A practical guide on fundamental statistics including a selection of techniques commonly described in nursing literature. This guide has been designed to provide the average nurse with a foundation or background to enable them to effectively follow statistical textbooks and to apply basic descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to problems in their field. Learning objectives are included in each chapter, new terms and symbols are highlighted, and techniques are presented on a conceptual basis and illustrated by a presentation of computational methods with examples relevant to nursing. Learning activities provide an opportunity to apply concepts discussed; answers to these exercises are included. The guide contains supplementary reading material. Contents include the following: A review of fundamentals of arithmetic and algebra; introductory concepts; grouping of data; visual presentation of data; measures of central tendencies; measures of variation or dispersion; the normal distribution curve and standard scores; correlation; elementary probability; sampling and estimations; hypothesis testing; reliability and validity; Uses and misuses of statistics.