Designed for students with a background in basic algebra, this best-selling introduction to statistics for business and economics text emphasizes inference-with extensive coverage of data collection and analysis as needed to evaluate the reported results of statistical studies and to make good business decisions. It stresses the development of statistical thinking, the assessment of credibility and the value of inferences made from data-both by those who consume and those who produce them-and features numerous case studies, examples, and exercises-that draw on real business situations and recent economic events.