Statistical Thinking: Fresh Take

  • Explain how statistics help to examine data
  • Explain statistical significance and p-values
  • Explain reliability and validity
  • Understand how to read a research article

Statistics and Statistical Significance

In many research studies, the primary question of interest concerns differences between groups. Then the question becomes how were the groups formed. In some studies, the researchers actively form the groups themselves. But then we have a similar question—could any differences we observe in the groups be an artifact of that group-formation process? Or maybe the difference we observe in the groups is so large that we can discount a “fluke” in the group formation process as a reasonable explanation for what we find? In other words, are the results statistically significant?


You can view the transcript for “Using Statistics in Psychology | Psychology” here (opens in new window).

Reliability and Validity

Watch this video until the 1:35 minute mark to review the key definitions and concepts related to reliability and validity, or continue watching to learn more details about validity.
You can view the transcript for “2.3 Criteria: validity and reliability | Quantitative methods | The Scientific Method | UvA” here (opens in new window).

Reading Research

Watch this video for a breakdown on analyzing a psychology journal article.
You can view the transcript for “How to Read an Empirical Psychology Journal Article – Part 1” here (opens in new window).