Preface Index of Applications   1. Data and Decisions (E-Commerce) 1.1 Data and Decisions 1.2 Variable Types 1.3 Data Sources: Where, How, and When    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Data on the Computer    Brief Case: Credit Card Bank   2. Displaying and Describing Categorical Data (Keen, Inc.) 2.1 Summarizing a Categorical Variable 2.2 Displaying a Categorical Variable  2.3 Exploring Two Categorical Variables: Contingency Tables  2.4 Segmented Bar Charts and Mosaic Plots  2.5 Simpson's Paradox    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Displaying Categorical Data on the Computer    Brief Case: Credit Card Bank   3. Displaying and Describing Quantitative Data (AIG) 3.1 Displaying Quantitative Variables  3.2 Shape  3.3 Center  3.4 Spread of the Distribution 3.5 Shape, Center, and Spread–A Summary 3.6 Standardizing Variables  3.7 Five-Number Summary and Boxplots  3.8 Comparing Groups, 3.9 Identifying Outliers, 3.10 Time Series Plots 3.11 Transforming Skewed Data    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Displaying and Summarizing Quantitative Variables    Brief Cases: Detecting the Housing Bubble and Socio-Economic Data on States   4. Correlation and Linear Regression (Amazon.com) 4.1 Looking at Scatterplots 4.2 Assigning Roles to Variables in Scatterplots 4.3 Understanding Correlation 4.4 Lurking Variables and Causation 4.5 The Linear Model 4.6 Correlation and the Line 4.7 Regression to the Mean 4.8 Checking the Model 4.9 Variation in the Model and R2 4.10 Reality Check: Is the Regression Reasonable? 4.11 Nonlinear Relationships    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Correlation and Regression    Brief Cases: Fuel Efficiency, Cost of Living, and Mutual Funds      Case Study I: Paralyzed Veterans of America   5. Randomness and Probability (Credit Reports and the Fair Isaacs Corporation) 5.1 Random Phenomena and Probability 5.2 The Nonexistent Law of Averages 5.3 Different Types of Probability 5.4 Probability Rules 5.5 Joint Probability and Contingency Tables 5.6 Conditional Probability 5.7 Constructing Contingency Tables 5.8 Probability Trees 5.9 Reversing the Conditioning: Bayes’ Rule    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Generating Random Numbers    Brief Case   6. Random Variables and Probability Models (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company) 6.1 Expected Value of a Random Variable 6.2 Standard Deviation of a Random Variable 6.3 Properties of Expected Values and Variances 6.4 Bernoulli Trials 6.5 Discrete Probability Models    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Random Variables and Probability Models    Brief Case: Investment Options   7. The Normal and other Continuous Distributions (The NYSE) 7.1 The Standard Deviation as a Ruler 7.2 The Normal Distribution 7.3 Normal Probability Plots 7.4 The Distribution of Sums of Normals 7.5 The Normal Approximation for the Binomial 7.6 The Other Continuous Random Variables    Ethics in Action    Technology Help: Probability Calculations and Plots     Brief Case   8. Surveys and Sampling (Roper Polls) 8.1 Three Ideas of Sampling 8.2 Populations and Paramete

Grounded in modern business, this text provides a real-world context for statistical concepts, preparing students to be successful in the business world. The authors’ unique blend of teaching, consulting, and entrepreneurial experiences, along with the casual writing style, which is often infused with humor, add to the text’s appeal to today’s students. NEW! Increased focus on core material. Discussions have been tightened to get students into the material as quickly as possible, focusing increasingly n the central ideas and core material. Real data in hundreds of examples, exercises, and applications tie the concepts to the way statistics is used to make better business decisions. Motivating chapter opening vignettes: scenarios using real data to present a statistical issue in a managerial setting from a well-known company in such areas as marketing, finance, and economics Brief Cases at the end of each chapter–using real data and asking students to investigate a question or make a business decision. Case Studies at the end of each part–more in-depth than the brief Cases NEW! Updated examples reflect the changing world and the marked changes in the U.S. and world economies. The emphasis on better statistical thinking trains students to apply statistics correctly. A focus on checking assumptions and conditions when using statistical procedures is emphasised throughout the text and the examples. Ethics in Action vignettes illustrate the judgment needed in statistical analysis. Questions are included for study and reflection. What Can Go Wrong? sections prepare students with the tools they need to detect common statistical errors and offer practice in debunking misuses of statistics. Practice and support: Study tools throughout the text prepare students to analyse and interpret data. Plan/Do/Report Guided Examples provide a model to help students approach and solve any business statistics problem. Reports are frequently presented in the form of a business memo, helping students become familiar with framing and communicating results in a business setting. Helpful Margin Notes include By Hand boxes break apart the calculation of some of the simpler formulas, Notation Alerts thatcall out special notations, and Math Boxes present the mathematical underpinnings of the statistical methods and concepts. Just Checking questions ask students to stop and think about what they’ve just read. These questions involve little to no calculation, and answers are provided at the end of the chapter so students can check their work. What Have We Learned? chapter summaries provide an overview of the chapter’s concepts through annotated learning objectives and a list of boldface (new) terms and their definitions. Exercises are included within each chapter and progress in difficulty and complexity.  Integrated technology: Optional coverage helps students use real statistics software NEW! Enhanced Technology Help with expanded Excel® 2013 coverage. We've updated Technology Help and added detailed instructions for Excel 2013 to almost every chapter. Increased

New and Updated in the Text Increased focus on core material. Discussions have been tightened to get students into the material as quickly as possible, focusing increasingly n the central ideas and core material. Updated examples reflect the changing world and the marked changes in the U.S. and world economies. NEW! More than half of the Ethics in Action features are updated. Ethically and statistically sound alternative approaches and a link to the American Statistical Association’s Ethical Guidelines are now presented in the Instructor's Solutions Manual, making the Ethics features suitable for assignment or class discussion. Enhanced Technology Help with expanded Excel® 2013 coverage. We've updated Technology Help and added detailed instructions for Excel 2013 to almost every chapter. Increased coverage of Excel includes screenshots and, in Technology Help sections, guidance for using Excel 2010 to demonstrate how to use Excel to perform statistical analysis. Improved organization and a streamlined design make the text more accessible than ever. While retaining the text’s successful “data first” presentation of topics, the authors have improved the way the book is organized. Chapters 1—4 are streamlined to cover collecting, displaying, summarizing, and understanding data in four chapters, giving students a solid foundation to launch their study of probability and statistics. Chapters 5—9 introduce students to randomness and probability, and then apply these new concepts to sampling as a gateway to the core material on statistical inference. Discussion of probability tees and Bayes’ rule is now in these chapters. Chapters 10—14 cover inference for both proportions and means. Chapters 15—19 cover regression-based models for decision making. Chapters 20—25 discuss special topics that can be selected according to the needs of the course and the instructor’s preferences.