Practicing Statistics

Book excerpt: Building on the introductory course, Practicing Statistics: Guided Investigations for the Second Course presents a variety of compelling topics for a second course in statistics, such as multiple regression, nonparametric methods, and survival analysis. Every topic is introduced in the context of a real-world research question, asking students to explore the concepts firsthand with guided activities and research projects. The number of students taking AP Statistics continues to rise, and the number of students taking an introductory statistics course has more than doubled since 1990. As a result, the goals of the second course have changed. This course must engage students from multiple disciplines and demonstrate the broad applicability of statistics to their lives. To that end, this text takes an inquiry-based approach that teaches advanced statistical techniques through group work and hands-on exploration using real research questions. The chapters are modular, so that instructors can select only the topics relevant to their course, and teach them in any order. The only prerequisite is an algebra-based introductory statistics or AP statistics course.