History by numbers : an introduction to quantitative approaches / Pat Hudson and Mina Ishizu

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Cover page -- Halftitle page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- CONTENTS -- FIGURES -- TABLES -- PREFACE -- CHAPTER 1 THE PROSPECTS AND PITFALLS OF HISTORY BY NUMBERS -- The growth of quantitative history -- The computer revolution -- From the elite to the masses -- Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics -- Time series and causal analysis -- Sampling -- Mathematical modelling -- Quantification as a common language -- Reliability of data -- Statistical categories and comparability of data -- Choice of technique, use and misuse -- Analysis of results -- Pitfalls of modelling -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 2 THE ORIGINS AND NATURE OF QUANTITATIVE THINKING -- Origins of the statistical movement in Britain -- The meaning of statistics -- Data display and collection -- The Victorian statistical movement -- Twentieth-century developments -- Statistical theory -- Positivism -- Objectivity and prejudice -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 3 ARRANGING, REARRANGING AND DISPLAYING DATA -- Types of data -- Some definitions involved in regrouping data -- The presentation of tables and figures -- Initial questions about the data -- Grouping data in a frequency distribution -- Bar charts -- Histograms -- Pie charts and pyramid charts -- Graphs: time series -- Other graphs using independent and causal variables -- Word clouds and similar fi gures in textual analysis -- Cartograms -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 4 SUMMARIZING DATA: AVERAGES AND DISTRIBUTIONS -- The mean -- The median -- The mode -- The geometric mean -- Choice of average -- Dispersion around the mean: standard deviation and variance -- Dispersion around the mean: the coeffi cient of variation -- Rank order dispersal measures -- More examples of analysis of distributions from history -- Skewed distributions -- Distributions with more than one mode.

Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 5 TIME SERIES AND INDICES -- Index numbers (indices) -- The formation of indices -- Composite indices -- Construction of composite indices: some examples -- Real indices -- Time series: influences -- Measures of trend: growth rates -- Calculation of the trend line -- Cyclical fluctuations and moving averages -- Irregular fluctuations -- Vital statistics or vital variables -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 6 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARIABLES -- The null hypothesis -- The contingency coeffi cient 'C' -- The scatter diagram -- Correlation coefficient (R) -- How strong is the relationship? -- The form of the relationship -- Lagged results -- Spearman's rank correlation coeffi cient -- The regression line -- The coefficient of determination -- Examples of correlation and regression analysis in history -- Multiple regression models -- Dealing with autocorrelation and multicollinearity -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 7 SAMPLING AND SIGNIFICANCE TESTING -- The purpose and procedures of sampling -- Independent random sample -- Systematic and stratified samples -- Other sorts of samples -- Sampling error -- The normal distribution -- The distribution of sample means -- Estimation of the population mean and standard deviation from a sample -- Samples and populations: some examples -- Difference-of-means test -- The significance of sample results -- The significance of correlation and regression results -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- CHAPTER 8 ECONOMIC HISTORY AND ECONOMETRIC HISTORY -- Some definitions -- The history of econometric history -- Econometric history: first wave examples -- Neoclassical model-building -- Econometric tools and econometric history today -- Comparative economic growth and new time series research -- The models, the evidence, the reality -- Conclusion -- Further reading.

CHAPTER 9 HISTORICAL RESEARCH, COMPUTING AND THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION -- Useful software types -- The impact of advances in ICT on historical research and writing -- Research projects and ICT -- Th ings to look out for when embarking upon a computer-aided piece of historical research (whether quantitative or not) -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- GLOSSARY -- NOTES -- INDEX.

History by Numbers stands alone as the only textbook on quantitative methods suitable for students of history encountering the field for the first time. It is an exceptional book - even the numerically challenged will find inspiration.