Book Description

This market leading text offers proven, comprehensive, applications-oriented approach. Written by authors who are highly regarded in the field, the text provides sound methodological development. The discussion and development of each technique is presented in an application setting, with the statistical results providing insights to decisions and solutions to problems. Statistics for Business and Economics, 9e offers proven accuracy that has led instructors to adopt it simply for its superior examples and exercises alone. ... Read more

Book Description

The emphasis of the text is on data analysis, modeling, and spreadsheet use in statistics and management science. This text contains professional Excel software add-ins. The authors maintain the elements that have made this text a market leader in its first edition: clarity of writing, a teach-by-example approach, and complete Excel integration. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Better Title: Intro to Statistics using Excel Add-ins
On the positive side, this book has many excellent case studies and examples. It is well written and interesting. However, I was disappointed, as I was expecting use of Excel to rigorously solve decision making and data analysis problems. The focus of the book is mostly traditional statistics solved using a group of commercial add-ins for Excel. If this is what you want, then the book would get five stars. However, for data analysis and decision making, I think a more thorough treatment using Excel without relying so much on the add-ins would have been appropriate.

Serious Excel 2000 Problem
The text book is great. I have many of Winston's other books and they are all great. The Palisade stuff works just fine. However, the StatPro Addin that accompanies this text does not work with MS Excel 2000. I contacted the IT guy that the authors directed me to--he was stumped. He just gave up and suggested I return my book for a refund because he could not figure out it out. Again, the book is great but the StatPro Addin sucks!

No trouble with Excel
I find the text and software a useful set of tools. It assumes familiarity with basic statistics and Excel, and builds on them to develop a powerfull ability to analize data and make decisions from it. I experienced no trouble with the software install or operation.

MS Office 2000 compatability problems!!
Just purchased the book as a tool for MBA classes. However, after installing the accompanying CD ROM add-ons I had problems accessing MS Office programs. A critical .DLL file was modified by the program during my installation. I think the program was made to run with MS Excel 97. Another suggestion for the author is to include an answers CD ROM for the problems contained in the text so that students and professionals can check their work.

Excellent MBA - level textbook and software.
Finally MBA probability/statistics course and MS Excel have been unified in one textbook. The accompanying software is great, especially Decision Tree (probably the only Excel-based software for decision making). Students like business-oriented excersises in the book. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling volume has long been considered one of the most user accessible books for management science. The new edition retains and updates the traditional, comprehensive coverage of past editions but now adds spreadsheet-based problem solutions to most chapters. In addition, the book is now packaged with free software.The authors provide a comprehensive introduction to quantitative analysis, probability concepts and applications and decision theory models, as well as forecasting, control models, linear programming models and applications, transportation and assignment models, integer programming, goal programming, nonlinear programming, and branch and bound models, network models, project management, lines and queuing theory models and statistical quality control.For those interested in a comprehensive, yet accessible presentation of QM for management. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A book for graduates--Not undergrads
After the first week of our class falling behind, my professor mentioned to our class that this book was the wrong format for undergrads. So this book is only good as the teacher and the students. It's easy to read, but hard to understand. And, the CD-ROM was not user-friendly enough, but had an awesome integration into MS Excel. I aced all of my math classes in college (undergrad), but this class...I'm not gonna to ace. But if you aced all math classes and you're using this book for a grad class, then go for it. Otherwise, find another book.

Great Book
I had one of the worst instructors on the planet this semester. I literally had to teach myself this entire course.
This book made it so much easier. Great diagrams, simple explanations. I ended up with an A.

Easy to follow
This book is easy to follow and the included cd makes solving the problems easy. It also has online links for each chapter. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent Derivatives Book
The cover and page quality make this book a joy to read compared to other derivatives texts on the market.

Even more important, Dr. McDonald's writing is clear and logical. His theory is current and well laid-out. Compared to Hull it has more PDE's and sound theory. Compared to still other derivatives texts, Dr. McDonald gives more applications to supplement the theory.

If I could only recommend one derivatives texts to students and practitioners needing a thorough overview of the market, this would be the one.

A brilliant book by a master teacher
Far too many books on derivatives are written by academics who claim to be writing for intelligent professionals but are in fact really trying to impress their colleagues. This book is a wonderful exception to that general rule. It is written by a master teacher who understands the importance of knowing several different ways to solve problems, and who provides numerous examples so that the reader can check his/her own answer. The book also provides software in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) so that the reader can experiment with the results explained in the text and apply them to his/her own problems.

McDonald is very concerned to explain the intuition behind the numerous formulas presented in the text, and presents the various chapters in an expertly-designed sequence so that new results nearly always become understandable as more general ways of seeing results presented in earlier chapters. The material progresses gradually from basic to complex, so that the dedicated reader becomes thoroughly acquainted with results that have only recently been discovered. As a consequence, this textbook becomes a handy reference work to be kept at one's desk for daily use.

I came across this book more or less by accident, and as I was browsing through it I noted with particular interest several substantial discussions of how derivative pricing can be done with real probabilities so as to arrive at the same results as pricing done with the pseudo-probabilities (or risk-neutral probabilities) discussed in most texts. These sections provided an extremely important clarification of an issue that undoubtedly occurs to nearly all students of derivative pricing but is nonetheless ignored in nearly all of the relevant textbooks and literature. I knew right then that the author understood what questions were occurring in the minds of his students and how to deal with them.

This book is a bit more expensive than some rival texts, but it is entirely worth it because of its tremendous clarity and because of the software that accompanies it. In reality, this book is a bargain.

Excellent Book on Derivatives Markets
I had the privilege of using the manuscript of this book for two advanced finance courses I did at Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University---the Author's home) and just got a chance to read the final published book. This is an excellent book on derivatives markets which should appeal to three types of readers: 1) MBA students doing their first finance course on derivatives; 2) Non-finance professionals who can easily grasp quantitative aspects of derivatives pricing schemes but lack an an intuitive understanding of why, where and how derivatives are used (I was in this category until I attended Kellogg); and, 3) Corporate finance professionals trying to understand different risk management tools. Bob McDonald did a great job in maintaining a good balance between mathematics of derivatives pricing schemes and logical explanations of several economic concepts one would encounter in derivatives. This book is going to be a popular MBA text book very soon.

In the first four chapters of the book, the author assumes that the prices of different derivative securities are known and discusses how these securities can be used for insurance and speculation (Chapter 4 has a nice introduction to risk management). Chapters 5-8 explain pricing methods for futures, forwards and swaps using simple discounting models. Chapter 6 has a lucid discussion on how would "futures contract price vs. time" curves for different commodities differ based on the seasonality, transportation costs and storability aspects specific to each commodity.

Starting in Chapter 9, the author discusses different option pricing models. The material presented in Chapters 10-13, where in the author discusses binomial option pricing models, Black-Scholes formula and delta hedging, is clearly the highlight of this book. I did not find such a crystal clear discussion of binomial pricing models and the rationale behind delta hedging in any other text book. In Chapters 15-17, the author discusses financial engineering (how to create a required payoff from basic building blocks) and corporate applications of derivatives (including real options). In the remaining chapters (Chapters 18-24), I would recommend Chapters 18, 19 and 24 to all the readers. The other chapters are not really necessary unless you plan to work on developing derivatives pricing schemes.

In summary, I strongly recommend this book to every serious student of finance. ... Read more

Book Description

Well-suited for the non-statistician, this applications-oriented introductionto multivariate analysis focuses on the fundamental concepts that affect the use of specific techniques rather than the mathematical derivation of the technique.Provides an overview of several techniques and approaches that are available to analysts today — e.g., data warehousing and data mining, neural networks and resampling/bootstrapping. Chapters are organized to provide a practical, logical progression of the phases of analysis and to group similar types of techniques applicable to most situations. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The Magic Multivariate Book
I've used this book (various editions) since graduate school -- more years ago than I care to admit. It is written in English rather than in "statistics" and gives a terrific conceptual overview of the research techniques. I keep it as a reference and use it regularly. If you want to understand multivariate stats without having to wade through a lot of symbols, this book is great. I also find it very useful when I'm trying to come up with a layman's explanation for management.

A GREAT reference
I took multivariate in Ph.D. school. Our professor didn't have a book (just his notes), so I had no book to be loyal to when I got out. I was given this book once I graduated and consider it to be a fabulous reference. I can't speak to *learning* multivariate techniques out of it because that's not been my experience with this book.

I use it as a reference- to refresh myself on a technique, or to consult when I run into a problem- this book has yet to let me down and has been able to answer any question or solve any problem that I've had.

You see this book cited in academic behavioral research, but the book does a great job of explaining things in a managerial way as well.

Other of these reviews have criticized it for going on too long on an example or a technique- for that I PRAISE this book- I WANT that extra information. I'm reminded of that quote from "Amadeus"- "Too many notes." I WANT as many notes as I can get- that's what makes it so much more helpful.

If you are looking for a great reference book for multivariate techniques, look no further.

A very useful reference in Multivariate Statistical Analysis
The more powerful and advance research techniques becomes, the more easy it is for an average analyst to go astray. This is what the text is aimed for: it helps build a very solid conceptual foundation for researchers when using multivariate analysis. Concepts are clearly delineated and criterias to using / NOT using a certain techique are also fully outlined (Chapter 1&2). Incidentally, this is not a step-by-step or so-called quick-fix manual that guides the readers what buttons to look for in the SPSS/SAS.

An excellent book!
This book is an excellent source of information on multivariate analysis techniques. I especially like the flowcharts used for determining which analysis method to use as well as the flowcharts showing what steps to take for the analysis method chosen. If you have a good basic knowledge of statistics and a good head on your shoulders, you will have no problem understanding the methods presented.

Great book
This is the best applied book on multivariate analysis I know. It clearly explains how to do statistical analyses and how to interpret the output. Clear examples throughout. Syntax supplied for each type of multivariate analysis in both SPSS and SAS, with LISREL notation for CFA. In addition to specific techniques (factor analysis, multiple regression, multiple discriminant analysis, MANOVA, conjoint analysis, canonical correlation, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, structural equation modeling/CFA) excellent sections on structuring data, cleaning data, and handling missing data. While mathematical sophistication always helps in stat, this book doesn't require it. No knowledge of matrix algebra needed to understand this book. Few if any formulas. Emphasis is on logic rather than math. ... Read more

Book Description

This introduction to statistics emphasizes inference; data collection and analysis are covered extensively as needed to evaluate the reported results of statstical studies and to make good business decisions.Stresses the development of statistical thinking—the assessment of credibility and value of the inferences made from data—both by those who consume and those who produce the information. Provides numerous case studies, examples, and exercises that all draw on real business situations and recent economic events. Includes Excel computer printouts (with PHStat add-in) as well as SPSS and MINITAB printouts (SAS and STATISTIX dropped).A useful reference for business professionals who need to brush up on their statistics knowledge. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

STUDENT VERSION LIMITATIONS
Students who are purchasing this product along with the CDROM should be aware that the student version is limited to 1500 cases. I recently purchased SPSS 11.0 (student version) and have not been able to use it due to such limitations. It is fine for in class assignments, but does not serve the needs of graduate students who intend to conduct research in excess of 1500 cases. You may want to invest in the non-student version to eliminate the need to purchase two SPSS programs. This limitation should be fully discolsed on the website.

Excellent, but not the full version
Note that this version, while as good as the first, is not suitable for Ph.D. students. It is only for undergraduates and for MBA students. The program is up to its usual excellent standards. ... Read more

Book Description

The strength of this book has been its unerring accuracy and statistical precision. The role of computers and statistical software has been thoroughly integrated throughout.This edition focuses on maintaining the statistical integrity of past editions while modernizing the book by integrating the use of statistical software, adding new examples and exercises (many with real data), and an emphasis on data analysis and interpretation of output. The fifth edition features both Excel and Minitab. Earlier introduction of key topics includes: introduction of statistical thinking (Ch. 1), introduction of processes and systems (Ch. 1), and coverage of bivariate data, scatter plots, regression, covariance, and correlation (Ch. 3). ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Rock-solid textbook for non-math majors
I used this book for my MBA statistics class recently. This book is very well written in a clear way, not meant to be fancy but to provide a comprehensive coverage of most, if not all, relevant topics. I also belive that the coverage depth of each topic is adequate enough to satisfy all common business and economics applications.

The best way to learn statistics
This book bring us statistics in a simple way, begining with easy exercises and increasing them to hard tasks. I have tried a lot of diferent books, some of them in Portuguese, and this was the only one that is realy good enough to teach us without a tutor or professor. It brings the most important parts of statistics for Business and Economics using exercises that talk about real cases and real hypothesis testing. It was easer to learn from this book than to do it in my own language. ... Read more

Book Description

If you have ever looked for P-values by shopping at P mart, tried to watch the Bernoulli Trails on "People's Court," or think that the standard deviation is a criminal offense in six states, then you need The Cartoon Guide to Statistics to put you on the road to statistical literacy.

The Cartoon Guide to Statistics covers all the central ideas of modern statistics: the summary and display of data, probability in gambling and medicine, random variables, Bernoulli Trails, the Central Limit Theorem, hypothesis testing, confidence interval estimation, and much more--all explained in simple, clear, and yes, funny illustrations. Never again will you order the Poisson Distribution in a French restaurant! ... Read more

Reviews (33)

I'm a Cartoon Guide Addict now...
Have you ever chuckled while reading your mathbook? Ever laughed out loud while crunching numbers? Don't worry--neither had I until I read this book. And any book that makes me smile when I'm doing math has got to be a winner.

Yes, Gonick has done it again. I bought the CG-genetics a while back, and loved it. So when I went hunting for a good 'refresher' stats book, I picked up this one.

I wasn't disappointed. Gonick (et al) has great talent for presenting information in a way that almost fools you into thinking you're not learning, but rather, having fun. And although this book wasn't as "easy" to get into as his Genetics book, I believe it's because I'm less familiar with this subject.

Careful though--as others have mentioned, you can't be fooled into thinking this book is THE way to learn statistics. You have to be pretty comfortable with algebra, and pretty determined to read through the book in order to take anything away from it. And don't try this book as a stand-alone or you'll end up with the same frustration you'd have with a college textbook.

A Good Introduction
"The Cartoon Guide to Statistics" by Larry Gonick and Woollcott Smith was published in 1993. This book is a good introductory level look at Statistics. The authors cover what Statistics is, what the history of the subject is, and a look at some theories, terms, and applications of the subject.

The weakness of the book is that there are a lot of formulas given, and not enough discussion of the formulas, so one would need to use other statistics texts to supplement the material, so this book cannot stand alone in that respect. On the other hand, if one is just trying to get an overview, there is a lot to skip over. The authors do make fun of the formulas, and the amount of math so those that are looking for an overview may enjoy the humorous presentation. There is also a lot to do with the subject that the book covers. It does cover probabilities, but when it comes to distributions it really focuses on Standard Normal distributions. I don't believe it ever mentions Uniform, Poisson, or other types of distributions which most statistic courses do cover.

The best part of the book is the examples, some of which are carried through for several chapters to help the reader better understand the subject. Although, even with the examples they are a bit inconsistent in how complete they are. For example, in one case they started to discuss the use of statistics to compare the salaries of male and female employees in the same job, but they never completed the discussion. The examples of racial bias in jury selection, and the gas mileage comparison of two different types of gas are much better. This is a decent book, but not up to the level of Gonick's excellent "Cartoon History of the Universe" series, and not strong enough to give it more than three stars.

Very funny and cute book. I love it!
If you want to learn complicated things like statistics, but are feeling quite overwhelmed by the complexity, I highly recommend you learn visually from a book like this. Larry has a great sense of humor and is a creative genius.

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

Best intro to stats around
I read this book because I had to take a Linear Regression stats class, and I lacked the pre-requisite knowledge of basic statistics. After attempting to skim some of the 800 page intro books in the library, I decided to give this one a try.

It contains everything you need to know about introductory statistics. Some things are a little unclear, but this stems from the fact that the author's did not want to burden the reader with the derivations of the basic equations. So at the expense of some clarity, they cut out a lot of junk that you will never need, probably even if your major is statistics.

So even though you may need to supplement this book with a more detailed book, and even though the cartoons are far from funny, I give this book 5 stars because it is simply the best intro that you will find. You could easily get through an introductory college course with this book alone, and its a shame more courses don't try to do that.

Book Got Me Through College
I am math phobic and taking Statistics in college made me wonder if I was one of those people who "wasn't cut-out for college". But I got this book and it made statistics fun and a lot less intimidating. After college, an interviewer asked me about Bayes Theorum and I immediately pictured the illustration from the book! Recently, while studying for the GMAT, I recalled the fun lessons from the book - especially probability and nailed that section of the test.
This would be great for High School or college students or ANYONE who is intimidated by math or stats. ... Read more

Book Description

Now ranked the #1 selling Marketing Research book, this edition returns with an abundance of new and updated exercises, coverage, and features. Most notable is a special emphasis on online marketing research. Nearly every chapter includes coverage on how the Internet and new technologies are impacting research methods, for better and for worse. A book cannot succeed on new features and topics alone. With every new edition, reviewers complement these authors for an approach that is innovative yet approachable and reliable. Exercises and cases have been checked for accuracy, and the authors also recruited a Blue Ribbon Panel of marketing research professionals. The Panel explores today's increasingly digital research environment from a practitioner's point of view.Chapter topics include the marketing research process and industry, determining research objectives, research design, measurement, data collection and analysis, interpreting associations among variables, predictive analysis, and preparing and presenting the research report.For an understanding and appreciation of how marketing research works in practice. ... Read more

Book Description

Updated to reflect the latest technological advances in statistical tools, this solid text presents ideas and concepts more clearly for students who have little or no background in statistics. The Tenth Edition retains all the elements and style that educators nationwide have come to expect—clear prose, excellent problems and precise presentation of mathematics involved—while eliminating some of the computational drudgery. The seamless integration of technology gives professors multiple teaching options.The volume outlines all aspects of summarizing data, possibilities and probabilities, rules of probability, expectations and decisions, distribution, sampling, problems of estimation, tests of hypotheses, analysis of variance, regression, correlation and nonparametric tests.For Statistics professionals and others using elementary statistics. ... Read more

Book Description

A brief introduction to business statistics that balances a conceptual understanding of statistics with the real-world application of statistical methodology.This essentials version features selected core topics from the authors' market-leading Statistics for Business and Economics, 8th, presented in 13 chapters. It includes the highly-regarded strengths of the longer text, including the problem-scenario approach that uses real-world examples to introduce statistical techniques.Methods, Applications, and Self-Test exercises include hundreds of problems based on real data.Examples and exercises throughout focus on ways that statistics contribute to improving the quality of products and services. This text can also be computer integrated at the discretion of the instructor. Instruction for data analysis based on Microsoft Excel and Minitab is included in appendices of appropriate chapters. Case problems are also provided with the text, with data sets available on disk for both Minitab and Excel formats. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Text!!
The information in this book is clear-cut, concise, and easy to read. Easily understandable examples are given for the various statistical formulas, and extras like z-score value charts and the like help a lot. If you have a talented instructor leading your Stats class (like I did) in addition to this text, you will be sure to ace this course (like I did)!

P.S.: If you happen to be an Information Systems/Information Technology major (such as myself) DO NOT RE-SELL THIS BOOK! You will need the information in this book in your future Info Systems courses, and you will definitely realize the TRUE value of this text!

A useful book. . .
. . .by authors who remember that they are writing for persons who are NOT professional mathematicians.

In today's world, frequently persons enter the business profession from a background in something other than what in the past might have been considered traditional avenues. Not all business textbooks recognize this (see my review for "Mathematical Applications")! However, this book seems to be an exception.

The material is presented in a logical format; key formulae are highlighted and set off from the rest of the text; and in-depth business examples are given in each chapter, demonstrating the particular statistical tools to be taught.

A useful and recommended volume. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Good intro for self-study
This is an introductory book. It also fits in introductory level of Mathematical Statistics. The prerequisites are introductory calculus and linear algebra. Most theorems are proved in calculus style but there are some gIt can be shownsh that are not proved. So some readers may not be satisfied with the book, especially Math majors.

Logical steps are shown in detail; else logical gaps are contained within a level such that a first time reader can fill in the gap with a pencil and paper. Occasional mix with Bayesian perspective is also a feature. Answers to odd-numbered exercises are provided except ones that ask derivations and proofs. Exercises that require some tricks are provided with hints. In these respects, this textbook is suitable for self-study.

Upon completion of the entire material, I feel concepts are developed well up to Hypothesis testing Chapter 8 where the presentation of material reaches climax and its level of exposition is somewhat higher than other chapters. Thereafter, simple linear regression is treated in detail, but coverage and detail of materials seem to deteriorate from the following general regression section, nonparametrics and thereafter. Kolmogorov-Smirnov Tests section is treated nicely though. Anova section lacks in coverage. The new simulation chapter is presented more like a demonstration rather than an introduction.

I have never seen the previous 2nd edition (unfortunately Dr. Degroot is no longer with us), but according to the preface of this 3rd edition, Dr. Schervish describes 8 major changes from the previous edition. Notable are some material removed from the previous (likelihood principle, Gauss-Markov theorem, and stepwise regression), some added (lognormal distribution, quantiles, prediction and prediction intervals, improper priors, Bayes test, power functions, M-estimators, residual plots in linear models and Bayesian analysis of simple linear regression), more exercises and examples, special notes, introduction and summary to each section, and so on. I find the last in the list is somewhat disturbing, especially introduction parts that are often redundant with the very next paragraph. On the other hand, I find that special notes provide good insights.

I wish they included introduction to Statistical Decision theory, full coverage of regression analysis to be usable such as diagnosis, transformation and variable selection, coverage of Multivariate Normal distribution, more coverage and depth in nonparametrics and simulation, and lists of recommended readings for further study at the end of each section with comments.

There are a noticeable number of typos as of this first printing I have. I sent suggestions for typos and was impressed that Dr. Schervish updated errata list within a few days at his homepage. I wish all authors were like him being responsible.

How to remain a classic
This new editon mantains the features that have made it a classical for a long time:

- Clearly written;
- Tough subjects are made understandable even for beginners;
- Classical results are presented rigorously after a bunch of examples;
- Many exercises, well posed, whose solutions are found in the end of the book (just even exercises).

This books has been long without a revision and we can see easily that it is much better. The main improvement is the computational treatment of Statistics in terms of theory and exercises. And, of course, it is visually more pleasant.

You may think this is little, though. But, a classical is so well done that there is not much more to do. This is the case. So the second author adds what was difficult when DeGroot first wrote it (computational stuff, as I said) and suppress what is out of fashion or has been overcome.

I think it is still the best option to start out to learn Statistics.

Cannot follow the logic --2nd Ed.
First of all I don't know how the 3rd and 2nd Edition differ.

I am trying to learn Probability and Statistics on my own, and I find it very difficult with this book.

The book does do somethings well. It does explain concepts better than what I have read so far (Schaum's). However, in the sections on combinatorics, especially, and thereafter I cannot follow the logic. I read an example problem, the solution is given immediately with little explanation as to how. The author says the bare minimum e.g. here n=52 and k=13. I have seen the combinatoric calculations, that are the solutions, in a multitude of ways, with sums in the numerator, products in the numerator, and it is not at all obvious as to why. There is insufficient discussion in the solution.

Then in working the exercises, there is nonuniform quality with the even-number solutions. Some answers just have a number, others have the formula, and some have numbers with factorials so you can kind of guess what the author did. But in the case where there is just a number, you can't.

Can you learn from this book? Sure you can, but my prediction (after reading Ch. 1) is that it's about as difficult as trying to learn a programming language by looking at syntax and running the code, having no programming experience.

Great stats book
I used to hate statistics, but this book is pretty clear and concise, and gets the idea across very quickly and easily. The exercise questions were of reasonable difficulty, and are put forth in a clear manner, unlike other books which present the questions in round-about manner. The examples tend to follow on or build upon from the earlier chapters, so it is best to tackle the book in the order as prescribed by the chapters.

best introduction to the field
I have looked at many introductory books to probability and statistics and this one is definitely the best. It is very clear and readable and yet gets to pretty advanced stuff. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the most widely used mathematical statistics text at the top 200 universities in the United States. Premiere authors Dennis Wackerly, William Mendenhall, and Richard L. Scheaffer present a solid undergraduate foundation in statistical theory while conveying the relevance and importance of the theory in solving practical problems in the real world. The authors' use of practical applications and excellent exercises helps students discover the nature of statistics and understand its essential role in scientific research. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Solid Presentation But Lacking Concision
The sixth edition of Math. Statistics w/ Applications is a solid book with good information. However, the form of presentation was not for me. The authors have chosen an explicative style which tends to be overly wordy.

When I begin to read a chapter, I tend to get frustrated and impatient because they either try to show you all the subtleties at once or give you a long-ass paragraph that can be said with one sentence. Thus, The most important stuff is buried in a mountain of over-whelming text.

I have ditched this book in favor of Ghahramani's "Fundamentals of Probability, Second Edition" for my Math Stat I class.

Best statistics book for econometricians
This book is a book on mathematical statistics and hence goes further than most entry-level statistics books, which mostly deal with business statistics. This book does not reinvent the wheel, but is goes further where other books end. You will find a mathematical explanation and theorems are proved as well. Soms more advanced topics are moment generating functions and power tests. The consequention is that the learning curve is steeper. At my university, econometrics students use this book, and they couldn't have made a better choice. Logically, since econometricians don't have enough on a book with only a minor focus on formulas.

Worst stat book ever
I work as an actuary, and I have passed the first actuarial exam (the calculus and stat exam with a <30% pass ratio). My friend uses this book for her stat class, and I have found it to be a terrible book.

I hope that any teacher reads this, and looks at the book before assigning it to a class.

There are very few examples of problems, very little discussion of theory, and it is structured in a way that does not allow you to easily reference other texts.

If you want a good text for challenging problems and relevant examples, try Hogg and Tanis.

A great book!
This is definitely one of the best introductory statistical books around. The writing is lucid and masterly, and includes a wide variety of topics. The authors have included an abundant number of well-chosen exercises and these cover a wide spectrum showing the application of statistics to the engineering, biological, etc., sciences. My only complaints are that there is not enough on residuals and influence in the chapter on regression; the use of the hat matrix in this context would have been most beneficial, in my opinion. Also I would have very much liked to see the Fisher information in inference and the Smith-Satterthwaite procedure in hypothesis testing included. Nonethless both students and instructors will find the book extremely useful and it gets my highest recommendations!

Three standard deviations from the mean...
As a student in Engineering Science at the University of Toronto who used "Introduction to Mathematical Statistics" by Rice as a textbook for a course on Probability and Statistics, I must say that my life would have been so much easier had I owned a copy of Wackerly's text. It is a concise, easy to follow, practical textbook that covers the material thoroughly while still presenting it in a most digestible form. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This is one of the best business statistics book
This book is used in the course of Business Statistics at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. This is a useful and understandable book. The questions are well-prepared.Also,the statistics program PhSTAT is given with this book. I advise you to buy.

Good, but could be better
This book is okay, but it could definitely be better.For a basic statistics class, this book contains WAY too much information to digest in a semester of college.No professor I know of has ever gotten past chapter 8.Further, the problems are quite wimpy as far as the amount of thought required for them.Quite wimpy.Could be better.The only good thing is that for doing it on a spreadsheet, the data comes on a CD, so that you don't have to re-type it, thankfully. ... Read more

Book Description

As the cost of doing business increases, call centers and help desks are frequently moving overseas. How can your center remain competitive? Is pooling the best way to slash your wait times? James Abbott concisely answers these questions as he leads you through the world of process-centered customer service. Strategic and tactical terms, how to choose metrics to measure, and the miracle of Queuing Science are covered thoroughly, using easy-to-grasp anecdotes to explain the key technical topics. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Wakeup Call
"Abbott's book is a much-needed wakeup call. In order to compete, managers must use scientific methods, not gut feelings or hocus pocus. This book is back to basics--what needs to be monitored, why you need to monitor it, and who should make which decisions."

To understand metrics, read this book first!
Very good approach to metrics and how to apply metrics to call center operations in order to understand and support the goals of the call center. Mr. Abbott uses easy to understand language and examples rather than technical language and equasions and this makes it very easy to understand the principals and see the big picture. Every manager should be required to read this as thier first book on metrics. ... Read more