The Analysis and Interpretation of Multivariate Data for Social Scientists

Book excerpt: Multivariate analysis is an important tool for social researchers, but the subject is broad and can be quite technical for those with limited mathematical and statistical backgrounds. To effectively acquire the tools and techniques they need to interpret multivariate data, social science students need clear explanations, a minimum of mathematical detail, and a wide range of exercises and worked examples. Classroom tested for more than 10 years, The Analysis and Interpretation of Multivariate Data for Social Scientists describes and illustrates methods of multivariate data analysis important to the social sciences. The authors focus on interpreting the pattern of relationships among many variables rather than establishing causal linkages, and rely heavily on numerical examples, visualization, and on verbal , rather than mathematical exposition. They present methods for categorical variables alongside the more familiar method for continuous variables and place particular emphasis on latent variable techniques. Ideal for introductory, senior undergraduate and graduate-level courses in multivariate analysis for social science students, this book combines depth of understanding and insight with the practical details of how to carry out and interpret multivariate analyses on real data. It gives them a solid understanding of the most commonly used multivariate methods and the knowledge and tools to implement them. Datasets, the SPSS syntax and code used in the examples, and software for performing latent variable modelling are available at http://www.mlwin.com/team/aimdss.html>