ABSTRACT
Empirical evidence often comes in the form of numbers, sometimes consisting of a large set of data which may be difficult to interpret in its original form. A rudimentary facility for manipulating, presenting and interpreting such data is essential if it is to become the servant rather than the master. In recent years the proliferation of personal computers and associated software packages has been so great that it is no longer appropriate to discuss the handling of data other than in the context of recent developments in information technology. Anyone planning to do serious empirically based research, involving the use of quantitative data, is unlikely to do so without at the very least encountering a data base, spreadsheet or statistical package. These developments make it relatively easy to compute and publish sophisticated statistics which may be used or misused in support of a particular standpoint. Any student of the human or social sciences is likely to be bombarded with an increasingly complex array of statistics. When it is also considered that the drudgery of computation can now be taken over by machines, a strong case emerges for ensuring that any student of the human or social sciences develops an appreciation of the premises on which the use of statistics is based and is well versed in the pitfalls associated with the interpretation of statistical evidence.
