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PART I

Basic Concepts

Chapter 1 Introduction to Statistics

Chapter 2 Frequency Distributions

Chapter 3 Measures of Central Tendency and Variability

Chapter 4 Standard Scores, the Normal Distribution, and Probability

Chapter 5 Sampling and Confidence Intervals

This section, roughly the first third of the book, introduces the basic concepts that form the foundation of statistics. By the time you have finished these five chapters, you should be familiar with statistical terminology and be able to describe a set of data using tables, graphs, and numbers that summarize the average score and the amount of heterogeneity in the scores. The last two chapters in this section cover concepts—the normal distribution, probability, sampling, and confidence intervals—that pave the way for the transition from this section on descriptive statistics to inferential statistics, the topic of the final two thirds of the book.