Key Databases
- ICPSR Direct This link opens in a new windowSearch the extensive holdings of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, encompassing political, social, economic, and educational data, and download data and documentation to your own computer for analysis. Most datasets require the use of a quantitative analysis program, such as SPSS, Data Desk, or Excel, to produce useful results. Contact F&M's institutional liaison to the ICPSR, Meghan Kelly, Content Services Librarian for more information.
- Roper Center iPoll & RoperExpress This link opens in a new windowiPoll is a comprehensive database of over 500,000 public opinion questions and answers asked in the US since 1935.
RoperExpress offers on demand access to the full datasets required to conduct bivariate and multivariate analyses on archived surveys. Access requires a one-time registration and a valid F&M email address. - Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new windowA collection of searchable statistical tables on the social, political, and economic characteristics of the United States.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowClarivate Analytics' premier citation databases in the sciences (physical, life and social) and arts & humanities. Search for articles that cite a known author or work or by standard search queries. Covers 1864 to the present.
Key Texts
The Concise Encyclopedia of Statistics by
The Concise Encyclopedia of Statistics presents the essential information about statistical tests, concepts, and analytical methods in language that is accessible to practitioners and students of the vast community using statistics in medicine, engineering, physical science, life science, social science, and business/economics. The reference is alphabetically arranged to provide quick access to the fundamental tools of statistical methodology and biographies of famous statisticians. The more than 500 entries include definitions, history, mathematical details, limitations, examples, references, and further readings. All entries include cross-references as well as the key citations. The back matter includes a timeline of statistical inventions. This reference will be an enduring resource for locating convenient overviews about this essential field of study.
ISBN: 9780387328331Publication Date: 2008-02-21
Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics by
The study of measurement and statistics can be less than inviting. However, in fields as varying as education, politics, and health care, assessment and the use of measurement and statistics have become integral parts of almost every activity undertaken. These activities require the organization of ideas, the generation of hypotheses, the collection of data, and the interpretation, illustration, and analysis of data. No matter where educated people look, this critical analysis is more important than ever in an age where information--and lots of it--is readily available. The ideas and tools contained in the Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics are approachable and can be invaluable for understanding a very technical world and the increasing flow of information. Although there are references that cover statistics and assessment in depth, none provides as comprehensive a resource in as focused and accessible a manner as the three volumes of this Encyclopedia. Through approximately 500 contributions, experts provide an overview and an explanation of the major topics in these two areas. Key Features Covers every major facet of these two different, but highly integrated disciplines--from mean, mode, and median to reliability, validity, significance, correlation, and much more--all without overwhelming the informed reader Offers cross-disciplinary coverage, with contributions from and applications to the fields of Psychology, Education, Sociology, Human Development, Political Science, Business and Management, Public Health, and others Provides cross-reference terms, further readings, and Web site URLs following most entries, as well as an extensive set of appendices and an annotated list of organizations relevant to measurement and statistics Appendices Features Appendix A is a guide to basic statistics for those readers who might like an instructional step-by-step presentation of basic concepts in statistics and measurement Appendix B is a table of critical values used in hypothesis testing and an important part of any reference in this area Appendix C represents a collection of some important and useful measurement and statistics Internet sites A primary goal of creating this set of volumes is to open up the broad discipline of measurement and statistics to a wider and more general audience than usual. Edited by bestselling author Neil J. Salkind, this Encyclopedia is specifically designed to appeal to beginning and intermediate-level students, practitioners, researchers, and consumers of information. It is a welcome addition to any academic library.
ISBN: 9781452261461Publication Date: 2006-10-13
A Dictionary of Statistics 3e by
This wide-ranging, jargon-free dictionary contains over 2,300 entries on all aspects of statistics, including terms used in computing, mathematics, and probability. It also includes biographical information on over 200 key figures in the field and coverage of statistical journals andsocieties. While embracing the whole multi-disciplinary spectrum of this complex subject, information is presented in a clear and practical manner. This edition features recommended web links for many entries, accessible via the Dictionary of Statistics website, which provide valuable extrainformation.This edition features expanded coverage of applied statistics. Entries are generously illustrated with 130 useful figures and diagrams, and include worked examples where applicable. Appendices include a historical calendar of important statistical events, lists of statistical and mathematicalnotation, and statistical tables. It is an invaluable dictionary for statistics students and professionals from a wide range of disciplines, including economics, politics, market research, medicine, psychology, pharmaceuticals, and mathematics, and provides a clear introduction to the subject forthe general reader.
ISBN: 9780199679188Publication Date: 2014-05-13
The Elements of Statistical Learning by
This book describes the important ideas in a variety of fields such as medicine, biology, finance, and marketing in a common conceptual framework. While the approach is statistical, the emphasis is on concepts rather than mathematics. Many examples are given, with a liberal use of colour graphics. It is a valuable resource for statisticians and anyone interested in data mining in science or industry. The book's coverage is broad, from supervised learning (prediction) to unsupervised learning. The many topics include neural networks, support vector machines, classification trees and boosting---the first comprehensive treatment of this topic in any book. This major new edition features many topics not covered in the original, including graphical models, random forests, ensemble methods, least angle regression & path algorithms for the lasso, non-negative matrix factorisation, and spectral clustering. There is also a chapter on methods for "wide'' data (p bigger than n), including multiple testing and false discovery rates.
ISBN: 9780387848587Publication Date: 2009-08-26
Naked Statistics by
The field of statistics is rapidly transforming into a discipline that Hal Varian at Google has called "sexy". And with good reason; from batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics is growing by leaps and bounds. In this book the author demystifies the study of statistics by stripping away the arcane and technical details to get at the underlying intuition that is key to understanding the power of statistical concepts. Tackling a wide-ranging set of problems, he demonstrates how statistics can be used to look at questions that are important and relevant to us today.
ISBN: 9780393071955Publication Date: 2013-01-07
New titles added to collection, July 2024!
Smart Use of State Public Health Data for Health Disparity Assessment by
Health services are often fragmented along organizational lines with limited communication among the public health-related programs or organizations, such as mental health, social services, and public health services. This can result in disjointed decision making without necessary data and knowledge, organizational fragmentation, and disparate knowledge development across the full array of public health needs. When new questions or challenges arise that require collaboration, individual public health practitioners (e.g., surveillance specialists and epidemiologists) often do not have the time and energy to spend on them. Smart Use of State Public Health Data for Health Disparity Assessment promotes data integration to aid crosscutting program collaboration. It explains how to maximize the use of various datasets from state health departments for assessing health disparity and for disease prevention. The authors offer practical advice on state public health data use, their strengths and weaknesses, data management insight, and lessons learned. They propose a bottom-up approach for building an integrated public health data warehouse that includes localized public health data. The book is divided into three sections: Section I has seven chapters devoted to knowledge and skill preparations for recognizing disparity issues and integrating and analyzing local public health data. Section II provides a systematic surveillance effort by linking census tract poverty to other health disparity dimensions. Section III provides in-depth studies related to Sections I and II. All data used in the book have been geocoded to the census tract level, making it possible to go more local, even down to the neighborhood level.
ISBN: 9781482205329Publication Date: 2018-09-03
How Charts Lie by
We've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what if we don't understand what we're looking at? Social media has made charts, infographics, and diagrams ubiquitous--and easier to share than ever. We associate charts with science and reason; the flashy visuals are both appealing and persuasive. Pie charts, maps, bar and line graphs, and scatter plots (to name a few) can better inform us, revealing patterns and trends hidden behind the numbers we encounter in our lives. In short, good charts make us smarter--if we know how to read them. However, they can also lead us astray. Charts lie in a variety of ways--displaying incomplete or inaccurate data, suggesting misleading patterns, and concealing uncertainty--or are frequently misunderstood, such as the confusing cone of uncertainty maps shown on TV every hurricane season. To make matters worse, many of us are ill-equipped to interpret the visuals that politicians, journalists, advertisers, and even our employers present each day, enabling bad actors to easily manipulate them to promote their own agendas. In How Charts Lie, data visualization expert Alberto Cairo teaches us to not only spot the lies in deceptive visuals, but also to take advantage of good ones to understand complex stories. Public conversations are increasingly propelled by numbers, and to make sense of them we must be able to decode and use visual information. By examining contemporary examples ranging from election-result infographics to global GDP maps and box-office record charts, How Charts Lie demystifies an essential new literacy, one that will make us better equipped to navigate our data-driven world.
ISBN: 9781324001560Publication Date: 2019-10-15
Research Methodology Texts
Research Methods in Interpreting by
This is the first book to deliver a comprehensive guide to research methods in all types of interpreting. It brings together the expertise of two world-recognized scholars in spoken and signed language interpreting to cover the full scope of the discipline.It features questions, prompts and exercises throughout to highlight key concepts, provoke thought and encourage reader interaction. It deals fully with research in both conference and community interpreting, offering a variety of perspectives on both. Core areas such as reading and analyzing research literature, practical issues in research and producing research reports are all covered. This book is an indispensable tool for students and researchers of Interpreting as well as professionals and interpreter trainers.
ISBN: 9781472524737Publication Date: 2013-09-12
Analyzing Quantitative Data by
A user-friendly, hands-on guide to recognizing and conducting proper research techniques in data collection Offering a unique approach to numerical research methods, Analyzing Quantitative Data: An Introduction for Social Researchers presents readers with the necessary statistical applications for carrying out the key phases of conducting and evaluating a research project. The book guides readers through the steps of data analysis, from organizing raw data to utilizing descriptive statistics and tests of significance, drawing valid conclusions, and writing research reports. The author successfully provides a presentation that is accessible and hands-on rather than heavily theoretical, outlining the key quantitative processes and the use of software to successfully draw valid conclusions from gathered data. In its discussion of methods for organizing data, the book includes suggestions for coding and entry into spreadsheets or databases while also introducing commonly used descriptive statistics and clarifying their roles in data analysis. Next, inferential statistics is explored in-depth with explanations of and instructions for performing chi-square tests, t-tests, analyses of variance, correlation and regression analyses, and a number of advanced statistical procedures. Each chapter contains explanations of when to use the tests described, relevant formulas, and sample computations. The book concludes with guidance on extracting meaningful conclusions from statistical tests and writing research reports that describe procedures and analyses. Throughout the book, Statistical Resources for SPSS® sections provide fundamental instruction for using SPSS® to obtain the results presented. Where necessary, the author provides basic theoretical explanations for distributions and background information regarding formulas. Each chapter concludes with practice problems, and a related website features derivations of the book's formulas along with additional resources for performing the discussed processes. Analyzing Quantitative Data is an excellent book for social sciences courses on data analysis and research methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as a valuable reference for applied statisticians and practitioners working in the fields of education, medicine, business and public service who analyze, interpret, and evaluate data in their daily work.
ISBN: 9781118626009Publication Date: 2014-01-21
Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods by
Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods This user-friendly textbook teaches students to understand and apply procedural steps in completing quantitative studies. It explains statistics while progressing through the steps of the hypothesis-testing process from hypothesis to results. The research problems used in the book reflect statistical applications related to interesting and important topics. In addition, the book provides a Research Analysis and Interpretation Guide to help students analyze research articles. Designed as a hands-on resource, each chapter covers a single research problem and offers directions for implementing the research method from start to finish. Readers will learn how to: Pinpoint research questions and hypotheses Identify, classify, and operationally define the study variables Choose appropriate research designs Conduct power analysis Select an appropriate statistic for the problem Use a data set Conduct data screening and analyses using SPSS Interpret the statistics Write the results related to the problem Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods allows students to immediately, independently, and successfully apply quantitative methods to their own research projects.
ISBN: 9781118220757Publication Date: 2012-07-09
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research by
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research presents a comprehensive overview of the field of qualitative research. It is intended for students of all levels, faculty, and researchers across the social sciences. The contributors represent some of the most influential and innovative researchers in the field as well as emerging scholars. This handbook provides a broad introduction to the field of qualitative research to those with little to no background in the subject, while simultaneously providing substantive contributions to the field that will be of interest to even the most experienced researchers. It serves as a user-friendly teaching tool suitable for a range of undergraduate or graduate courses, as well as individuals working on their thesis or other research projects. With a focus on methodological instruction, this volume offers both a retrospective and prospective view of the field. The first two sections explore the history of the field, ethics, and philosophical/theoretical approaches. The next three sections focus on the major methods of qualitative practice as well as newer approaches (such as arts-based research and internet research); area studies often excluded (such as museum studies and disaster studies); and mixed methods and participatory methods (such as community-based research). The next section covers key issues including data analysis, interpretation, writing and assessment. The final section offers a commentary about politics and research and the move towards public scholarship.
ISBN: 9780199811823Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Qualitative Research Design by
Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach provides researchers and students with a user-friendly, step-by-step guide to planning qualitative research. It shows how the components of design interact with each other, and provides a strategy for creating coherent and workable relationships among these design components, highlighting key design issues. Written in an informal, jargon-free style, the new Third Edition incorporates examples and hands-on exercises.
ISBN: 1412981190Publication Date: 2012-06-08
