Читать книгу Interpreting and Using Statistics in Psychological Research - Andrew N. Christopher - Страница 35

After reading this chapter, you will be able to

 Identify and differentiate among independent variables, quasi-independent variables, and dependent variables

 Present operational definitions for constructs

 Summarize the notions and forms of reliability and validity

 Classify data into appropriate scales of measurement

 Establish a basic SPSS spreadsheet

As we discussed in the previous chapter, we as humans tend to have what I call “efficient flaws” in our thinking. They are efficient because they allow us to navigate the world quickly and prevent us from exhausting our cognitive capacities. They are flaws, though, because they allow for mistakes in how we think about the world. When conducting scientific research, we want to do what we can to minimize mistakes. Here is where statistics come in. I find it helps to approach classes in statistics with the mind-set that statistics are tools we need to understand research. Just as we need a spoon to eat soup, we need statistics to understand scientific research and to understand the world in as objective a manner as is possible.

In the first section of this chapter, we will summarize a research study that we will use to refresh certain information from Chapter 1 and illustrate new information in this chapter. Then, we will discuss the notion of research variables and begin discussion of how to measure them. The third section will provide more details on the measurement of variables and on how such measurements are related to statistical tools we will encounter throughout this class. In the final section, we will introduce a computer software package that will help us manage and analyze variables when we conduct research. As we will use the software package in later chapters, we will stick to the basics in this chapter so that you are comfortable navigating your way through it in later chapters when we consider various statistical tools.