Advanced High School Statistics
This textbook contains the main components necessary to cover the average beginner course in statistics. It doesn’t provide a staggered introduction to statistical concepts but rather jumps right in with demonstrating how statistics can be used in an applied setting. As a standalone the books covers several topics but not in depth it is just enough for a survey course. The real strength of this text is in the video overviews and the informational slides. These supplementary materials allow students greater insight into the content with applied or real life examples. The authors also include examples of how to interpret the numerical findings as well as considering assumptions with the various tests.
I have not detected any obvious errors in the content.
The content is current and includes examples from current topics like stem cell research. The examples vary and are not within the same discipline (e.g., medical, psychological, political, etc.) and they are not aligned with one single software package like R, SPSS, or Excel therefore the text can be used across the natural and social sciences with a variety of computing tools.
This is written in a very straightforward manner and doesn’t over complicate the content by exhausting the reader with too many definitional terms. The authors provides the minimum of what the reader needs to know in order to follow the examples and conduct the exercises. The added use of figures is applauded as it helps develop the reader’s ability over the course of the textbook to visualize the data and distributions.
The text is written in a consistent voice.
The text is easily divisible to coincide with the assignment of multiple interacting units. The subsections can be switched around or reorganized to match the instructors own preferred organization of the content as the units are mostly self-sustaining (except for those with extended examples).
The organization is not like a typical stats textbook where the content is structured by type of statistical test or type of research question. Instead the organization further confirms the data-centric perspective of this text by focusing for the most part on the type of data that the student has and what tests can be done within that limited range. It is a slightly different flow and I find it interesting and logical.
There were no interface issues or navigation problems with the downloaded pdf version. Charts and figures loaded and resized easily.
I have yet to detect major grammatical issues.
The text does not appear obviously offensive or culturally insensitive.
The text is written clearly and the examples are very applied. There are no frills, just good briefly covered content. While this is written for an advanced high school course it could easily be used for college or even beginner Master-level courses. It is also a good resource for those needing a refresher on how to interpret data findings or consider the limitations related to the nature of their data. This text is straight to the point and covers a good range of content.