Essential Statistics for Applied Linguistics

Reviews / Votes

"This is the book I'll recommend to all my students. It contains not just clear and accessible instructions on how to carry out all the basic statistical procedures in SPSS that applied linguists might need, but, crucially, it is preceded by several chapters on what researchers need to know and understand about samples, hypotheses, research design, dependent and independent variables and about statistical logic before turning on SPSS. The authors use simple examples from the field to illustrate their story, and present activities to get the reader aboard. This book is an eye-opener, and reading it is hugely rewarding!" Jean-Marc Dewaele, Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, Birkbeck University of London, UK "This volume provides a clear introduction to both the conceptual and practical aspects of quantitative research. Presuming no prior experience with statistics, the text encourages active engagement via problem solving and decision-making scenarios. Readers will gain the ability to critically interpret quantitative research, design their own studies, and are provided with step-by-step guidance for the use of tools such as SPSS. For anyone in the language sciences, this book offers an ideal introduction to essential statistics." Steven L. Thorne, Department of World Languages and Literatures, Portland State University, USA "An excellently organised, and concise summary of the basics concepts involved in research design, followed by a very accessible tutorial on how to use SPSS to perform statistical analyses. Clearly written, carefully illustrated, and with many thoughtful follow-up activities, this book is ideal both as a reference manual and as a coursebook for beginning researchers in applied linguistics. Highly recommended!" Peter Robinson, Department of English, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan