Synopses & Reviews
Explaining the things you need to know in order to read empirical papers in the social and health sciences, as well as techniques needed to build personal statistical models, this user-friendly volume includes background material on study design, bivariate regression, and matrix algebra. To develop technique, Freedman also includes computer labs, with sample computer programs, and illustrates the principles and pitfalls of modeling. The book is rich in exercises with answers. Target audiences include undergraduates and beginning graduate students in statistics, as well as students and professionals in the social and health sciences.
Review
"This is an insightful and authoritative textbook. It is also a clarion call for quantitative researchers to clean up their act. Whether you are a newcomer to statistics or a long-time practitioner, working your way through Freedman's extensive exercises and examples will deepen your understanding of how statistical models can reflect -- and distort -- reality."
Larry M. Bartels, Princeton University"Master of a conversational style that is precise and clear, David Freedman is the statistics professor we all deserved but weren't lucky enough to get. His new book, Statistical Models, makes up for what we missed. It skillfully guides the reader through the complexities of theory and the nuts-and-bolts of practice, with cogent explanations and lively applications."
Shari Seidman Diamond, Northwestern University"A pleasure to read, Statistical Models shows the field's most elegant writer at the height of his powers. While most textbooks hurry past core assumptions in order to explicate technique, this book places the spotlight on the core assumptions, challenging readers to think critically about how they are invoked in practice."
Donald Green, Yale University"Freedman is a master of exposition-concise, rigorous, and sometimes wickedly funny. The essential mathematics are here with real, not just toy, examples. A unique feature is Freedman's wise advice against misusing models. All students and users of statistical models should read this book. It is a methodological gold mine."
Paul Humphreys, University of Virginia"This book is outstanding for the clarity of its thought and writing. It prepares readers for a critical assessment of the technical literature in the social and health sciences, and provides a welcome antidote to the standard formulaic approach to statistics."
Erich L. Lehmann, University of California, Berkeley"Freedman brings unmatched clarity to the enterprise of statistical modeling. A concise presentation illuminates the mathematics, while case studies lead to a thoughtful analysis of the link between theory and practice. The exercises and computer labs make the text eminently suited to self-study as well as to the classroom. There is no other book like it."
Russell D. Lyons, Indiana University"Statistical models are everywhere, often developed by analysts who do not understand the underlying theory. Freedman's book brings modeling down to earth. The book covers the theory and the assumptions, with many examples drawn from social science and medicine. It will find an immediate audience as a text for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, because it is so practical. The wider audience will be those who make policy based on statistical models, and those who want to think about the basis for the policies."
Diana B. Petitti, Senior Scientific Advisor, Kaiser Permanent Southern California"A cogent introduction to the use of linear models for casual assessment, this book deftly investigates the interacting role of statistical methods and subject-matter theory. Four reprints from the social-science literature are included; this is most unusual but eminently sensible. Each article is examined carefully to elucidate the assumptions behind the methodology. It is hard to imagine the student of statistics or quantitative sociology who would not benefit from this book."
Michael Stein, University of Chicago"This book is truly an eye opener. It provides essential rigorous insight into statistical modeling...provides real examples taken from real studies...The author answers the questions the reader/researcher should ask. Among modeling books, this one is a gem...It is definitely not enough to know just how to plug one model into the software and get its output. We also need the 'insider information,' and this is exactly what this book offers. In any case, it will definitely raise you to the next level."
MAA Reviews
Synopsis
Textbook for undergraduates and beginning graduate students in statistics, and students and professionals in the social and health sciences.
About the Author
David A. Freedman is Professor of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also taught in Athens, Caracas, Jerusalem, Kuwait, London, Mexico City, and Stanford. He has written several previous books, including a widely used elementary text. He is one of the leading researchers in probability and statistics, with 150 papers in the professional literature. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2003, he received the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science from the National Academy of Sciences, recognizing his profound contributions to the theory and practice of statistics.Freedman has consulted for the Carnegie Commission, the City of San Francisco, and the Federal Reserve, as well as several departments of the U.S. government. He has testified as an expert witness on statistics in law cases that involve employment discrimination, fair loan practices, duplicate signatures on petitions, railroad taxation, ecological inference, flight patterns of golf balls, price scanner errors, sampling techniques, and census adjustment.