Summary

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

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.

Choice Review

Salkind's intention is to create a reference that is a "... comprehensive overview of important concepts" in the separate but interrelated fields of statistics and measurement, which would be intelligible to general readers or beginning students. Since all students grapple daily with research that has components of statistics and/or measurement, they will find this tool to be a solid choice. In 1,100 pages, the encyclopedia succinctly defines more than 600 concepts. Each entry is signed and has a short bibliography that includes Web sites of value. Although most entries are a page or more, some, like "Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)," are as much as six pages, complete with formulas, figures, and tables. Appendix B, "Internet Sites about Statistics," is a useful tool for continuing education. The index is easy to use and has appropriate cross-referencing. The style is good technical writing, understandable to generalists or undergraduates. Salkind's work complements K. Kempf-Leonard's Encyclopedia of Social Measurement (CH, Jun'05, 42-5629), which is more scholarly; and updates W. H. Kruskal's two-volume International Encyclopedia of Statistics (1978). This is a strong candidate for all reference collections serving the general public and undergraduates. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. J. M. Robson Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology