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Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank Fiona, my wife, for her ongoing support and for reading this manuscript with her customary detail, not least by highlighting my continual tendency to write ‘it’ and ‘this’ when it is not at all clear what they refer to. Thanks also to the reviewers whose constructive comments led to quite substantial changes to the structure of this book, attendees at various tutorials and courses over the years who have given feedback on earlier versions of this material—including Ben for pointing out various errors (including one very embarrassing one) in a late draft. The photo of me on the cover was taken by Daniel Parry, who managed to fit me in at short notice just before the country shut down due to COVID-19. Many thanks, of course, to all the staff at Morgan & Claypool, especially Diane, Tondo, and Christine and I’m sure many others who I don’t know by name but have contributed in many ways to ensuring this book is of the highest quality.

Finally, writing this under coronavirus lockdown, the importance of understanding quantitative data is reinforced. I would like to dedicate this book to the frontline workers across the world during this critical time; in the UK, especially the staff of the NHS, but also all those providing essential services—from pharmacists and workers in care homes, to supermarket checkout assistants and parcel deliverers. Looking at the UK income distribution in Section 4.13, it is sobering to think that many of those who are putting their health and lives on the line will have incomes at the lowest end of these graphs. Behind every number is a human life. We can either use statistics to distance ourselves from the harsh reality of life or as a window to expose the neglected and overlooked. I hope that this book can help you achieve the latter.

Alan Dix

April 2020