http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1653331

Statistical inference

"A person using statistical data finds himself beset by many uncertainties. Usually, in dealing with groups which have not been studied, he wishes to use conclusions based on the study of one group. How reliable are such conclusions? On what basis shall he choose among the various available measures of average, spread, and relationship? How large a sample shall he take and what design shall he follow in selecting his cases? Answers to such questions are considered in this book from the unified point of view of the relation of sample to population. From this point of view, the statistical problems turn out to be matters of testing hypotheses, estimation, and experimental design. Persons working with statistical data often think that their interest is only in an analysis of the data at hand. In most cases, however, further reflection shows that the interest in the data at hand is due to its bearing on situations or groups other than those actually observed. The book does not presuppose any college training in mathematics and does not present mathematical derivations of formulas. At first glance it may look more mathematical than most texts intended for the non-mathematician because of its use of probability symbolism, multiple subscripts, and the expressed limits of summation. However, the reader is given careful explanation and practice exercises related to these usages"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

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