Here are some of my favorite statistics books, in no particular order. If you have a favorite book, e-mail it to us along with a brief statement about why you've found it useful, and we'll add it to the list.
Rowntree, Derek. (1981) Statistics without tears: A primer for non-mathematicians. New York: Scribners.
--with a title like that, what can I add?? This is a concise, user-friendly introduction to the basic foundations of all social statistics. Highly recommended for beginners and as a refresher for everyone.
Tabachnick, Barbara G., & Fidell, Linda S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics (3rd Ed.). New York: Harper Collins. [may be out in a more current revision already]
--this is the most user-friendly and comprehensive multivariate text I know of. It's very thorough, but very readable. Very little matrix algebra is used, the writing is clear, and the figures are very helpful.
Grimm, Laurence G., & Yarnold, Paul R. (199 ). Reading and understanding multivariate statistics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
AND
Grimm, Laurence G., & Yarnold, Paul R. (2000.) Reading and understanding MORE multivariate statistics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
--this pair of books surveys the most commonly used multivariate techniques. Each chapter (one per technique) is clearly written and focuses on when and why you would use the approach. Discussion is clear and non-mathematical.
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S.G., & Aiken, L.S. (2003). Applied multiple regression / correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
--I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this book, because the first edition helped me get through my dissertation (1977). It provides a very comprehensive yet readable treatment of multiple regression. It's more mathematical than the books listed above, but if you work through it patiently, you will be greatly rewarded.
--HG
Posted by hgroteva at September 28, 2005 9:19 PMOkay, I just had to add another one because this statistics book is unique in that it promises, and then delivers, a nonintimidating step-by-step introduction to the world of statistics. The examples are concrete, the concepts are explained in general before examples are cited and the author uses his ridiculous humor to hold your attention through even the dreariest of details. Plus, it teaches through the use of SPSS which is amazingly pertinent to us in family research methods. The book might not have as much detail as other graduate level textbooks, but it's an excellent companion to any grad text.
Field, Andy (2005) Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd Ed.). London: Sage Publications.