graduate statistics class. Fortunately we used this book. It is very easy to follow. It gives very good examples and explains them well but not wordy. The exercises are excellent. This book is definitely not an applied statistics book. But it really helps you to understand applied statistics. It is absolutely not just another dry math book. I also want to say that this book is for newcomers. Neither me nor many of my classmates had statistical training before we took the course. When instructors were not clear about something, we always went back to this book and always found an answer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Mathematical statistics    2. Mathematics    3. Probabilities    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Mathematics / Statistics    7. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (19)

Very well written
I liked this book because it does a great job explaining the concepts and the reasoning behind the mathematical formulae. Other books such as "The Elements of Statistical Learning" toss the Math formulas at you and expect you to figure out the significance or the importance of 'em. The book does not shy away from Math - but does a great job presenting it.

Excellent introduction to top machine learning techniques
Duda's 'Pattern Classification' is an excellent book for an introduction to a range of the most powerful and popular machine learning methods. Obviously it doesn't go into very many details of each method - being just one book - but it covers the most important things to know imo. Not quite the 20% that covers 80% of the needs, but close. It is well written and the illustrations are generally of high quality. If you don't want to drown in a nightmare of details and exceptions, but rather get a good basic understanding of the various techniques, this book is an excellent buy.

A good introduction to pattern recognition, but not a bible.
[1] This book is good as an introduction to Pattern Recognition, at undergraduate level (compared with the level of Fukunaga's -Introduction to Statistical Pattern Recognition-).
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Subjects:  1. Computers - General Information    2. Data Processing - Optical Data Processing    3. Electronics - Digital    4. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    5. Pattern Recognition    6. Pattern recognition systems    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Statistical decision    9. Technology    10. Mathematics for scientists & engineers    11. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Reviews (4)

Very poorly written.
I had to buy this book for an introductory graduate stats class. This book assumes you have some knowledge of stats and so provides very brief explanations for most concepts. This is a big problem for students with little or no stats background. Disappointing
The text we used for our undergrad Stats class covered the exact same material as this text, which we used for a graduate level class and which cost about 60 bucks more, but the undergrad text was written more clearly, concisely and logically.We even found a mistake in one of the tables in the back of this book.

An "easy" introduction but lacks content
Author: Computer Science/Mathematics Undergraduate at Cameron UniversityRead more

Subjects:  1. Mathematical statistics    2. Mathematics    3. Probabilities    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Mathematics / Statistics    7. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (18)

Statistics for Dummies is the bomb
I am very impressed with the Statistics for Dummies book. It is well written and really helped me grasp a basic understanding of statistics. The formulas that the author has provided are very helpful. The author really knows her stuff and has written a book that can help everyone understand the complex world of statistics.

Good intro - clear but too repetitive
Definitely does the job it sets out to do but could have done it without so much repetition hence only gets 3 stars.

Not the college refresher I'd hoped for
This book covers material that would be found in the early to mid-level phases of a college Statistics course. I was hoping for a deeper refresher, short of re-reading my college texts and notes, and this wasn't the place to find it.
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Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Mathematical Statistics    3. Mathematics    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Reference    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Statistics    8. Mathematics / Statistics    9. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (13)

Sure it's good, and a good price by the pund too!
A pretty good overview and a lot of in-depth material on Multivariate data analysis.Not quite a bed time read though.
Good for a second stats course & reference
We used this book for our Stats 2 course in grad school, and although our professor was good enough to eclipse Hair, et al. (he had written his own Stats text), I am most pleased at how much mileage I have drawn from Hair, et al. in the years since I took the course.In my subsequent career, reviewers have often sent me back to Hair, et al. when they have questions about something I'm doing with a data analysis, so it has become an invaluable reference for that reason alone.
simple but great!!
I used this book as a reference on the topics while I was working on a research project at the university. Because the book does not use complex mathematics to explain the multivariate statistics, it is easy for social sciences students to understand. Each chapter starts with an overview, step-by step procedures and ends with an example from the data set that is used throughout the book.
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Subjects:  1. Mathematics    2. Multivariate Analysis    3. Probability & Statistics - General    4. Probability & Statistics - Multivariate Analysis    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Business & Economics / Statistics    7. Business mathematics    8. Market research    9. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (5)

The one to have
If you want one book on Categorical Data analysis, this is the one.But there are others that are easier to read, if your math is not great (including the same author's book with an almost identical title)

Good reading, but how do I analyze my data?
In the theoretical sense, this book provides a very thorough overview of categorical data analysis.However, this book should not be used as a reference for the scientist needing to do the occasional number crunching of categorical data.The examples are vague and the tests are not well explained.If you want to derive the tests, this book is for you.If you're not a statistician at heart and just want the answer, I suggest looking at Conover's "Practical Nonparametric Statistics" for a good explanation of which tests to use and how to use them.

A classic, made even better
This is a very demanding, thorough, and clear description of just about everything anyone could want to know on the subject.The second edition is considerably more rigorous than the first.Agresti stresses that logistic models are one kind of generalized linear model.This offers solid connections to many other models, but places corresponding demands on the reader.In particular, Chapter 4 is difficult going, but might be skipped or skimmed on first reading.Read more

Subjects:  1. Mathematics    2. Multivariate Analysis    3. Probability & Statistics - General    4. Probability & Statistics - Multivariate Analysis    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Data analysis: general    7. Mathematics / Statistics    8. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (5)

Not Too Bad
I have a basic statistics background before I read this book. For me, the book is useful for my basic quantitative research. Last few chapters apply the statistics rules in earlier chapters to the real business environment, which I think it's really practical and interesting. The most I like in this book is the practice questions at the end of each chapter, which apply to everyone's daily life. However, first four chapters cover too many unnecessary topics.

This book requires outside help!
This book tends to jump off topic (most aren't explained well). For example, they talk about one thing but the exercises are a bit different than the chapter's topic. Most of the information isn't fully explained. If you are in a class where the instructor assigns the exercise questions for homework, you are screwed. You may not know what to do unless you seek outside help (study guide, tutor etc.) or read beyond the chapter.

A very interesting book... for those who understand statistics
The book has a lot of examples and is a must have for those majoring in Finance. Some Universities use this for Intro to Statistics and this book is very didactic. The way it's written out in a form that takes you a another level of reading which makes you feel you're in a rainbow... a reading rainbow... Anway... The book has answers in the back so it's good enough for whenever the professor assigns Homework. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Commercial statistics    5. Economics    6. Management - General    7. Methodology    8. Probability & Statistics - General    9. Statistical methods    10. Statistics    11. Business & Economics / Statistics    12. Business & Management    13. Economic statistics   

Subjects:  1. Mathematics    2. Probability & Statistics - General    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Mathematics / Statistics    5. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (1)

You don't need to be afraid of Statistics
This is a very friendly statistics book.It is easy to read and understand.The authors also throw in some humorous comments now and then that is something you wouldn't expect to find in a statistics book and this seemed to help with the reading.Many real world business examples are used in the book.The example problems and the end of section or chapter problems are from different areas of study such as business, political, social sciences, and science. This is great for understanding how to apply statistics in real life.I would have to say that all the topics and formulas are explained very well.In some cases there are more then one way to write a formula and Sanders and Smidt makes a point of giving you both formulas.You can decide which formula works for you.The book comes with a CD loaded with the data files for all the problems so you don't have to spend time keying in data.There are copies of the data files come in a variety of formats such as Minitab, Excel Windows, and Macintosh.For most of the example problems the book takes you through the steps using Minitab Statistical software and the TI-83 graphing calculator.You are not only learning statistics, but you are also learning how to use Minitab and the TI-83 graphing calculator.In this day and age if you are going to do statistics you need to be able to do it with a computer.I wish they would have also included examples using Microsoft Excel, which more people are apt to have then Minitab. Personally I use both Minitab and Excel. I actually enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to studying.Even though my statistics class is over this book will not be collecting dust for a while as I plan on going back through it to reread or finish reading what I missed or skimmed over. There are still a lot of the problems that I want to do to reinforce what I have already learned.This is a great statistics book to keep as a reference. More then once I have found coworkers looking up stuff in my book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Mathematical Statistics    2. Mathematics    3. Probability & Statistics - General    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Statistics    6. Economic statistics    7. Epidemiology & medical statistics    8. Mathematics / Statistics    9. Probability & statistics    10. Social research & statistics    11. Statistical physics   

Reviews (3)

Good Overall
Pretty thorough text for anyone learning or brushing up on their skills...quite intuitive.

This is one of the best business statistics book
This book is used in the course of Business Statistics at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. This is a useful and understandable book. The questions are well-prepared.Also,the statistics program PhSTAT is given with this book. I advise you to buy.

Good, but could be better
This book is okay, but it could definitely be better.For a basic statistics class, this book contains WAY too much information to digest in a semester of college.No professor I know of has ever gotten past chapter 8.Further, the problems are quite wimpy as far as the amount of thought required for them.Quite wimpy.Could be better.The only good thing is that for doing it on a spreadsheet, the data comes on a CD, so that you don't have to re-type it, thankfully. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Mathematics    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Statistics    6. Business & Economics / Statistics    7. Business mathematics    8. Business mathematics & systems    9. Economic statistics   

Reviews (12)

New Ways to Measure Marketing Effectiveness
The people who really started measuring marketing are the mail order folk. You run an ad or you mail out a few thousand catalogs and you can almost immediately measure the return on your investment. Then when computers became common place, they began to measure not only the immediate return but the acquisition cost vs. the lifetime value of a customer. That is, you may not have gotten as many customers from Ad B, but they bought more stuff down through the next months or years than the customers from Ad A.
Every executive who is responsible for the way their company competes should study the metrics in this book
Personally, I love these kinds of handbooks.Having a ready resource for these dozens of metrics can help any executive understand their business and think about ways to compete in the marketplace in new ways.Too often marketing is thought of in terms of advertising and sales, but it is so much more than that.Marketing is everything your company does or needs to do to choosing a marketplace, the products to compete with, how to promote and sell them, and how to better understand your market, your competition, and how it is changing over time.
Like the Kama Sutra...
Reading this book is a little like reading the Kama Sutra. Both books discuss fascinating subjects but readers are given far more information than they are ever likely to use in practice.
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Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Applied    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Marketing    7. Marketing - Research    8. Marketing Research    9. Mathematical Models    10. Sales & Selling - Techniques    11. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    12. Market research    13. Sales & marketing    14. Sales & marketing management   

Reviews (16)

Good Book ? Yes....For Self Study? NOOOOO !!
I am doing a self study and do not have any facility to get help of any instructor. I purchased the book after got good reference from some of my friends. The content of the book is pretty good...BUT when it comes to the problems...there are a very very few worked out examples (as usual they are the easiest ones)...Addition to that the publisher decided to earn every bits of pennies. So they created a Student's solution manual. No where in the publisher's site anything mentioned about the manual. But when I purchased , found that the manual has solution for ONLY Odd numbered solution (for them the answers are given in the original book). I was wondering whether they have another solution manual for EVEN numbered problems...!!!
Excellent Book, Not in Good Condition
It's very good book in Probability and Statistics, a must-have for any researcher.
P(Grade > B) = Small Without A Curve
After having used this book in a graduate level probability/statistics course and having the opportunity to poll students who took that class over the past 3 years, I found out that the probability of getting a good grade, and achieving understanding with DeGroot, was small. Read more

Subjects:  1. Mathematical Statistics    2. Mathematics    3. Probabilities    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Statistics    7. Business & Economics / Statistics    8. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (4)

Very Good
This book made statistics easier and less esoteric.
Very honest seller
This person is the best person I've ever dealt with. He responds to you quickly and positively EVERY TIME!!

Statistics: A First Course with Data CD-Rom
excellent; saved over $30.00, material shipped is in excellent condition. received material within 10 days of order.thanks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Mathematics    2. Probability & Statistics - General    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Mathematics / Statistics    5. Probability & statistics