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Statistics With Humans
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Statistics With Humans

March 2026 | 528 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Statistics With Humans is an engaging and insightful textbook that takes a fresh approach to the often-intimidating world of statistics. Translating her passion and energy for teaching into the book, author Katie Jacobs makes statistics accessible for even the most math-phobic student. Drawing on examples from students' everyday lives and written in a friendly and conversational tone, this book demystifies statistics for the social and behavioral sciences. With eye-catching full-color photos and numerous practice opportunities, this new book guides students from foundational concepts to more complex statistical analyses. The book focuses on the application of concepts and can also be used by those teaching with SPSS as it includes directions for using SPSS to set up and run each statistical test.

This text is offered in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities (including statistics demonstration videos and SPSS walkthrough videos, both created by the author), auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability, including extra Practice Problems. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.

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Preface
 
About the Authors
 
Part 1: Welcome to Statistics Boot Camp
 
Chapter 1: May I Make an Introduction? To Statistics, That Is…
A Brief Introduction to Statistics

 
Statistics Is All About Data

 
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

 
Sampling

 
Measurement

 
Research Methods Fundamentals

 
Basic Research Designs

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Setting Up SPSS Data Files

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in The Work

 
 
Chapter 2: Measures of Central Tendency: Attraction
An Introduction to Descriptive Statistics

 
Mean

 
Mode

 
Median

 
Calculating Measures of Central Tendency for Data on a Nominal Level of Measurement

 
Calculating Measures of Central Tendency for Data on an Ordinal Level of Measurement

 
Calculating Measures of Central Tendency for Data on a Scale With an Outlier in the Data Set

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Finding Measures of Central Tendency

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 3: Measures of Variability: Tree Branches Scattered Across the Sky
A Brief Introduction to Measures of Variability

 
Range

 
Introduction to Mean Absolute Deviation, Variance, and Standard Deviation

 
Mean Absolute Deviation

 
The Population Variance

 
Population Standard Deviation

 
The Unbiased Estimate

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Finding Measures of Variability

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in The Work

 
 
Chapter 4: Visual Displays and Measures of Distribution: Let’s Lay It All Out
A Brief Introduction to Measures of Distribution

 
Ungrouped Frequency Distribution Tables

 
Cumulative Frequency Distribution Tables

 
Grouped Frequency Distribution Tables

 
Histograms

 
Common Distribution Shapes

 
Skewness

 
Kurtosis

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in The Work

 
 
Chapter 5: The Standard Normal Distribution: Finding Order in the Chaos
A Brief Introduction to Relative Frequency Histograms

 
All About Density Curves

 
Starring the Normal Curve

 
Calculating Standardized Scores

 
Using z-Scores to Identify Outliers

 
Standard Normal Distribution

 
Area Under the Curve

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Calculating z-Scores

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 6: Probability and Sampling: It’s More Than Sports and Gambling
An Introduction to Probability

 
The Probability of The Union of Events

 
The Probability of The Intersection of Events

 
Sample Spaces

 
The Probability of Binomial Experiments

 
The Probability of Continuous Data

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Part 2: Welcome to Inferential Statistics
 
Chapter 7: Hypothesis Testing and Statistical Significance: Putting It Altogether
A Brief Introduction to the Hypothesis Testing Steps

 
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Value(s)

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 8: One-Sample z-Test: Are NBA Players Taller Than the Average Male?
Step 1: Decide Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Value(s)

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 9: Independent Samples t-Test: Who Owns More Shoes?
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Value(s)

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Running the Independent Samples t-Test

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 10: Dependent Samples t-Test: Does Dry January Actually Work?
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Value(s)

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Running the Dependent Samples t-Test

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 11: One-Way ANOVA: Who is the Biggest Diva?
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Values

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Running the One-Way ANOVA

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 12: The Pearson Product-Moment Correlation: Are TikTok and Reading Times Related?
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Value(s)

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Running the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Chapter 13: Simple Linear Regression: Does Time on Dating Apps Predict Dating Bitterness?
Introduction to Regression

 
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Values

 
Step 6: Make a Decision

 
Step 7: Conduct Relevant Follow-Up Analyses

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Running Simple Linear Regression

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in the Work

 
 
Part 3: Welcome to Nonparametric Analyses
 
Chapter 14: Chi-square Goodness-of-Fit test: Are People Terrified by AI More Than You’d Expect?
Introduction to Non-Parametric Analyses

 
Step 1: Determine Which Statistical Analysis to Use

 
Step 2: Write the Research and Null Hypotheses

 
Step 3: Check the Assumptions

 
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic

 
Step 5: Find the Critical Value

 
SPSS Bonus Content Unlocked: Running the Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit Test

 
Summary

 
Symbol Guide

 
Formulas

 
Terms to Know

 
Putting in The Work

 
 
Appendix A: Standard Normal Distribution Table (i.e. z Critical Value Table)
 
Appendix B: Student’s t Distribution Table (t_CV Table)
 
Appendix C: F Distribution Table (F_CV Table)
 
Appendix D: Studentized Range q Table
 
Appendix E: Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Critical Value Table (r_CV Table)
 
Appendix F: Chi-Square Critical Value Table (X^2_CV Table)
Key features
  • This text is available in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.
    • NEW! An AI Literacy module prepares students to engage confidently with today’s AI tools through an interactive, outcomes-focused experience—with minimal instructor lift and no course redesign required. Available exclusively in Sage Vantage and written by professors who teach and publish about AI, the AI Information Literacy, Academic Integrity, and Responsible AI Use module integrates video, data driven examples, applied activities, Knowledge Checks, and built-in assessments that help instructors track student understanding. Focused on strengthening critical thinking, the module teaches students how to evaluate AI outputs for accuracy and bias while developing responsible prompting strategies that support academic success without compromising students’ intellectual growth.
    • Statistics Demonstration Videos for each chapter show the author working through the key concepts using examples from the book. These videos are only available in Vantage.
    • SPSS Walkthrough Videos created by the author provide instruction for setting up and running each test in SPSS for those classes using the software. These videos are also only available in Vantage.
    • NEW! Practice Problems, low-stakes, auto-graded assessments designed to reinforce key statistical skills through active application, help students build concept mastery while easily monitoring their progress. No extra grading required—results sync automatically to the Vantage gradebook and your LMS.
    • NEW! Numeric Input lets students enter exact numerical answers in all assessment types—ideal for statistics problems that require precise values and calculations.
    • End-of-Chapter Quiz, mirroring the Practice Problems, is auto-graded and assignable for weekly homework.
    • NEW! Audiobook Player allows students to listen to text content, boosting comprehension and retention. It offers flexible, on-the-go access, engaging both reluctant readers and auditory learners, improving the overall reading experience.
    • Flashcards and note-taking tools help students better prepare for class.
    • The Offline Reading option in the Student Dashboard offers greater accessibility to Vantage's reading content, regardless of where students are or how strong their internet connection may be.
    • All tables and figures in both the assessments and the eBook are now downloadable.
  • Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives—clear, measurable goals that outline what students should be able to do by the end of the chapter.
  • Practice Makes Perfect questions embedded throughout each chapter to reinforce student comprehension of the concepts immediately after they're introduced.
  • A chapter summary at the end of each chapter reviews major concepts covered.
  • Handy quick-references in each chapter include a Symbol Guide—a list of symbols introduced—and a Formula Guide—a clearly labeled list of the formulas introduced—to reinforce students' understanding.
  • Each chapter features Terms to Know—a list of the key terms introduced.
  • End-of-chapter review and applied questions provide students with ample opportunity to practice the statistical calculations that they learned.
  • Eye-catching full-color photos and relatable examples from popular culture and everyday experiences enhance students' learning experience.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Ch 1-2

Vantage Reference: 
Statistics with Humans- Vantage Learning Platform