Why is statistics awesome?
Statistics is awesome for many reasons, three being:
1. You can describe thousands of values with just a few special numbers
2. By knowing these special numbers, you can determine if something weird is going on
3. You can spot trends and make accurate predictions
By knowing statistics, you can make educated decisions (e.g., decide if target customers are more likely to prefer one product over another) and assess the accuracy, assumptions, and biases of any conclusions based on data rather than accepting them as fact. To hear some cool applications of statistics before we dive in, check out these videos by Hans Rosling: Crime spotting, Car accidents, Automatic translations.
Street-Smart Stats is meant for anyone who would like to learn statistics, especially those with no background in statistics. I wrote it as if I’m sitting right next to you and we’re having a pleasant conversation about using numbers to decipher the meaning of life. I recommend reading it like a regular book from front to finish and returning to various concepts afterwards to refresh your memory. You’ll see many questions throughout; after reading each, pause for a moment to think about the answer before moving on. Also, since math is meant to be visualized, you’ll see many graphs and diagrams visualizing the concepts we discuss. Throughout the book are examples, exercises, and R tutorials.
You can gain even more enlightenment by discussing mathematical concepts with others and continuing your learning journey beyond the information in this book. Think of more examples together. Ask each other questions. Post on Udacity’s online discussion forum, find additional practice problems and videos on the course index, reference Udacity’s course wiki, and engage with the resources presented at the end of the book to further your knowledge. This book will give you the foundation you need to continue building your statistics knowledge as much as you want.
Let’s dive in!
See a preview of each lesson by clicking each link below. To access the full book, please purchase a hard copy or a digital version. If you opt for the digital version, you will receive a link via email within 1 business day.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Statistical Research Methods
Lesson 2: Visualizing Data
Lesson 3: Central Tendency
Lesson 4: Variability
Lesson 5: Standardizing
Lesson 6: Normal Distribution
Lesson 7: Sampling Distributions
Lesson 8: Estimation
Lesson 9: Hypothesis Testing
Lesson 10: t-Tests for Dependent Samples
Lesson 11: t-Tests for Independent Samples
Lesson 12: Intro to One-Way ANOVA
Lesson 13: One-Way ANOVA: Test significance of differences
Lesson 14: Correlation
Lesson 15: Linear Regression
Lesson 16: Chi-Squared Tests
Afterward
Index
good job, Katie, thanks! this is a great service to so many people. I’m sharing your book with friends and students.
Hi Katie, followed your link from Edmodo. This looks great and I will definitely incorporate it into my high school math classes. I will definitely contribute to your efforts.
A very useful book!
I have learnt a lot from you, Katie. In fact, I have learnt more statistics from you than from college. Thank you and best wishes !
Nice composed book. Thanks for sharing.
Have gone through with your lectures on Udacity as well. Nice work.
Thanks, Katie. Stay awesome. Like, sudheer, I’ve learnt more statistics from you than I ever did in a formal educational setting.
just say thank you for your project, thank you for your initiative, God bless you, I have been looking for a page that make sense of data, how to interprete numbers in real life and from where they come. Thank you.
Exciting project…free [quality] education will revolutionize civilization
Kudos to you! The democratization of information is moving forward because of contributions such as yours. Clearly, your courses are acs of love. Thank you! I will use Street Smart Stats in my CaST (Computational and Systems Thinking) course.
Hello and a big thank you for making statistics beautiful !!You are the one person that explained all things statistics to a depth that seemed i would never be able to understand,and still ,they make sense to me!!!(Does this makes sense ?):):)(I hope so!!).
Additionally,the material (google docs ) were beyond helpfull ,and incorporated elements that dont usually are included in the formal statistics classes(at least in the ones i ve taken ,and i have taken a few!!!(yes i have a pretty think head ,why r you asking??:):))
Seriously girl,you are the man!!:):):)(well you know what i mean!!(not that mean the other …:):)
Oh and dont let me forget,i want to marry you!!!:):): :).:):)
Best regards ,and my best wishes for successful launch of your book!!:))
Hi, is there any way we can get (purchase) just the online copy of this book? When I go to purchase it for the adavnced chapters it only gives the option of mailing it to me? Thanks
Hi Sulman! I just added a PayPal button above. It should allow you access to a PDF version of the entire book. If you have trouble accessing it, feel free to email me directly: katie@turnthewheel.org.