Let's Learn More about Statistics

Some engineers might never have had an opportunity to take a statistics class so they struggle through standard distributions, variances, correlations and other aspects of data analysis. Even people who took a formal class in statistics need a "statistical" hand from time to time. Two new books from O'Reilly Media can help.

"Head First Statistics" covers material you'd encounter in a first-year statistics' course. So if you haven't taken such a course, start here. Instead of giving readers just another dry academic tome, author Dawn Griffiths takes a refreshing approach to statistics that includes many helpful illustrations and annotations that look like notes students write in book margins. I liked the many diagrams, problems and the question-answer sections that help readers better understand a concept. I'd dare say the author makes it fun to learn about statistics because she introduces many practical examples and problems.

This book can't cover every statistics' topic, but it lays down a solid foundation. Even if you routinely use statistics' software to analyze data, after you read this book you will better understand how to interpret the results. Today's engineers must understand statistics to ensure their data-collection and -analysis techniques make sense.

The second book, "Statistics in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference," doesn't shy away from math, but you can go for many pages without seeing an equation. The authors wrote this book as both an introductory text for students and to help professionals better understand how statistics presents information and how to use that information. But the word "text" loosely describes this book's approach to statistics. To me, the writers aim to stress the use of statistical information much more than how to apply mathematics to calculate statistical results. I liked the emphasis on interpreting statistical information and the many graphs and tables that clearly illustrate concepts for people like me who would rather see a diagram than an equation.

Chapters cover basic statistics and probability, interpreting statistical information presented by others, research design, inferential statistics, correlation and similar topics. The last three chapters describe the use and interpretation of statistics in business and in medical and educational studies. With a bit of fundamental statistical knowledge, readers can tackle chapters and sections individually and out of order.

Each book addresses statistics in its own way. If you want to brush up on creating, using or interpreting statistical information, one or both books will meet your needs.