Statistics for Social Understanding: With Stata and SPSS introduces students to the way statistics is used in the social sciences–as a tool for advancing understanding of the social world. Written in an engaging and clear voice and based on the latest research on the teaching and learning of quantitative material, the text is geared to introductory students in the social sciences, including those with little quantitative background. It covers the conceptual aspects of statistics even when the mathematical details are minimized. Informed by research on teaching and learning in statistics, the book takes a universal design approach to accommodate diverse learning styles. With an early chapter on cross-tabulation, a focus on comparisons between groups throughout, and a unique chapter on causality, the text shows students the power of statistics for answering important real-world questions.

By providing thorough coverage of social science statistical topics, a balanced approach to calculation, and step-by-step directions on how to use statistical software, authors Nancy Whittier, Tina Wildhagen, and Howard J. Gold give students the ability to analyze data and explore and answer exciting questions.

To accommodate changing undergraduate courses, the text incorporates examples from both Stata and SPSS in every chapter and provides practice problems of every type as well as readily available datasets for classroom use, including the General Social Survey, American National Election Study, and more. Each chapter concludes with a chapter summary, a section on using Stata, a section on using SPSS, and practice problems.