Multivariate Statistical Methods: A First Course

An introductory text for students learning multivariate statistical methods for the first time, the intention of this book is to keep mathematical details to a minimum while conveying the basic principles of multivariate statistical methods. One of the principle didactic strategies used throughout the book - in addition to the presentation of actual data analyses - is pointing out the analogy between a common univariate statistical technique and the corresponding multivariate method. Many computer examples - drawing on SAS software only and thereby avoiding the possibility of confusion - are used as demonstrations. Throughout the book, the computer is used as an adjunct to the presentation of a multivariate statistical method in an empirically oriented approach. Basically, the model adopted in this book is to first present the theory of a multivariate statistical method along with the basic mathematical computations necessary for the analysis of data. Subsequently, a real world problem is discussed and an example data set is provided for analysis. Throughout the presentation and discussion of a method, many references are made to the computer, output are explained, and exercises and examples with real data are included.