Statistical Adjustment of Data (Dover Books on Elementary and Intermediate Mathematics Series)

x, 261 pp. "The process of arriving at statistically usable numbers by adjusting observational data stands at the heart of all practical work involving statistics. This book describes various procedures whereby that statistical adjustment can be performed... The first section of the book, covering simple adjustments and including a series of illustrations of curve fitting, is an introduction to basic statistical concepts and to the concept of "adjustment." The second part is devoted to solution by least squares of more complicated problems and takes into account the propagation of error and the general problem of least squares, while the next two sections cover conditions with and without parameters. The final part of the book provides 26 exercises on fitting various functions (the line, parabola, generalized hyperbola and its logarithmic form, etc.), giving the reader both a compendium of results, handy for reference, and the practice that he might need in forming and solving normal equations. A final section contains 4 additional examples on curve fitting. ...The appendix contains tables for making random observations for class illustration."