Engaging and accessible, this book teaches readers how to use inferential statistical thinking to check their assumptions, assess evidence about their beliefs, and avoid overinterpreting results that may look more promising than they really are. It provides step-by-step guidance for using both classical (frequentist) and Bayesian approaches to inference. Statistical techniques covered side by side from both frequentist and Bayesian approaches include hypothesis testing, replication, analysis of variance, calculation of effect sizes, regression, time series analysis, and more. Students also get a complete introduction to the open-source R programming language and its key packages. Throughout the text, simple commands in R demonstrate essential data analysis skills using real-data examples. The companion website provides annotated R code for the book's examples, in-class exercises, supplemental reading lists, and links to online videos, interactive materials, and other resources. ÿ Pedagogical Features *Playful, conversational style and gradual approach; suitable for students without strong math backgrounds. *End-of-chapter exercises based on real data supplied in the free R package. *Technical explanation and equation/output boxes. *Appendices on how to install R and work with the sample datasets.ÿ

An engaging introduction to data science that emphasizes critical thinking over statistical techniques An introduction to data science or statistics shouldn’t involve proving complex theorems or memorizing obscure terms and formulas, but that is exactly what most introductory quantitative textbooks emphasize. In contrast, Thinking Clearly with Data focuses, first and foremost, on critical thinking and conceptual understanding in order to teach students how to be better consumers and analysts of the kinds of quantitative information and arguments that they will encounter throughout their lives. Among much else, the book teaches how to assess whether an observed relationship in data reflects a genuine relationship in the world and, if so, whether it is causal; how to make the most informative comparisons for answering questions; what questions to ask others who are making arguments using quantitative evidence; which statistics are particularly informative or misleading; how quantitative evidence should and shouldn’t influence decision-making; and how to make better decisions by using moral values as well as data. Filled with real-world examples, the book shows how its thinking tools apply to problems in a wide variety of subjects, including elections, civil conflict, crime, terrorism, financial crises, health care, sports, music, and space travel. Above all else, Thinking Clearly with Data demonstrates why, despite the many benefits of our data-driven age, data can never be a substitute for thinking. An ideal textbook for introductory quantitative methods courses in data science, statistics, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, public policy, and other fields Introduces the basic toolkit of data analysis—including sampling, hypothesis testing, Bayesian inference, regression, experiments, instrumental variables, differences in differences, and regression discontinuity Uses real-world examples and data from a wide variety of subjects Includes practice questions and data exercises

This book provides a multi-level introduction to Bayesian reasoning (as opposed to “conventional statistics”) and its applications to data analysis. The basic ideas of this “new” approach to the quantification of uncertainty are presented using examples from research and everyday life. Applications covered include: parametric inference; combination of results; treatment of uncertainty due to systematic errors and background; comparison of hypotheses; unfolding of experimental distributions; upper/lower bounds in frontier-type measurements. Approximate methods for routine use are derived and are shown often to coincide — under well-defined assumptions! — with “standard” methods, which can therefore be seen as special cases of the more general Bayesian methods. In dealing with uncertainty in measurements, modern metrological ideas are utilized, including the ISO classification of uncertainty into type A and type B. These are shown to fit well into the Bayesian framework.

Analytical reasoning techniques are methods by which users explore their data to obtain insight and knowledge that can directly support situational awareness and decision making. Recently, the analytical reasoning process has been augmented through the use of interactive visual representations and tools which utilize cognitive, design and perceptual principles. These tools are commonly referred to as visual analytics tools, and the underlying methods and principles have roots in a variety of disciplines. This chapter provides an introduction to young researchers as an overview of common visual representations and statistical analysis methods utilized in a variety of visual analytics systems. The application and design of visualization and analytical algorithms are subject to design decisions, parameter choices, and many conflicting requirements. As such, this chapter attempts to provide an initial set of guidelines for the creation of the visual representation, including pitfalls and areas where the graphics can be enhanced through interactive exploration. Basic analytical methods are explored as a means of enhancing the visual analysis process, moving from visual analysis to visual analytics. Table of Contents: Data Types / Color Schemes / Data Preconditioning / Visual Representations and Analysis / Summary

Unique in that it collects, presents, and synthesizes cutting edge research on different aspects of statistical reasoning and applies this research to the teaching of statistics to students at all educational levels, this volume will prove of great value to mathematics and statistics education researchers, statistics educators, statisticians, cognitive psychologists, mathematics teachers, mathematics and statistics curriculum developers, and quantitative literacy experts in education and government.

Linked Data publishing has brought about a novel “Web of Data”: a wealth of diverse, interlinked, structured data published on the Web. These Linked Datasets are described using the Semantic Web standards and are openly available to all, produced by governments, businesses, communities and academia alike. However, the heterogeneity of such data – in terms of how resources are described and identified – poses major challenges to potential consumers. Herein, we examine use cases for pragmatic, lightweight reasoning techniques that leverage Web vocabularies (described in RDFS and OWL) to better integrate large scale, diverse, Linked Data corpora. We take a test corpus of 1.1 billion RDF statements collected from 4 million RDF Web documents and analyse the use of RDFS and OWL therein. We then detail and evaluate scalable and distributed techniques for applying rule-based materialisation to translate data between different vocabularies, and to resolve coreferent resources that talk about the same thing. We show how such techniques can be made robust in the face of noisy and often impudent Web data. We also examine a use case for incorporating a PagerRank-style algorithm to rank the trustworthiness of facts produced by reasoning, subsequently using those ranks to fix formal contradictions in the data. All of our methods are validated against our real world, large scale, open domain, Linked Data evaluation corpus.

Offering a unique and powerful way to introduce the principles of statistical reasoning, Statistical Reasoning in Sports features engaging examples and a student-friendly approach. Starting from the very first chapter, students are able to ask questions, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions using randomization tests. Is it harder to shoot free throws with distractions? We explore this question by designing an experiment, collecting the data, and using a hands-on simulation to analyze results. Completely covering the Common Core Standards for Probability and Statistics, Statistical Reasoning in Sports is an accessible and fun way to learn about statistics!

This book springs from a multidisciplinary, multi-organizational, and multi-sector conversation about the privacy and ethical implications of research in human affairs using big data. The need to cultivate and enlist the public’s trust in the abilities of particular scientists and scientific institutions constitutes one of this book’s major themes. The advent of the Internet, the mass digitization of research information, and social media brought about, among many other things, the ability to harvest – sometimes implicitly – a wealth of human genomic, biological, behavioral, economic, political, and social data for the purposes of scientific research as well as commerce, government affairs, and social interaction. What type of ethical dilemmas did such changes generate? How should scientists collect, manipulate, and disseminate this information? The effects of this revolution and its ethical implications are wide-ranging. This book includes the opinions of myriad investigators, practitioners, and stakeholders in big data on human beings who also routinely reflect on the privacy and ethical issues of this phenomenon. Dedicated to the practice of ethical reasoning and reflection in action, the book offers a range of observations, lessons learned, reasoning tools, and suggestions for institutional practice to promote responsible big data research on human affairs. It caters to a broad audience of educators, researchers, and practitioners. Educators can use the volume in courses related to big data handling and processing. Researchers can use it for designing new methods of collecting, processing, and disseminating big data, whether in raw form or as analysis results. Lastly, practitioners can use it to steer future tools or procedures for handling big data. As this topic represents an area of great interest that still remains largely undeveloped, this book is sure to attract significant interest by filling an obvious gap in currently available literature.

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to statistical principles, concepts and methods that are essential in modern statistics and data science. The topics covered include likelihood-based inference, Bayesian statistics, regression, statistical tests and the quantification of uncertainty. Moreover, the book addresses statistical ideas that are useful in modern data analytics, including bootstrapping, modeling of multivariate distributions, missing data analysis, causality as well as principles of experimental design. The textbook includes sufficient material for a two-semester course and is intended for master’s students in data science, statistics and computer science with a rudimentary grasp of probability theory. It will also be useful for data science practitioners who want to strengthen their statistics skills.

Introduction to Social Statistics is a basic statistics text with a focus on the use of models for thinking through statistical problems, an accessible and consistent structure with ongoing examples across chapters, and an emphasis on the tools most commonly used in contemporary research. Lively introductory textbook that uses three strategies to help students master statistics: use of models throughout; repetition with variation to underpin pedagogy; and emphasis on the tools most commonly used in contemporary research Demonstrates how more than one statistical method can be used to approach a research question Enhanced learning features include a ‘walk-through’ of statistical concepts, applications, features, advanced topics boxes, and a ‘What Have We Learned’ section at the end of each chapter Supported by a website containing instructor materials including chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides, answers to exercises, and an instructor guide Visit www.wiley.com/go/dietz for additional student and instructor resources.