Introductory Statistics, Fifth Edition, reviews statistical concepts and techniques in a manner that will teach students not only how and when to utilize the statistical procedures developed, but also how to understand why these procedures should be used. The text's main merits are the clarity of presentation, contemporary examples and applications from diverse areas, an explanation of intuition, and the ideas behind the statistical methods.

Concepts are motivated, illustrated, and explained in a way that attempts to increase one's intuition. To quote from the preface, it is only when a student develops a feel or intuition for statistics that they are really on the path toward making sense of data. Ross achieves this goal through a coherent mix of mathematical analysis, intuitive discussions, and examples.

Applications and examples refer to real-world issues, such as gun control, stock price models, vaccines and other health issues, driving age limits, school admission ages, use of helmets, sports, scientific fraud, and many others.

• Includes the most commonly used statistical software packages (SAS, SPSS, Minitab, R
• Presents a unique, historical perspective, profiling prominent statisticians and historical events to motivate learning by including interest and context
• Offers exercises and examples that help guide the student towards independent learning using real issues and real data, e.g. stock price models, health issues, gender issues, sports, scientific fraud, analytics and big data