Understanding statistical concepts is essential for social work professionals. It is key to understanding research and reaching evidence-based decisions in your own practice—but that is only the beginning. If you understand statistics, you can determine the best interventions for your clients. You can use new tools to monitor and evaluate the progress of your client or team. You can recognize biased systems masked by complex models and the appearance of scientific neutrality. For social workers, statistics are not just math, they are a critical practice tool. This concise and approachable introduction to statistics limits its coverage to the concepts most relevant to social workers. Statistics in Social Work guides students through concepts and procedures from descriptive statistics and correlation to hypothesis testing and inferential statistics. Besides presenting key concepts, it focuses on real-world examples that students will encounter in a social work practice. Using concrete illustrations from a variety of potential concentrations and populations, Amy Batchelor creates clear connections between theory and practice—and demonstrates the important contributions statistics can make to evidence-based and rigorous social work practice.

This revised edition was developed after teaching statistics to undergraduate and graduate social work students for over ten years. The statistical concepts that are necessary for students to know are covered, ranging from simple descriptive statistics such as crosstabs and tabular data up to a limited discussion of multiple regression.

A core statistics text that emphasizes logical inquiry, not math Basic Statistics for Social Research teaches core general statistical concepts and methods that all social science majors must master to understand (and do) social research. Its use of mathematics and theory are deliberately limited, as the authors focus on the use of concepts and tools of statistics in the analysis of social science data, rather than on the mathematical and computational aspects. Research questions and applications are taken from a wide variety of subfields in sociology, and each chapter is organized around one or more general ideas that are explained at its beginning and then applied in increasing detail in the body of the text. Each chapter contains instructive features to aid students in understanding and mastering the various statistical approaches presented in the book, including: Learning objectives Check quizzes after many sections and an answer key at the end of the chapter Summary Key terms End-of-chapter exercises SPSS exercises (in select chapters) Ancillary materials for both the student and the instructor are available and include a test bank for instructors and downloadable video tutorials for students.

Written by a social worker for social work students, this is a nuts and bolts guide to statistics that presents complex calculations and concepts in clear, easy-to-understand language. It includes numerous examples, data sets, and issues that students will encounter in social work practice. The first section introduces basic concepts and terms to provide a solid foundation in statistics. It also addresses tools used by researchers to describe and summarize data ranging from single variables to assessing the relationship between variables and cause and effect among variables. The second section focuses on inferential statistics, describing how researchers draw conclusions about whole populations based on data from samples. This section also covers confidence intervals and a variety of significance tests for examining relationships between different types of variables. Additionally, tools for multivariate analyses and data interpretation are presented. Key Features: Addresses the role of statistics in evidence-based practice and program evaluation Features examples of qualitative and quantitative analysis Each chapter contains exercise problems and questions to enhance student learning Includes electronic data sets taken from actual social work arenas Offers a full ancillary digital packet including a student guide to SPSS with accompanying Data Set, an Instructor's Manual, PowerPoint slides, and a Test Bank

Statistics for Social Workers: Essential Concepts provides students with a reader friendly introduction to statistics and an engaging exploration of how statistics can enrich their future social work practice. The text is practical and conceptual in nature, focusing less on mathematical computation and more on the general information and skill sets that will prove beneficial in professional work. The text demonstrates how statistics can help students understand relevant social issues and obtain insights to their clients' problems by looking at data. Readers learn statistics can bring to light trends and needs in their communities, provide them with information they can use in funding applications, aid in their own development of client and staff reports, and enhance their overall practice. Dedicated chapters cover ethical considerations, measures of central tendency, normal distribution, inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, correlation, selecting the appropriate statistical test, and more. Throughout the text, excerpts from real-world studies, review problems for students, and potential assignments facilitate deep learning and practical application. Designed to demystify statistics for students and help them develop into evidence-based practitioners, Statistics for Social Workers is an ideal resource for social work students.

In this fully updated edition of Using Basic Statistics in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Annabel Ness Evans presents introductory statistics in a practical, conceptual, and humorous way, reducing the anxiety that many students experience in introductory courses. Avoiding complex notation and derivations, the book focuses on helping readers develop an understanding of the underlying logic of statistics, rather than rote memorization. Focus on Research boxes engage students with realistic applications of statistics, and end-of-chapter exercises ensure student comprehension. This exciting new edition includes a greater number of realistic and engaging global examples within the social and behavioral sciences, making it ideal for use within many departments or in interdisciplinary settings.