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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgements | |
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| I. THE BASICS | |
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| Introduction to Part I | |
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| Design, Measurement, and Analysis | |
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| What is the role of research questions in the process of planning research? | |
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| How are design, measurement, and analysis defined and related? | |
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| What are the main types of research design? | |
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| What is measurement and what are its main types? | |
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| What different kinds of statistical analysis are there? | |
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| What is statistical significance? | |
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| How have recent controversies changed statistical practice? | |
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| What are Type I and Type II errors, and why should I care? | |
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| Standard Deviation and Correlation | |
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| What is a standard deviation and what does it tell us? | |
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| How do we calculate the standard deviation and the variance? | |
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| What are standard scores and how can we use them? | |
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| What is the normal distribution and how is it related to standard scores? | |
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| What is a correlation coefficient and how do we interpret it? | |
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| How is a correlation coefficient calculated? | |
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| How do we interpret correlations and their statistical significance? | |
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| How can correlations be used to find relations in and interpret real data? | |
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| What is a large correlation? | |
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| What is linearity, and why is it important for interpreting correlations? | |
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| What is the relationship of correlation and cause? | |
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| Variables and the Relations Among Them | |
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| How are different types of variables related? | |
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| How can we depict relations among variables and use the depictions to understand our research questions? | |
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| How does the inclusion of effect modifiers make our understanding of our research questions more realistic? | |
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| What is causal modeling and how do we move from graphics to equations--and back again? | |
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| How can we use causal modeling to think about a research topic? The example of parental involvement | |
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| How can we use causal modeling to think about a research topic? The example of student advisory programs | |
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| What is the nature of causation when studying research problems? | |
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| What are the criteria for assessing causation? | |
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| The Uses of Descriptive Statistics | |
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| How do researchers use the term "descriptive" statistics? | |
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| How are descriptive statistics used to depict populations and samples? | |
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| What are measures of central tendency and how does one choose among them? | |
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| How do we explore the shape of data distributions? | |
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| How does the theoretical normal distribution relate to descriptions of actual data distributions? | |
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| What do you do if your data are not continuous and not (approximately) normally distributed? | |
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| What are non-parametric statistical techniques and how are they used? | |
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| How can we use descriptive statistics to check assumptions that have to be true for the proper use of other techniques? | |
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| What are some substantive uses of descriptive (non-inferential) statistics? | |
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| Surveys and Random Sampling | |
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| What criteria define a good sample? | |
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| What are the main varieties of probability samples and what are the chief features of each? | |
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| What can be learned from non-probability samples? | |
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| How important is sample size? | |
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| How can surveys be designed to elicit the most valuable responses? | |
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| How can questions be written so they will lead to effective measurement? | |
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| How can responses to survey questions be analyzed? | |
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| When are surveys likely to b | |