Introducing Data Analysis For Social Scientists

The revised and updated edition of this highly successful text is designed for social science students taking their first course in quantitative data analysis. It requires no previous knowledge of statistics or computer use, nor any mathematics beyond an elementary level. The principles of analysing data in simple stages are clearly explained, and it provides an introduction to using computers and SPSS, the most widely used statistical package in the social sciences. This second edition includes both WINDOWS and PC+ versions of SPSS, as well as a glossary of statistical terms. The emphasis throughout is on understanding the underlying principles and on illustrating these with simple but realistic examples that stress both the role of theory in social research and the logic of data analysis. The first four parts of the text give students a firm grasp of the logic and language of social research; preparation of data and basic ideas in computing; descriptive statistics for both single variables and bivariate analyses; and inferential statistics. The final part introduces some of the most useful multivariate techniques and discusses the problems and potential of longitudinal studies. Exercises and examples from the British Class Survey and the British Household Panel Study complete the text, and key subsets of the illustrative data is provided on a free floppy disk inside the volume. The complete package is an invaluable beginner's guide for students in sociology, geography, political science, social policy, social psychology, management and related disciplines.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the second edition Acknowledgements Part one: The logic and language of social research Introducing data analysis The logic of data analysis Part two: From data collection to computer Preparing the data Getting to know the computer DOS, windows and SPSS Part three: Descriptive data analysis in social research From computer to analysis describing single variables Univariate descriptive statistics using SPSS Bivariate analysis for categoric variables measures of association Bivariate analysis for interval level variables regression and correlation Part four: Inferential data analysis in social research From sample to population the idea of inferential statistics Tests of significance for categoric variables Part five: Introduction to multivariate analysis General linear models multivariate analysis Longitudinal data their collection and analysis Concluding remarks Appendix Glossary References Index.

About the Author :
David Rose is Professor and Associate Director of the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-social Change (the British Household Panel Study) at the University of Essex. Oriel Sullivan is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex. Her main research interests lie in the analysis of housing consumption, the domestic division of labour, and the combination of quantitative with qualitative methodologies.