Doing Statistics for Business With Excel—Data, Inference, and Decision Making

The primary goal of this text is to teach students how to do statistics and how to use statistics as a tool for making intelligent, informed decisions. Statistics is a means to an end, not the end itself. It is important that students remember what statistics measure and why one might want to use them.

The pedagogial focus of DOING STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS 2/e is data driven, emphasizing statistical reasoning, interpretation, and decision making. Pelosi and Sandifer want to teach the "practice" of statistics; therefore, the emphasis is on comparison and interpretation rather than rote calculation. To support this approach, the text includes discussions of practice as opposed to theory. In order to focus on decision making, the use of the computer is emphasized to keep students from getting bogged down in the details of the calculations. All of the cases found in the text are based on real business situations and data that are relevant to student life. Most chapters begin with a motivating example based on real-world data. This example is then threaded throughout the chapter and to a lesser extent throughout the book.

DOING STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS 2/e is intended for use in a one- or two-semester introductory business statistics course for undergraduates. The first 10 chapters cover topics that are usually found in a one-semester course. The remaining chapters are designed to be added or skipped at the instructor's discretion.