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“The author's down-to-earth, commonsense approach to this complex subject is a breath of fresh air that social work professors and students will not only appreciate but come to admire. My advice to students lucky enough to use Abu-Bader's book: Hang onto it for your professional collection--it is a keeper.”
— Christopher R. Larrison, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
“This text is very well written and easy to understand. I really appreciate the data examples in the book.”
— Maria Dinis, California State University, Sacramento
USING STATISTICAL METHODS IN
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
WITH A COMPLETE SPSS GUIDE
Soleman H. Abu-Bader, Howard University
Social work students often ask how the statistical analyses they learn will relate to social work practice. Soleman Abu-Bader offers straightforward answers in this statistical methods text. The text offers an explanation of the purpose and the value of statistical tests in a social work context, proving the real world importance of these skills.
Using Statistical Methods in Social Work Practice with a Complete SPSS Guide provides a step-by-step description of the process social workers use to organize, analyze, and interpret their data. Instead of focusing on the memorization of formulas, the author discusses the purpose of each statistical test, the rationale social workers may have for choosing it, and the assumptions made by each test. Social work examples are another resource to help understand and integrate relevant statistical tests in social work practice.
Designed for research or data analysis courses, the book is simple and clear. Professor Abu-Bader explains why SPSS is important and how social workers can use it. Few other statistical texts are as readable and well developed. This title is available with or without the student version of the SPSS CD
A database for use with the book is available from Lyceum Books, Inc. An answer key is available for instructors only.
Features
- Combines theory and practice in one text
- Explains how to read, interpret, write, and present the results in readable tables and/or graphs
- Introduces the subject, its definition and purpose, then presents a social work example, and concludes by discussing how to use SPSS to compute the measures and statistics
- Appendices include data files, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Index, and Z-score table
- Teaches students how to transfer information into a database
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Overview of Methodological Terms |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Variables & Constants
Levels of Measurement
Research Hypotheses
Reliability and Validity
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
Correlation between Two Variables
Summary
Practical Exercise |
Chapter 2
Creating SPSS Data Files |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
About the SPSS Program
Creating an Instrumentation Codebook
Practical Example
Starting the SPSS Program
Summary
Practical Exercise |
Chapter 3
Data Organization and Summary |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Frequency Distribution Tables
Graphic Presentations of Data
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 4
Descriptive Statistics: Measures of Central Tendency, Variability, and Percentiles |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Variability
Percentile
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 5
Normality of Distributions, Data Transformations, and Standard Scores |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Normality of Distributions
Standard Scores (z Scores)
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 6
Hypothesis Testing and Selecting a Statistical Test |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Research Hypotheses
Errors in Hypothesis Testing
Confidence Interval
Selecting a Statistical Test
Parametric and Nonparametric Tests
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 7
Bivariate Correlation: Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient
Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient
Practical Examples
Summary
Practical Exercise |
Chapter 8
Group Comparisons: Two Group Means — Independent t-Test |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Students t-Test
Independent t-Test
Mann-Whitney U Test
Practical Examples
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 9
Group Comparisons: K Group—The One-Way Analysis of Variance |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
One-Way ANOVA
Kruskal-Wallis H Test
Post Hoc Tests
Practical Examples
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 10
Two Repeated Measures-Two Matched Samples: Dependent t-Test |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Dependent t-Test
Practical Examples
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 11
Association between Two Categorical Variables: Chi-Square Test of Association |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Contingency Table
Chi-Square Test
Practical Examples
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Chapter 12
Multiple Regression Analysis |
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Learning Objectives
Introduction
Multiple Regression Analysis
Practical Example
Summary
Practical Exercises |
Appendices
References |
Soleman H. Abu-Bader (PhD, University of Utah, MSW, Augsburg College) is associate professor at Howard University. He has worked as a social work practitioner, researcher, and teacher. He is the author of several titles that focus on the elderly, welfare, and organizational behavior.
2005, Paper, 320 Pages, ISBN 978-0-925065-90-2, Price $49.95
2005, Paper with CD for Windows, 320 Pages, ISBN 978-0-92506598-8, Price $69.95
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