Introduction to Statistics

An comprehensive introductory statistical data science book.

Welcome

This is the website for my introductory statistics book. This book serves as a main reference book for my MATH 4720 Statistical Methods and MATH 4740 Biostatistical Methods at Marquette University.¹ Some topics can also be discussed in an introductory data science course. You’ll learn basic probability and statistical concepts as well as data analysis techniques such as linear regression using R computing software.² The book balances the following aspects of statistics:

• mathematical formulation and statistical computation
• distribution-based and simulation-based inferences
• methodology and applications
• classical/frequentist and Bayesian approaches

The course materials are borrowed from several existing statistics books and notes, especially from the following books:

• OpenIntro Statsitics (OS) (data focused)
• Introduction to Modern Statistics (IMS) (simulation-based and computation focused)
• An Introduction to Statistical Methods & Data Analysis, 7th edition (SMD) (distribution-based and mathematics focused)³

License

This website is (and will always be) free to use, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. If you’d like to give back, please consider reporting a typo or leaving a pull request at github.com/chenghanyustats/introstatsbook.

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1. For some historical reason, the two courses are numbered as senior level courses. However, both are introductory courses taken by STEM students.

2. The ultimate goal of this project is to make the code multilingual, including other languages such as Python or Julia.

3. This book has been served as the official textbook for MATH 4720 for years. However, I feel that the book is more suitable for senior undergraduate, graduate students.