Reading Statistics and Research

Designed for beginning statistics and research courses, this text explains how consumers of research can read, understand and critically evaluate the statistical information contained in technical research reports. The major goals are: to help readers decipher the statistical terminology and notations used by authors of technical reports; and to encourage critical evaluation of the way in which any study is executed - focusing on how data is collected, analyzed and interpreted - so as to determine whether the researcher's conclusions and claims are justified. To achieve this two-fold objective, excerpts from over 500 recent research articles, including tables, figures, and portions of textual material are presented and discussed. Many of the excerpts illustrate conceptual or procedural mistakes that are often made by researchers. This second edition features up-to-date research articles, more detailed coverage of many key topics, including hypothesis testing and examples drawn from a variety of disciplines.

Schuyler W. Huck was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1943. He attended school in two Chicago suburbs (Riverside and Glenview), receiving a high school diploma in 1961 from Glenbrook North H.S. His undergraduate work was taken at DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) where he graduated in 1965 with a major in psychology and a minor in sociology. He pursued a doctorate in Educational Psychology at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), receiving the Ph.D. in 1970. His doctoral specialization was applied statistics, testing, and research design.

In 1970, Dr. Huck joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as an Assistant Professor. Affiliated with the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1974 and to Professor in 1977. Since receiving his doctorate, Dr. Huck has taught at two other educational institutions while on leave from UT. For 10 summers between 1977 and 1986, he was employed as a Visiting Professor in the Psychology and Education Departments at the University of Nevada (Reno). From July, 1988 until July, 1989, he served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

Over the past three decades, Professor Huck has been involved in an ongoing program of research and scholarly activity. He is the senior author of three books: (1) Reading Statistics and Research (with the 3rd edition published in 2000 by Allyn & Bacon/Longman), (2) Rival Hypotheses: Alternative Explanations for Data-Based Conclusions (published in 1979 by Harper & Row), and (3) Statistical Illusions (published in 1984 by Harper & Row); he has had 34 technical papers published in a variety of refereed journals (Teaching Statistics, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Journal of Educational Statistics, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational Measurement, Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Experimental Education, Journal of Applied Psychology, Science Education, Teaching of Psychology, Mathematics Teacher, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Research Quarterly, Physiology & Behavior); and he has made over 60 oral presentations of his work at professional meetings (International Conference on Teaching Statistics, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and regional meetings affiliated with these two national organizations).

In addition to making his own contributions to the professional literature, Professor Huck has been heavily involved in screening the work of others and in serving as a consultant on others' projects. He has reviewed book prospecti/full manuscripts sent to publishing companies, papers considered for possible publication in professional journals, and abstracts submitted for possible presentation at conventions. In his role as a consultant, Professor Huck has worked on several projects, including (1) test-development efforts conducted by: the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, the American Association of State Psychology Boards, Tennessee's State Departments of Education and Human Services, the Child Welfare Institute (Atlanta), and UT's Center for Government Training, (2) a three-year NSF research project designed to assess new procedures for helping math teachers assist students improve their creativity and problem-solving skills, and (3) a trial in which the State of Tennessee was being sued and for which Tennessee's Office of the Attorney General asked Dr. Huck to testify as an Expert Witness in the areas of testing, research design, and applied statistics.

At various points in his career, Dr. Huck has received awards/recognition from students, colleagues, and administrators. While at DePauw, he received the Frank C. Tucker Award for Leadership. Early in his stay at Tennessee, the Student Government Association tapped him as one of the University's Outstanding Teachers. Soon thereafter, colleagues at UT gave him the first Annual Award for Outstanding Faculty Research in the College of Education. The major honors bestowed upon Professor Huck, however, came (1) in 1983 when he was selected to be a UT Distinguished Service Professor, a prestigious title that he holds for the duration of his stay at the University, (2) in 1988 when he was asked to serve, for a year, on the faculty at the Air Force Academy as a Distinguished Visiting Professor, (3) in 1984 and 1990 when the scholarly work of two doctoral advisees received Outstanding Dissertation Awards in national competitions conducted by AERA, (4) in 1991 when he was elected by his colleagues at other universities as President of AERA's Educational Statisticians SIG, (5) in 1993 when he was one of the first two faculty members given the title of Chancellor's Teaching Scholar, a post involving work with UT's Chancellor and other top administrators, and (6) in 1995 when the GTA Mentoring Program (a project that grew out of his idea on how to improve undergraduate education at research universities) was deemed worthy of support by UT and the Alcoa Foundation.