Everitt B.S. The Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics

2nd edn. — Cambridge University Press, 2002. — 410 p.The Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics aims to provide students of statistics, working statisticians and researchers in many disciplines who are users of statistics with relatively concise definitions of statistical terms. All areas of statistics are covered, theoretical, applied, medical, etc. , although, as in any dictionary, the choice of which terms to include and which to exclude, is likely to reflect some aspects of the compiler’s main areas of interest, and I have no illusions that this dictionary is any different. My hope is that the dictionary will provide a useful source of reference for both specialists and non-specialists alike. Many definitions necessarily contain some mathematical formulae and/or nomenclature, others contain none. But the difference in mathematical content and level among the definitions will, with luck, largely reflect the type of reader likely to turn to a particular definition. The non-specialist looking up, for example, Student’s t-tests will hopefully find the simple formulae and associated written material more than adequate to satisfy their curiosity, while the specialist seeking a quick reminder about spline functions will find the more extensive technical material just what they need. The dictionary contains approximately 3000 headwords and short biographies of more than 100 important statisticians (fellow statisticians who regard themselves as ‘important’ but who are not included here should note the single common characteristics of those who are). Several forms of cross-referencing are used.