An imaginative introduction to statistics, reorienting the course towards an understanding of statistical thinking and its meaning and use in daily life and work. Gudmund Iversen and Mary Gergen bring their years of experience and insight into teaching the subject, incorporating such innovations and insights as a sustained emphasis on the process of statistical analysis and what statistics can and cannot do as well as careful exposition of the ideas of developing statistical and graphical literacy. In the spirit of contemporary pedagogy and by using technology, the authors break down the traditional barriers of statistical formulas and lengthy computations encountered by students without strong quantitative skills. Further, formulas are grouped at the end of each chapter along with related problems, and, with only algebra as a prerequisite, the book is ideal for students in the liberal arts and the behavioural and social sciences.

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.

A diverse group of contributors offer different perspectives on whether or not the different experiences of our military and the broader society amounts to a "gap"—and if the American public is losing connection to its military. They analyze extensive polling information to identify those gaps between civilian and military attitudes on issues central to the military profession and the professionalism of our military, determine which if any of these gaps are problematic for sustaining the traditionally strong bonds between the American military and its broader public, analyze whether any problematic gaps are amenable to remediation by policy means, and assess potential solutions. The contributors also explore public disengagement and the effect of high levels of public support for the military combined with very low levels of trust in elected political leaders—both recurring themes in their research. And they reflect on whether American society is becoming so divorced from the requirements for success on the battlefield that not only will we fail to comprehend our military, but we also will be unwilling to endure a military so constituted to protect us. Contributors: Rosa Brooks, Matthew Colford,Thomas Donnelly, Peter Feaver, Jim Golby, Jim Hake, Tod Lindberg, Mackubin Thomas Owens, Cody Poplin, Nadia Schadlow, A. J. Sugarman, Lindsay Cohn Warrior, Benjamin Wittes