Book excerpt: Providing practical training supported by a sound theoretical basis, this textbook introduces students to the principles of investigation by experiment and the role of statistics in analysis. It draws on the author's extensive teaching experience and is illustrated with fully worked, contextualized examples throughout, helping readers to correctly design their own experiments and identify the most appropriate technique for analysis. Subjects include sampling and determining sample reliability, hypothesis testing, relationships between variables, the role and use of computer packages such as Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software and GenStat, and more complex experimental designs, such as randomized blocks and split plots. This book is an essential text for students of agriculture, horticulture and related disciplines