Research Statistics and Psychology

1017 Words5 Pages
Psychology is a concept that people associate with disorders. People refer to psychology as a means to understanding human behavior, and thinking processes. Rarely, people associate psychology with statistics. Statistics employ research and the scientific method. There are characteristics of primary and secondary data to further the examination of the role research and statistics play in psychology. Understanding statistics is essential to reading psychology research articles, and performing research. Define Research and the Scientific Method Psychology refers to the science of human behavior and mental life. Research in this field relies on scientific studies derived from practical applications of psychological tests, measurement scales, and types of clinical interventions. Students within this field learn to be scientists first then practitioners, implementing only evidential theories, including empirical research. Research is gathering data from experimentation, measurements, and quantitative statistical analysis for a specific purpose (Petocz & Newbery, 2010). The scientific method is a set of procedures, or process to develop questions, collect data, and reach a conclusion. The goal of the scientific method in psychology is to propose explanations for human behavior; psychologists use the scientific method in an attempt to describe behaviors that humans produce and explain why humans exhibit these behaviors; striving to predict and change behavior. The scientific method is an objective and systematic way for psychologists, or any researcher to conduct research (Petocz & Newbery, 2010). The scientific method is clusters of activity, in which it includes experimentation, mathematisation, and conceptual analysis (Petocz & Newbery, 2010). Experimentation refers to systematic observations and correlating studies whereas mathematisation is framing

More about Research Statistics and Psychology

Open Document