This book presents an historical overview of the field--from its development to the present--at an accessible mathematical level. This edition features two new chapters--one on factor analysis and the other on the rise of ANOVA usage in psychological research.
Written for psychology, as well as other social science students, this book introduces the major personalities and their roles in the development of the field. It provides insight into the disciplines of statistics and experimental design through the examination of the character of its founders and the nature of their views, which were sometimes personal and ideological, rather than objective and scientific. It motivates further study by illustrating the human component of this field, adding dimension to an area that is typically very technical.
Intended for advanced undergraduate and/or graduate students in psychology and other social sciences, this book will also be of interest to instructors and/or researchers interested in the origins of this omnipresent discipline.
Biography
Authored by Cowles, Michael
"The book is chock-full of interesting facts and tidbits and this along with the author's highly readable writing style makes the book difficult to put down. Mathematical level required is minimal and is highly recommended reading for students and teachers of statistics."
—The American Statistician"...Cowles' book provides a convenient and readable account of the history of statistics. Indeed, because the study of variability is, as he points out in his opening sentence, a central concern of the life sciences, and also because he provides few concrete examples from psychology itself, his book will be of interest to anyone who uses statistics in their work."
—Journal of History of the Neurosciences
