Edward Tufte’s Introduction to Data Analysis

March 13, 2010 7:40 PM

Data Analysis for Politics and Policy was written by Edward Tufte in 1974. It's an introduction to basic data analysis techniques with examples taken from the social sciences. The book is written in a friendly, conversational tone and is only 179 pages long. The chapter explaining simple linear regression is the heart of the book.
posted by Jasper Friendly Bear (13 comments total)

That's what awesome sauce is made of...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 8:09 PM on March 13, 2010

Social science nerds FTW
posted by k8t at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2010

thank you. I love Tufte's later stuff, I'm looking forward to reading this!
posted by Joad at 9:11 PM on March 13, 2010

This has been on my to-read list for a little while. If it weren't for graph-related projects from my job extending into my free time, I would have already read it.

I don't know what it means that this FPP gets 37 comments (at the time of writing) and the present FPP gets now 4. That's all -- I just realized that I don't understand Metafilter.
posted by Someday Bum at 11:38 PM on March 13, 2010

OK, so I saw this post and my curiosity was piqued by the concept of the book. I know the book is free on the net, but I went and ordered a used copy anyway.

It was only US$10.71 to my door. I'm by no means wealthy, but $11 doesn't seem like it will really break the bank.

I hate reading online and I love books.

I've never had a course in stats, but I've had loads of math, which I always enjoyed.

Any predictions whether I will end up enjoying this book or regretting my purchase?
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 12:27 AM on March 14, 2010

Thanks for this - looks to be both interesting and useful. I'm going to try reading it online but if that doesn't work I think I'll order a copy.
posted by harriet vane at 3:32 AM on March 14, 2010

This is a very cool book. I picked it up at a library sale a couple of years ago.
posted by wittgenstein at 6:55 AM on March 14, 2010

I don't know what it means that this FPP gets 37 comments (at the time of writing) and the present FPP gets now 4. That's all -- I just realized that I don't understand Metafilter.

Well, it was posted at night in the US, and it has a lot of favorites! (sometimes the best links have few comments because there are no words for the awesomeness). Thanks for posting. I'm going to read this right now.
posted by bluefly at 7:09 AM on March 14, 2010

This is beautiful.
posted by brendano at 10:50 AM on March 14, 2010

Is there any correlation between awesomeness and number of comments? I want there to be, but there probably isn't. I'd say there's little correlation between what I'd like to discuss and number of comments, except that the heavily commented posts make me want to gawk.
posted by sneebler at 12:21 PM on March 14, 2010

Social scienceStatistics nerds FTW
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:20 PM on March 14, 2010

This is fantastic. Statistics and analysis is always something that piqued my interest, but that I had little facility in. This find is great, thanks Jasper!
posted by Isosceles at 7:15 PM on March 14, 2010

This post has inspired me to order a different Tufte book I'd had on my list for a while. I'm also working my way through the linear regression chapter Jasper posted. Very useful linkage.
posted by yohko at 7:00 PM on March 16, 2010