Jacinta M. Gau, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. She received her doctorate from Washington State University in 2008. Her primary areas of research are policing and criminal justice policy, and she has a strong quantitative background. Dr. Gau’s work has appeared in journals such as Justice Quarterly, British Journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Crime & Delinquency, Criminology & Public Policy, Police Quarterly, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, and the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. In addition to Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice, she is author of Criminal Justice Policy: Origins and Effectiveness (Oxford University Press) and co-author of Key Ideas in Criminology and Criminal Justice (SAGE Publications). Additionally, she co-edits Race and Justice: An International Journal, published by SAGE.
A Beginner’s Guide to Statistics in Criminology and Criminal Justice Careers Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Second Edition is an introductory statistics text for undergraduate criminology and criminal justice majors. The topics and engaging presentation style are targeted to students who have a basic background in algebra but who have had little or no exposure to the study of statistics. The overarching goals of the book are to demonstrate to students that statistics used in criminal justice can be enlightening and eye-opening and, that pre-conceived notions of their academic inadequacies coming into the course are false. The fully updated Second Edition includes new learning objectives and learning checks to help guide students through the material and ensure content understanding and retention. Coverage of the fundamental areas in statistics begins with descriptive statistics, moves into probability, and ends with regression to make the content easier for students to follow. By use of real data and research, emphasis is placed on balancing thoroughness with ease of understanding in order to show students the importance and relevance of statistics in their future criminal justice careers.
