This book on introductory social statistics focuses on how statistical techniques are applied in sociological research. In addition to the usual range of topics in descriptive and inductive statistics (frequency, central tendency, dispersion, confidence intervals, significance testing, and correlation and regression), it includes essays and exercises that illustrate the close connection between sociological theory and practice, on one hand, and quantitative reasoning, on the other. Extensive SPSS and Internet applications are included.

This comprehensive, introductory text takes an applied, interdisciplinary approach. Because one author is a sociologist and the other a demographer, the text introduces perspectives from many different disciplines. The most applied book on the market, Demography: The Science of Population teaches students how to use the multitude of demographic resources available to them as consumers of data. Using case studies throughout to illustrate key concepts in a realistic and concrete manner, the authors also draw examples from recent U.S. Census data, United Nations and World Bank reports, tables...