SOC201 Social Statistics Book 1960 by Blalock

McGRAW-HILL SERIES IN SOCIOLOGY

Baber—MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY Bergel—SociaL STRATIFICATION Bergel—UrBAN SOCIOLOGY BlalockR—SoOcIAL STATISTICS Dornbusch and Schmid—A PRIMER OF SOCIAL STATISTICS Freedman, Whelpton, and Campbell—FAMILY PLANNING, STERILITY, AND POPULATION GROWTH Goode and Hatt—METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH LaPiere—A THEORY OF SOCIAL CONTROL LaPiere—SOCIAL CHANGE Lemert—SoOcIAL PATHOLOGY Schneider—INDUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGY Tappan—-CONTEMPORARY CORRECTION Tappan—CRIME, JUSTICE AND CORRECTION Tappan—JUVENILE DELINQUENCY Thompson and Lewis—-POPULATION PROBLEMS Vernon—SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION Copyright © 1960 by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 60-8825

101112 13-MP-987 05750

PREFACE

This text is written primarily for those students of sociology, both advanced undergraduates and graduate students, who actually intend to engage in social research. Since the vast majority of students in the social sciences lack a background in college mathematics, this text has been written so as to avoid mathematical derivationsin so far as possible. A quick review of certain algebraic principles listed in Appendix 1 should therefore be sufficient preparation for the average student. But although it is not necessary in a first course in statistics to stress mathematical derivations, the authoris convinced that certain basic and fundamental ideas underlying the principles of statistical inference must be thoroughly understood if one is to obtain more than a mere “‘cookbook”’ knowledge of statistics. For this reason, you will find a relatively heavy emphasis on the underlyinglogic of statistical inference, including a chapter on probability, with relatively less attention being given to someof the moreor less routine topics ordinarily discussed in elementary texts. One of the most difficult problems encountered in the teaching of applied statistics is that of motivating students, both in enabling them to overcometheir fears of mathematics andin learning to apply statistics to their own field of interest. It is for the latter reason that the author has not attempted to cover a wide range of applications but has selected examples of primary interest to sociologists. ‘To some extent, examples have also been chosen from disciplines which border on sociology: fields such as social psychology, social work, and political behavior. In most instances each new topic has been illustrated by a single example, under the assumption that most students will lose track of the basic line of thought if too many examples are used to illustrate the same point. Additional examplesare therefore given in the form of exercises at the end of each chapter. In general, the author has tried to strike a reasonable compromise between the desirability of stating basic principles as clearly and concisely as possible and the necessity of repeating some of the more vil