This book is mainly based on lectures given by Professor D. R. Cox and
myself at Birkbeck College over a period of eight to nine years. It
began as a joint venture, but pressure of other work made it necessary
for Professor Cox to withdraw early on. I have throughout received much
valuable advice and encouragement from Professor Cox, but of course, I
am solely responsible for the text, and any errors remaining in it. The
book is intended as a first course on statistical methods, and there is
a liberal supply of exercises. Although the mathematical level of the
book is low, I have tried to explain carefully the logical reasoning
behind the use of the methods discussed. Some of the exercises which
require more difficult mathematics are marked with an asterisk, and
these may be omitted. In this way, I hope that the book will satisfy the
needs for a course on statistical methods at a range of mathematical
levels. It is essential for the reader to work through the numerical
exercises, for only in this way can he grasp the full meaning and
usefulness of the statistical techniques, and gain practice in the
interpretation of the results. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss methods
appropriate for use on ranked or discrete data, and Chapters 9-12 do not
depend on these chapters. Chapters 7 and 8 may therefore be omitted, if
desired.
