Statistics for Social Workers

Robert W. Weinbach, Ph.D., MSW, ACSW is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, where he continues to teach graduate level research courses in the College of Social Work. He is also a co-author of Research Methods for Social Workers, seventh Edition; The Social Worker as Manager, Sixth Edition; and is the author of Evaluating Social Work Services and Programs, (all published by Allyn & Bacon), as well as over 75 other publications and invited book chapters. He earned graduate degrees in social work from SUNY-Buffalo and Ohio State University and has worked in both medical and psychiatric social work practice and as a program evaluator.Richard M. Grinnell, Jr. is a Professor of Social Work and holds the Clair and Clarice Platt Jones/Helen Frays Endowed Chair of Social Work Research in the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University. He received his Ph.D. in social work from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and for over the past 40 years has held academic and senior university administrative appointments in Australia, Canada, and the United States. He has published over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and conference presentations, and 36 books. His two latest books are Evaluation for Social Workers: Foundations of Evidence–Based Programs, 6th edition (Oxford University Press, 2012, with Peter Gabor and Yvonne Unrau) and Social Work Research and Evaluation: Foundations of Evidence-Based Practice, 10th edition (Oxford University Press, 2014, with Yvonne Unrau).

• In this Section:I) Brief Table of ContentsII) Detailed Table of Contents   I) Brief Table of Contents  Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Frequency Distributions and GraphsChapter 3. Measures of Central Tendency and VariabilityChapter 4. Normal DistributionsChapter 5. Testing Hypotheses Chapter 6. Sampling Distributions Chapter 7. t Tests and Analysis of Variance          Chapter 8. The Chi-Square Test of Association between Variables        Chapter 9. CorrelationChapter 10. Regression       Chapter 11. Other Ways That Statistical Analyses Contribute to Evidence-Based Practice   II) Detailed Table of Contents  Chapter 1. Introduction Useful Terms You Will Need to KnowMeasurement iSSUESAdditional Measurement Classifications       Research Hypotheses Classification of Variables and Their RelationshipCategories of Statistical Analyses    Statistics and data collectionResearch designs and statistics  Chapter 2. Frequency Distributions and GraphsFrequency Distributions       Grouped Frequency Distributions     Using Frequency Distributions to Analyze Data      Misrepresentation of Data    Graphs          A Caution: Computer-generated graphs      Chapter 3. Measures of Central Tendency and VariabilityMeasures of Central TendencyMeasures of Variability        Other Uses for Central Tendency and Variability     Chapter 4. Normal DistributionsSkewness      Kurtosis         The Normal CurveThe Standard Normal DistributionConverting Raw Scores to z Scores and PercentilesDeriving raw Scores From Percentiles  Chapter 5. Testing Hypotheses Alternative Explanations for Relationships Within SamplesProbability and InferenceRefuting Sampling ErrorStatistical SignificanceTesting the Null HypothesisErrors in Drawing Conclusions About RelationshipsStatistically Significant Relationships and Meaningful FindingsThe Hypothesis Testing process  Chapter 6. Sampling Distributions Sample Size and Sampling ErrorWhat are Sampling Distribution?Rejection Regions and hypothesis testingEstimating ParametersSelecting Statistical Tests     Deciding Which Test to use             Chapter 7. t Tests and Analysis of Variance      The use of t Tests     The One-sample t Test        The Dependent t Test          The Independent tTest         Misuse of t testsSimple Analysis of Variance (Simple Anova)         Multivariate Analysis of Variance      Chapter 8.  The Chi-Square Test of Association between Variables            When Chi-Square is AppropriateCross-Tabulation Tables       Using Chi-Square When Chi-square is not appropriateUsing chi-square in social work practiceCross-Tabulation With Three or More VariablesSpecial Applications of The Chi-Square Formula               Chapter 9. CorrelationUses of Correlation   ScattergramsNonperfect CorrelationsInterpreting Linear Correlations       Using Correlation for inferencePearson’S r    Nonparametric Alternatives to Pearson’S r Correlation With Three or More Variables   Other Multivariate analyses That use Correlation    Chapter 10. Regression     Prediction and Evidence-Based Practice      Prediction and Statistical Analysis    What is Simple Linear Regression?   Computation of the Regression Equation    More About the Regression Line      Interpreting Results   Using regression in social work practiceWhen is regression analysis appropriateRegression With Three or More Variables   Other Types of Regression Analyses                    Chapter 11. Other Ways That Statistical Analyses Contribute to Evidence-Based PracticeMeta-analysesProgram evaluationsSingle-System designs