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Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice
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Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice

Fourth Edition


November 2025 | SAGE Publications, Inc
Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Fourth Edition demonstrates the relevancy of statistics in an age of artificial intelligence (AI), deep fakes, and misinformation by helping students ask the right questions so that they can be open-minded but sufficiently skeptical. Jacinta M. Gau uses conversational language to break down complicated concepts, presents statistical tests step by step, and uses SPSS to guide students through obtaining and interpreting output. New to the Fourth Edition are updated examples including the #MeToo and racial justice movements’ impact on the criminal justice system, implications of AI for fraud and cybercrime, and the increasing prevalence of mass casualty events. New data sets are provided, and many Critical Thinking Questions, Learning Checks, Chapter Review Questions have been expanded and updated. These changes reflect a commitment to making statistics more approachable and engaging for students, with a focus on real-world applications and critical thinking.
 
Preface to the Third Edition
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Part I: Descriptive Statistics
 
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Use of Statistics in Criminal Justice and Criminology
Science: Basic Terms and Concepts

 
Types of Scientific Research in Criminal Justice and Criminology

 
Software Packages for Statistical Analysis

 
Organization of the Book

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 2: Types of Variables and Levels of Measurement
Units and Levels of Analysis

 
Independent Variables and Dependent Variables

 
Correlation versus Causation

 
Levels of Measurement

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 3: Organizing, Displaying, and Presenting Data
Data Distributions

 
Graphs and Charts

 
Grouping Data

 
SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 4: Measures of Central Tendency
Distribution Shapes

 
The Median

 
The Mean

 
Using Means and Medians to Determine Distribution Shape

 
Deviation Scores and the Mean as the Midpoint of the Magnitudes

 
SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 5: Measures of Dispersion
The Variation Ratio

 
The Range

 
The Variance

 
The Standard Deviation

 
The Standard Deviation and the Normal Curve

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Part II: Probability and Distributions
 
Chapter 6: Probability
Discrete Probability: The Binomial Probability Distribution

 
Continuous Probability: The Standard Normal Curve

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 7: Population, Sample, and Sampling Distributions
Empirical Distributions: Population and Sample Distributions

 
Theoretical Distributions: Sampling Distributions

 
Sample Size and the Sampling Distribution: The z and t Distributions

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 8: Point Estimates and Confidence Intervals
The Level of Confidence: The Probability of Being Correct

 
Confidence Intervals for Means with Large Samples

 
Confidence Intervals for Means with Small Samples

 
Confidence Intervals with Proportions

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Part III: Hypothesis Testing
 
Chapter 9: Hypothesis Testing: A Conceptual Introduction
Sample Statistics and Population Parameters: Sampling Error or True Difference?

 
Null and Alternative Hypotheses

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 10: Hypothesis Testing with Two Categorical Variables: Chi-Square
The Chi-Square Test of Independence

 
Measures of Association

 
SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 11: Hypothesis Testing with Two Population Means or Proportions
Two-Population Tests for Differences Between Means: t Tests

 
Two-Population Tests for Differences Between Proportions

 
SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 12: Hypothesis Testing with Three or More Population Means: Analysis of Variance
ANOVA: Different Types of Variances

 
When the Null Is Rejected: A Measure of Association and Post Hoc Tests

 
SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 13: Hypothesis Testing with Two Continuous Variables: Correlation
Beyond Statistical Significance: Sign, Magnitude, and Coefficient of Determination

 
SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Chapter 14: Introduction to Regression Analysis
One Independent Variable and One Dependent Variable: Bivariate Regression

 
Adding Independent Variables: Multiple Regression

 
Alternatives to Ordinary Least Squares Regression

 
Ordinary Least Squares and Logistic Regression in SPSS

 
Chapter Summary

 
Thinking Critically

 
Review Problems

 
Key Terms

 
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter

 
 
Appendix A. Review of Basic Mathematical Techniques
 
Appendix B. Standard Normal (z) Distribution
 
Appendix C. t Distribution
 
Appendix D. Chi-Square (?2) Distribution
 
Appendix E. F Distribution
 
Glossary
 
Learning Checks Answer Key
 
Review Problems Answer Key
 
References
 
Index

For instructors

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ISBN: 9781071816653
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