Multivariate Statistical Methods

This must be a successful book, at least, because this fourth edition (4E) follows the third edition (3E) by just 4 years. The first Technometrics review was done for the 3E by Altland (2002), who liked the book. He found it “to be well written, with many examples relevant to the business world.” He described the content by declaring that “it presents regression concepts and techniques in a clear and concise format, avoiding the use of unnecessary mathematical rigor.” That would certainly be appropriate for the business types at BP. The author lists a number of relatively cosmetic changes in the Preface. Three are worth noting. First, SAS has been added to Excel and Minitab as the designated software packages for the statistical computations. Second, a multiple regression add-in for Excel is included with the material that has been provided on the companion CD. This is certainly necessary if Excel is to be used as a tool for multiple regression analysis. Third, a chapter has been added to present time-series forecasting methods. This is a good inclusion as well. This is purported to be a second course in statistics for business students. These students certainly need to acquire some awareness of the availability of different types of statistical methods for forecasting. Curiously, time series regression, such as the capabilities of PROC AUTOREG in SAS, is not one of the topics. This is very classical forecasting: moving averages, exponential smoothing, Winters’ smoothing method, and the decomposition method. Altland (2002) gave a very complete description of the book’s contents. I found this book particularly appealing because of its emphasis on the use of the computer. The author states that “the text concentrates on using the computer to do the calculations, but the student is responsible for knowing what to do with the resulting computer output.” “Using the Computer” sections at the end of each chapter discuss the use of Excel, SAS, and Minitab for doing the statistical computations. There also is an appendix that gives an introduction to each of the three software packages.