Basic Statistics provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to statistics using the free, state-of-the-art, powerful software program R. This book is designed to both introduce students to key concepts in statistics and to provide simple instructions for using R. This concise book: ·Teaches essential concepts in statistics, assuming little background knowledge on the part of the reader ·Introduces students to R with as few sub-commands as possible for ease of use ·Provides practical examples from the educational, behavioral, and social sciences With clear explanations of statistical processes and step-by-step commands in R, Basic Statistics will appeal to students and professionals across the social and behavioral sciences.

"Raykov (Michigan State Univ.) and Marcoulides (Univ. of California, Riverside) continue their tradition of writing introductory, informative texts in the quantitative area. Their earlier works include Introduction to Psychometric Theory (2011), An Introduction to Applied Multivariate Analysis (2008), and A First Course in Structural Equation Modeling (2006). The authors' latest text provides excellent coverage of topics normally addressed in a one- or two-semester statistics course sequence through use of R, a freely available, widely used software package. The book is organized into 15 chapters, beginning with "Statistics and Data." Other chapters cover random sampling, probability, inferences, linear regression, variance and covariance, and more. Most first-time statistics students fear not only the rigor of the discipline but also the complexity of most statistical packages because of their numerous commands and subcommands. R, on the other hand, focuses more on commands than subcommands. This text is unique in that it approaches fundamental statistical concepts by engaging R's very basic, straightforward commands. The authors feel that this approach provides students with a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the most essential concepts necessary in such disciplines as the social sciences, business, education, and medicine. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners." - CHOICE