1. The Political Use of Numbers: Lies and Statistics
Introductory Statistics: An Overview |
|
Removing the Barriers to Understanding How Statistics Works |
|
The Importance of Statistics: This Book’s Approach |
|
Using Data to Answer a Question |
|
A Political Application: Indoctrination U. |
|
Your Turn: Using Statistics |
|
Apply It Yourself: Assess Grants to Political Scientists |
|
2. Measurement: Counting the Biggel-Balls
Evaluate the Conceptual and Operational Definitions |
|
Translate Information in Numbers: Coding Your Data |
|
Get a Frequency Distribution |
|
Summarizing the Process: Measurement |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Measurement |
|
Apply It Yourself: Measure the Norm for Chief Justice Appointments |
|
3. Measures of Central Tendency: That’s Some Mean Baseball
Measures of Central Tendency |
|
Summarizing the Math: Averages |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Averages |
|
Your Turn: Measures of Central Tendency |
|
Apply It Yourself: Calculate the Percent of Earned Income |
|
4. Measures of Dispersion: Missing the Mark
Summarizing the Math: Dispersion |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Measures of Dispersion |
|
Your Turn: Measures of Dispersion |
|
Apply It Yourself: Evaluate Graduates’ Salaries |
|
5. Continuous Probability: So What’s Normal Anyway?
Use Probability to Calculate Z-Scores |
|
Summarizing the Math: Probabilities of Continuous Events |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Continuous Probability |
|
Your Turn: Continuous Probability |
|
Apply It Yourself: Evaluate the Murder Rate |
|
6. Means Testing: Sampling a Population
Type I and Type II Errors |
|
Confidence Intervals: Two-Tailed Distributions |
|
Summarizing the Math: Sampling a Population |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Means Testing |
|
Apply It Yourself: Assess Maternal Mortality Rate Increases |
|
7. Hypothesis Testing: Examining Relationships
Summarizing the Math: Hypothesis Testing and ANOVA |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with ANOVA |
|
Your Turn: Hypothesis Testing |
|
Apply It Yourself: Examine Partisanship’s Affect on Feelings toward the Democratic Party |
|
8. Describing the Pattern: What Do You See?
Choosing the Appropriate Form of Presentation |
|
Graphs: Relationships and Scales |
|
Visualizing a Relationship: Contingency Tables |
|
Summarizing the Math: Graphs and Contingency Tables |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question Using a Contingency Table |
|
Your Turn: Describing the Pattern |
|
Apply It Yourself: Determine Stability across Legislative Systems |
|
9. Chi-Square and Cramer’s V: What Do You Expect?
The Probability of Discrete Events |
|
Summarizing the Math: Chi-Square and Cramer’s V |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Chi-Square and Cramer’s V |
|
Your Turn: Chi-Square and Cramer’s V |
|
Apply It Yourself: Analyze Data by Type |
|
10. Measures of Association: Making Connections
Basic Principles of Measures of Association |
|
Summarizing the Math: Measures of Association |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Measures of Association |
|
Your Turn: Measures of Association |
|
Apply It Yourself: Measure Poor Student Graduation Rates |
|
Key Terms
11. Multivariate Relationships: Taking Control
Three-Way Contingency Tables |
|
Summarizing the Process: Setting Up Three-Way Contingency Tables |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with a Three-Way Contingency Table |
|
Your Turn: Multivariate Relationships |
|
Apply It Yourself: Analyze Data on Race for Partisanship and Income |
|
12. Bivariate Regression: Putting Your Ducks in a Line
Fit the Data with the Ordinary Least Squares Estimate of the Line |
|
Find the Statistical Significance |
|
Find the Strength of the Relationship |
|
Use Regressions with Time Series Data |
|
Interpret Regressions with Dichotomous Independent Variables |
|
Summarizing the Math: Regression |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Bivariate Regression |
|
Your Turn: Bivariate Regression |
|
Apply It Yourself: Analyze Influences on Corruption |
|
13. Multiple Regression: The Final Frontier
Using Regression to Control for Other Variables |
|
The Assumptions of Regression |
|
Summarizing the Process: Multiple Regression |
|
Use SPSS to Answer a Question with Multiple Regression |
|
Your Turn: Multiple Regression |
|
Apply It Yourself: Evaluate the Impact of Multiple Factors on the 2012 Presidential Election |
|
14. Understanding the Numbers: Knowing What Counts
Keeping the Numbers Meaningful |
|
Embracing the Uncertainty |
|
Reference Materials
Notes
Glossary
Index