Book excerpt: A valuable guide to conducting experiments and analyzing dataacross a wide range of applications Experimental design is an important component of the scientificmethod. This book provides guidance on planning efficientinvestigations. It compiles designs for a wide range ofexperimental situations not previously found in accessible form.Focusing on applications in the physical, engineering, biological,and social sciences, Planning, Construction, and StatisticalAnalysis of Comparative Experiments is a valuable guide todesigning experiments and correctly analyzing and interpreting theresults. The authors draw on their years of experience in theclassroom and as statistical consultants to research programs oncampus, in government, and in industry. The object is always tostrike the right balance between mathematical necessities andpractical constraints. Serving both as a textbook for students of intermediatestatistics and a hands-on reference for active researchers, thetext includes: A wide range of applications, including agricultural sciences,animal and biomedical sciences, and industrial engineeringstudies General formulas for estimation and hypothesis testing,presented in a unified and simplified manner Guidelines for evaluating the power and efficiency of designsthat are not perfectly balanced New developments in the design of fractional factorials withnon-prime numbers of levels in mixed-level fractionalfactorials Detailed coverage on the construction of plans and therelationship among categories of designs Thorough coverage of balanced, lattice, cyclic, and alphadesigns Strategies for sequences of fractional factorials Data sets and SAS® code on a companion web site An ideal handbook for the investigator planning a researchprogram, the text comes complete with detailed plans of experimentsand alternative approaches for added flexibility.