Appendix A — Citing This Book
Citing This Book
If Margin of Error — or one of its companion apps — informed your research, teaching, or writing, please cite the version you used. The examples below follow APA 7th edition; equivalent MLA, Chicago, and BibTeX forms are at the bottom of the page.
The Online Edition
When citing the free HTML edition hosted at this site:
Patil, V. H. (2026). Margin of Error: Statistics for a world that needs better decisions. Margin of Error Media. https://stats.marginoferrormedia.com
The Print Edition
Patil, V. H. (2026). Margin of Error: Statistics for a world that needs better decisions. Margin of Error Media. ISBN 979-8-9954541-0-6.
The Kindle Edition
Patil, V. H. (2026). Margin of Error: Statistics for a world that needs better decisions (Kindle edition). Margin of Error Media. ISBN 979-8-9954541-1-3.
A Specific Chapter
When citing a chapter or section directly — useful in literature reviews where a specific argument appears in a single chapter:
Patil, V. H. (2026). Chapter 1: Why statistics matters now. In Margin of Error: Statistics for a world that needs better decisions. Margin of Error Media. https://stats.marginoferrormedia.com/chapters/ch01.html
A Specific Interactive App
The interactive applications listed on the Apps page are independently citable. When you use one of the apps in research or teaching, please cite both the book and the specific app.
The general template:
Patil, V. H. (2026). [App name] [Shiny application]. Margin of Error Media. https://stats.marginoferrormedia.com/apps.html#[anchor]
A worked example (citing the Variable Type Explorer):
Patil, V. H. (2026). Variable Type Explorer [Shiny application]. Margin of Error Media. https://stats.marginoferrormedia.com/apps.html#variable-type-explorer
The URL on apps.html is the canonical citation URL even if the app’s underlying host changes over time. Citing the apps page anchor instead of the analytics.gonzaga.edu (or future) host means your citation stays valid as long as the book stays online.
Other Citation Styles
MLA 9
Online edition:
Patil, Vivek H. Margin of Error: Statistics for a World That Needs Better Decisions. Margin of Error Media, 2026, stats.marginoferrormedia.com.
Specific app:
Patil, Vivek H. “Variable Type Explorer.” Margin of Error: Statistics for a World That Needs Better Decisions, Margin of Error Media, 2026, stats.marginoferrormedia.com/apps.html#variable-type-explorer.
BibTeX
For LaTeX users:
@book{patil2026moe,
author = {Patil, Vivek H.},
title = {Margin of Error: Statistics for a World That Needs Better Decisions},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Margin of Error Media},
url = {https://stats.marginoferrormedia.com}
}
@misc{patil2026variable-type-explorer,
author = {Patil, Vivek H.},
title = {Variable Type Explorer},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Shiny application},
publisher = {Margin of Error Media},
url = {https://stats.marginoferrormedia.com/apps.html#variable-type-explorer}
}Thank you for the citation. It supports the case for free, accessible textbooks and helps other instructors and researchers discover the book.