Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences by Susan Nolan and Thomas Heinzen is a concise, readable text that covers key statistical concepts. Exploring its wide variety of creative, step-by-step examples, students using Essentials will learn how to choose the appropriate statistical test, understand its conceptual significance, and calculate each statistic. With inviting examples using real-world data, the text teaches students to apply concepts and formulas to statistical questions that they will encounter in their academic lives and outside the classroom.

The clear, accessible explanations highlight a conceptual understanding of statistics that minimize the mathematical. Nolan and Heinzen's brief text also provides the most opportunities for students to evaluate their understanding, with three tiers of exercises —Clarifying the Concepts, Calculating the Statistic, and Applying the Concepts— integrated after each major topic as well as at the end of each chapter.