Colleagues involved with introducing statistics to students who are uncomfortable with maths may be interested to hear that an updated edition of my bestselling STATISTICS WITHOUT TEARS is about to be published (July 5th) by Penguin — and that they can claim an inspection copy of the new edition by sending an email from their academic address to: academic@uk.penguingroup.com
This 200-page book was first published in 1981 and has since been used by hundreds of thousands of teachers and students around the world.
It is very much an introduction or primer for those who are encountering statistics for the first time. It is not meant as a core text for an advanced course but rather as one that might pave the way for such texts, explaining and demystifying the underlying concepts and approaches of statistics (without requiring any calculating); thus building its readers’ confidence that they really can get to grips with the subject and learn whatever is necessary to use it competently. User’s reviews on Amazon (at http://amzn.eu/8vIikQc) give a fair idea of how well it has been serving that purpose.
Teachers have deployed the book in many different ways over the last 37 years, sometimes recommending it as pre-course reading for all, sometimes suggesting it only to those who are struggling, and sometimes building a course around it by customising it with their own lectures, supplementary reading and self-assessment activities.
The book is written in the conversational ‘tutorial-in-print’ style pioneered at the Open University in the 1970s. That is to say, the author punctuates the argument with frequent questions inviting students to apply what has been explained so far —and then asking them to consider the author’s comments on the question before deciding whether they are ready for the next step in the argument.
Might this book help any of your students (if it hasn’t already)?
Best wishes for the coming academic year,
Dr Derek Rowntree (retired Professor of Educational Development, The Open University)
