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Applying regression and correlation: A guide for students and researchers By J. Miles and M. Shevlin London: Sage. 2000. Cased, 60. ISBN 0 7619 6229 8. Paper, 19.99. ISBN 0 7619 6230 I.
I must admit that the first few paragraphs of Miles and Shevlin's preface almost put me off reading the rest of their text. In a poorly considered attempt to relate to and capture students' interest, they assume with false modesty that, as psychologists, they are not as clever as statisticians and somewhat mendaciously claim that the book is not about statistical analysis. Although many psychology students find research methods and data analysis difficult, surely there are better ways to encourage study of these topics than presenting them as the province of people cleverer than psychologists (so what hope for psychology students?) and asserting that somehow we can dismiss the very nature of numbers that makes them useful for representing behaviour.
It's a pity about the preface, because otherwise I found the book to be excellent. From very simple beginnings, Miles and Shevlin...