Name: Principles of statistics
ISBN: 9780486637600

Principles of statistics

There are many textbooks which describe current methods of statistical analysis, while neglecting related theory. There are equally many advanced textbooks which delve into the far reaches of staticstical theory, whill bypassing practical applications. But between these two approaches is an unfilled gap, in which theory and practice merge at an intermediate level. Professor M. G. Bulmer's Principles of Statistics, originally published in 1965, was created to fill that need. The new, corrected Dover edition of Princples of Statistcs makes ths invaluable mid-level text availalbe ojnce again for the classroom or the classroom of self-study. Principles of Statistics was created primarily for the student of natural sciences, the social sciences, the undergraduate mathematics student, or anyone familiar with the basics of mathematical language. It assumes no previous knowledge of statistics or probability; nor is extensive mathematical knowlege necessary beyond a familiarity with the fundamnetals of differnetial and integral calculus. (The calculus is used primarily for ease of notation; skill in the techniques of integration is not necessary in order to withstand the text. -- from back cover.

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bunderbunderNov 2024

There's a middle path between rote memorization of outcomes, and building everything up from first principles. And I'm guessing it's probably what the parent poster had in mind.

A great statistics textbook along these lines is Principles of Statistics by MG Bulmer. It's one of those Dover classic textbooks that you can get for cheap. This book assumes you already know basic calculus and combinatorics. It then goes through a series of practical problems, and shows how you can use calculus or combinatorics to solve them. And, along the way, an intuitive and holistic perspective on statistics begins to form.

The overall effect is great. It's a lot like a 3blue1brown video series, only from the 1960s, and with problem sets.

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bunderbunderOct 2023

Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer is a nice introduction to the mathematical side of things. It's part of Dover's classic textbook series, so it's inexpensive compared to newer textbooks, and also concise and well-written.

It does assume you already have a solid understanding of calculus and combinatorics, though. Which I think is fair. Discrete statistics is arguably just applied combinatorics, and continuous statistics applied calculus, so if you have a strong foundation in those two subjects then you're already 90% of the way there. (And, if you don't, stop the cart and let the horse catch up.)

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mtzetSep 2020

I kind of like M.G. Bulmer's "Principles of Statistics". It's short and to the point so there's a chance of getting through it all. I really like the discussion of distributions in terms of raw data, it makes thinking about mean, variance, higher moments etc., much easier. It also doesn't skimp on the mathematical theory, but it doesn't allow itself to get bogged down by it.

That said, there's a chance I just read it late enough in my career to be more ready for its content.

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pencilcodeDec 2017

Although old, I really like Principles of Statistics by Bulmer. Duke’s MOOC is pretty good btw.

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nextosApr 2015

Principles of Statistics, by Bulmer. Dover.

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woodsonOct 2009

For a good and concise introduction to basic statistics I'd recommend: "Principles of Statistics" by M.G. Bulmer

http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Statistics-M-G-Bulmer/dp/04...

It's kind of old, but it helped me a lot...