Written for students and researchers with limited mathematical and statistical knowledge, this book offers a basic understanding of how to use key multivariate methods in the social sciences. Because the book makes minimal mathematical demands, its presentation relies heavily on numerical examples and on verbal and pictorial, rather that mathematical, exposition. After covering the summarization of data in the first several chapters, material on regression analysis provides a link to subsequent chapters on model-based methods that make inferences about data-generating processes. Examples are presented in areas such as voting preferences and educational test scores, with many of the same examples used throughout the book to illustrate connections between methods. A companion web site offers full versions of data sets in the book, plus software and instructions for performing variable analyses. This second edition expands its topics to include regression analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation models, and multilevel models. Readers should have background in basic descriptive statistics, ideas of sampling and inference, and basic analysis of variance and regression. Information on the editor and contributors is not given. The first edition was titled The Analysis and Interpretation of Multivariate Data for Social Scientists. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)