» Multiple Regression : A Primer (Undergraduate Research Methods & Statistics in the Social Sciences)

Multiple Regression : A Primer (Undergraduate Research Methods & Statistics in the Social Sciences) Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great for learning the mechanics of regression
Comment: This is hands-down the most helpful book I have come across in my graduate studies on regression. It's written in non-technical language and is very clearly organized. The book is a great introduction to the mechanics of regression-I find myself going back to it time and again when I am need a refresher or am having a problem in my analyses and need some basic help. Highly recommended for social science grad students.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: OK-ish - needs better formatting
Comment: This book positions itself as a gentler introduction to multiple regression which is both good and bad. The prose makes it easy to read, but in the end this book should have used formatting that better outlines the step-by-step approach needed in multiple regression problems. I swear I'm not kidding here; they do examples where they insert math steps in the middle of sentences in the middle of paragraphs. That doesn't help anyone. Put the examples in clearly outlined boxes like a "real" textbook and outline the steps. The author has written a really decent book - but in the next edition he shouldn't be shy about giving readers enough step-by-step outlines to try some problems. He seems to back off of that for fear of seeming too "technical." Don't worry about it - readers know how to skip ahead. We've been doing it for years.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding for novices
Comment: This starts with the very basics. What is correlation? What is regression? By the time it gets to multiple regression it is nearly over. ALL to its credit. It is eminently readable. It is non-technical and clear. It doesn't have any software step by step, but that is not the point of the book. Too basic for some, it is perfect for the novice. I benefited mostly from inspiration on how best to explain regression to others. Brief and relatively inexpensive, probably worth having on hand even if you are not a novice.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: regression made easy
Comment: For social scientists, this book is so full of practical information about what to look out for in regression, and it's a well written, easy reading style...highly recommended. It's orientation is toward application including brief instructions for SPSS procedures. Another benefit is 5 different examples of how infomation is typically presented in social sciences journals including what are typical levels of sig. and explained variation. Note -- if you're looking for a lot of detailed underlying math or theory, this probably isn't your book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Intro Text for Research Training
Comment: This book was required for a graduate Sociology class in Survey Analysis. I began studying statistics the previous quarter and had a terrible time. The books were dry and uninteresting. This one is written in almost conversational English with plenty of examples and excellent explanations. The writing is clear and easy to follow. I read one or two chapters in a sitting with no problem (my eyes didn't glaze over and I didn't fall asleep.)

If you've ever used "The Complete Idiot's Guide to... " or "... for Dummies" series then you have some idea what this book is like; not that it's dumbed down at all, but that it's written in "plain English" that's easy to follow and (after my last class) literally a pleasure to read. I've been reading the book for 3 days and I am grasping concepts that I could not get in 10 weeks of studying with other texts.

Roughly speaking, the first half introduces the reader to the practice and application of regressions. The second half explains more of the technical details (the arithmetic, assumptions, etc.) The final chapters deal with some of the pitfalls and other considerations involved in using regressions (multi-collinearity, etc.) It's all been very helpful. I highly recommend this book to students of statistics and to instructors in need of texts for their courses.

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