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Co-author Lee Creighton Gives Us the Scoop on New JMP Book
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Coauthor Lee Creighton gives us the scoop on new book JMP Start Statistics: A Guide to Statistics and Data Analysis Using JMP, Fourth Edition. Coauthors John Sall and Ann Lehman were unavailable for this interview.
- Authorline (AL): What was your motivation for writing your book?
- Lee Creighton (LC): The first three editions of this book were successful, and we had a lot of customers who wanted a book that covered some of the features in JMP 7.
- (AL): Who are you targeting with your book?
- (LC): Learners who are new to statistics and JMP. The book works well as a supplement to any standard textbook, providing additional exercises and explanations on how to do statistics using JMP. Rather than serving as a user's guide to JMP, this book teaches users about general statistics using JMP as the framework for learning.
- (AL): What features of the book are you especially pleased with?
- (LC): I'm pleased that we finally added answers to the book. The motivation to add the exercises in the second edition came from practicing teachers who were using the book in a classroom setting.
We added the answers for our other group of readers: those who were reviewing the material and wanted to know if they were doing it correctly.
- (AL): How will your book benefit JMP users?
- (LC): Although it doesn't cover every nook and cranny of JMP's capabilities, it covers most. I like to think that it shows how to use JMP for about 90% of our users. If we tried to cover everything you could do in JMP, the book would look like the documentation-- more than 2000 pages!
- (AL): How did you decide to co-author the book? How did you divide your responsibilities?
- (LC): Each of us has certain areas of expertise. We'd write chapters that we felt interested or passionate about, and use the other authors as sounding boards.
- (AL): What were some of the joys of writing this book?
- (LC): JMP Start Statistics was the first book I wrote for JMP. Revising it is like visiting an old friend. Occasionally people recognize my name on a listserv, an email, or a conference brochure, and they find me to say how much they liked the text. That's nice.
- (AL): What did you learn while writing this book that would be important for other authors to know?
- (LC): No matter how well you think you know your subject, there is always more to learn. The simple act of putting it on paper really clarifies and organizes your knowledge.
- (AL): How did you decide to publish with SAS?
- (LC): We've had this book with an outside publisher for quite a while, but the ease of communication with SAS Press made it a no-brainer to move the project. I'm thrilled with the way it all works.
- (AL):Your book will be going to the printer in just a few weeks. How does it feel to be in the home stretch of such a long project?
- (LC): Strange. I've never really felt finished with a book. It's more like the deadline is here, the book leaves, and now you've got to find something else to fill the time.
- (AL): What advice would you give to potential authors?
- (LC): Think closely about the commitment it takes to produce a book. If you have the personality that can stick through a detail-laden process and see it to the end, you'll be a great author.
- (AL): How were you able to balance your time between your career and writing this book?
- (LC): Balance is a strange word. It's more like work and writing both fuse into a single task that finds its way into any time you don't pre-schedule. It expands to fill any open space.
- (AL): When you aren't writing or consulting, how do you like to spend your free time?
- (LC): What will I admit to? Well, I'm actively pursuing a degree in French Languages and Literatures. And I watch some of the most low-brow TV imaginable.
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Lee Creighton, is the documentation manager for the JMP division at SAS Institute. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Carolina State University. He is currently interested in methods of teaching statistics, user interface design, and issues in localization. Prior to working at SAS, Lee taught high school and college mathematics in North Carolina. He is the co-author of several books on statistical methods, including Introduction aux Plans d'Expériences and Regression Using JMP.
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