Book Description

The study of measurement and statistics can be less than inviting. However, in fields as varying as education, politics, and health care, assessment and the use of measurement and statistics have become integral parts of almost every activity undertaken. These activities require the organization of ideas, the generation of hypotheses, the collection of data, and the interpretation, illustration, and analysis of data. No matter where educated people look, this critical analysis is more important than ever in an age where information—and lots of it—is readily available. The ideas and tools contained in the Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics are approachable and can be invaluable for understanding a very technical world and the increasing flow of information. Although there are references that cover statistics and assessment in depth, none provides as comprehensive a resource in as focused and accessible a manner as the three volumes of this Encyclopedia. Through approximately 500 contributions, experts provide an overview and an explanation of the major topics in these two areas. Key Features Covers every major facet of these two different, but highly integrated disciplines—from mean, mode, and median to reliability, validity, significance, correlation, and much more—all without overwhelming the informed reader Offers cross-disciplinary coverage, with contributions from and applications to the fields of Psychology, Education, Sociology, Human Development, Political Science, Business and Management, Public Health, and others Provides cross-reference terms, further readings, and Web site URLs following most entries, as well as an extensive set of appendices and an annotated list of organizations relevant to measurement and statistics Appendices Features Appendix A is a guide to basic statistics for those readers who might like an instructional step-by-step presentation of basic concepts in statistics and measurement Appendix B is a table of critical values used in hypothesis testing and an important part of any reference in this area Appendix C represents a collection of some important and useful measurement and statistics Internet sites A primary goal of creating this set of volumes is to open up the broad discipline of measurement and statistics to a wider and more general audience than usual. Edited by bestselling author Neil J. Salkind, this Encyclopedia is specifically designed to appeal to beginning and intermediate-level students, practitioners, researchers, and consumers of information. It is a welcome addition to any academic library.