With clear and straightforward instruction, a companion workbook, and an unbeatable price, "Essential Statistics" affords maximum flexibility for students and instructors. Brief chapters hone in on core concepts and tools, allowing students to start working with data on the computer from the very start. Learning objectives and key term lists frame chapters while a wealth of graphics - tables, figures, and boxes - visually help explain statistical techniques and enhance skill acquisition. In answering to helpful feedback from adopters, this second edition touts important improvements: a simplified organization - moving from 8 to 16 chapters - separates out statistical techniques making it easier for instructors to assign text materials throughout a semester and for students to master one skill at a time. Added examples and detail - from scenarios public managers and policy analysts are likely to encounter on the job - offer application of each technique in practice. Further explanation of research methods, now more than four chapters, offers students a great refresher or lays needed groundwork. New getting started boxes prompt students to ask themselves questions along the way that promote application and reinforce basic skills. This title includes expanded coverage of crosstabs, logistic regression, and time series analysis, as well as reference to important new scholarship and enhanced discussion of research ethics and data sources. SPSS was acquired by IBM in October 2009.