Discovering Statistics Using R

This book fills a niche that very much needed to be filled. It is both a review of basic statistical concepts and directions as to how to perform the corresponding analyses/tests in R. It's light on theory of course, but supplying proofs and in-depth descriptions isn't what this book is about. Although I'm a bit rusty, I've had a great deal of graduate level statistics, none of which emphasized application. This book is an excellent guide as to how to actually apply statistics. Extremely welcome is its emphasis on underlying assumptions. In my theoretical statistics classes, the Central Limit Theorem was the answer to almost all questions involving assumptions. As the authors point out, even with a sample size that's sufficiently large, the CLT does not always guarantee normality. I also like that the authors give complete steps in each chapter. Thus the entire coding to accomplish something is present and you don't have to go looking for how to accomplish some preliminary step before you can do the current procedure. At the end of each chapter is a list of what R packages and functions have been used. The authors do include some sophomoric humor, maybe to make this more palatable to undergraduates, but this doesn't become annoying. Finally the authors appear to like cats, a mark in their favor.One word of warning, Field may not provide a context for something—a test, a transformation, etc. Readers are advised to look at the references he provides at the ends of the chapters. For instance, his later presentations on bootstrapping will make a lot more sense if you’ve read the paper by Wright, London, & Field he suggests. This can be found online. When presenting the Fisher transformation of Pearson’s r to a z-score in Sect. 6.3.3, he doesn’t tell you that it should be used only in tests of null hypotheses rho = some constant not = to 0 or to 1; where .3 < |rho| < 1, r’s sampling distribution will tend to be skewed, making the Fisher transformation necessary. Not knowing this context, given in Chen and Popovich, one of the references at the end of Chapter 6, could cause a reader to use the Fisher transformation inappropriately.

The writing style is highly accessible, fun, varied, and rich in detail. Simply a superb way to get going quickly in R AND in statistics, but even if you have considerable stat under you belt, as I do, it provides an excellent review of concepts, and their implementation in R. I am pleased in every way with this massive survey of the field. With this in hand I know I can go off in whatever direction of specialization I require.There is simply no question in my mind that this the best starter book for both stat and R (and learning the two together, these days, just makes sense). It turns out to be far better than I expected. Loaded with extra information, plenty of fine-grained detail, well worked-out examples, and unexpected humor, this makes its subject just about as accessible as can be done. A great value!

Andy Field simply has a way with making a scary subject- statistics (dare I say it) fun.This book is an excellent step-by-step guide that a beginner will feel comfortable with, but also serves as a great reference for someone like me, who has a background in stats. More importantly, it shows how to perform various statistical analyses using R - which is a great & highly in demand skill. When you buy this book, you have access to example data sets and supplemental material - it's as if Andy is there to help you along the way. If you are freaked out about learning stats, or feel like you don't understand the theory behind how the tests work and when you should perform certain ones, then this book is you.Admittedly, I'm a nerd, so the fact that I actually do enjoy reading the chapters and working the examples might be biased. It's possible that the general population might disagree with me. I do, however, think that Andy's sense of humor and clear examples, rather than my own nerdiness, explains more unique variance in predicting why I so highly recommend this book. Even if you're dreading learning stats, I think this book will show you how much fun it can be- or at least that you don't have to be a math wiz to get the basic concepts. Five stars all the way!

First, the content of the book is excellent. Very well written and extremely accurate from a statistical stand-point. Andy Field is an engaging writer and teacher. In fact, this book is probably one of the best basic statistics books I've seen in a very long time, which is why I am upset about the shoddy workmanship of the actual book. I removed the plastic wrapper, opened the book to the preface and noticed that the page was not attached to the binding. And it only got worse from there. If I were the author and I had spent so much time, research, and effort writing such a work as this, and then received a copy of the first run books only to have the pages fall out, I would be very upset. I would request a refund but I don't want to return the book. I would ask for a replacement but I suspect this is a common problem. My only recourse is to appeal to the masses and the publisher to correct this manufacturing flaw and send us all replacements that keep their pages where they belong; attached to the binding of the book!

The book is an awesome introduction to statistics, and entertaining the reader while covering statistics concepts.I would highly recommend that book to anyone who would like to have fun while learning statistics (the data examples in the book are fantastic)!!