Book excerpt: Praise for the Second Edition "Statistics for Research has other fine qualities besides superior organization. The examples and the statistical methods are laid out with unusual clarity by the simple device of using special formats for each. The book was written with great care and is extremely user-friendly."—The UMAP Journal Although the goals and procedures of statistical research have changed little since the Second Edition of Statistics for Research was published, the almost universal availability of personal computers and statistical computing application packages have made it possible for today's statisticians to do more in less time than ever before. The Third Edition of this bestselling text reflects how the changes in the computing environment have transformed the way statistical analyses are performed today. Based on extensive input from university statistics departments throughout the country, the authors have made several important and timely revisions, including: Additional material on probability appears early in the text New sections on odds ratios, ratio and difference estimations, repeated measure analysis, and logistic regression New examples and exercises, many from the field of the health sciences Printouts of computer analyses on all complex procedures An accompanying Web site illustrating how to use SAS® and JMP® for all procedures The text features the most commonly used statistical techniques for the analysis of research data. As in the earlier editions, emphasis is placed on how to select the proper statistical procedure and how to interpret results. Whenever possible, to avoid using the computer as a "black box" that performs a mysterious process on the data, actual computational procedures are also given. A must for scientists who analyze data, professionals and researchers who need a self-teaching text, and graduate students in statistical methods, Statistics for Research, Third Edition brings the methodology up to date in a very practical and accessible way.