Module Code:

PS113

Module Name:

Statistical Methods in Psychology

Module Credits (CATS):

12 CATS

Module Convener

Derrick Watson

Module Teachers

Michelle McGillion

Module Aims

This course complements PS114 Research Methods in Psychology. The module provides an introduction to the skills and knowledge necessary for psychological investigation and the statistical analysis of psychological research data. The module covers the principles of various techniques and their procedural implementation and provides essential preparation for the second year methods course and the second and third year projects.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to understand :

• the properties of different kinds of quantitative and qualitative data;
• techniques for displaying data;
• measures of central tendency;
• measures of variability;
• elements of probability theory;
• probability distributions;
• principles of correlation;
• sampling distributions and their use in hypothesis testing;
• principles of parametric and non-parametric hypothesis testing;
• regression; the use of chi-square tests;
• the principles and techniques of within- and between-subjects analysis of variance;
• the design of factorial experiments, and factorial analysis of variance
• experimental design, techniques and ethics

Module Work Load

Module Length

20 weeks

Lectures

Weekly 1 hour lecture and an optional follow-up session

Seminars

Five hours of department experiments during the year

Attendance

Module Assessment

Assessed work:

Assessments 1

47%

Assessed work:

Assessments 2

48%

Research experience

5%

Module Reading List

Essential course text

Howell, D. C. (2008). Fundamental statistics for the behavioral sciences (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Also highly recommended is:

Nunn, J. (Ed.) (1998). Laboratory psychology: A beginner's guide. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.

Other useful sources

Harris, P. (2002). Designing and reporting experiments in psychology. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Mulberg, J. (2002). Figuring figures: An introduction to data analysis. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Robson, C. (1993). Real world research. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Rosnow, R. L., & Rosnow, M. (2001). Writing papers in psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

The British Psychological Society Web site http://www.bps.org.uk