Basic Statistics (Psychological Research Orientation) Course Details
Designed specifically for psychology-related learners, this course centers on the core orientation of "statistical tools serving psychological research". It is divided into three progressive specifications — Beginner Stage, Transition Stage, and Advanced Stage — to meet the diverse needs of learners at different foundations. The course systematically builds a basic cognitive framework of statistics, resolves the connection gap between statistical knowledge and psychological research, and helps learners master the full-process statistical logic from data collection to result interpretation, laying a solid data support foundation for psychological research and practical work.
Course Core Objectives
Break free from the predicament of "disconnection between statistics and psychological research". Based on the three-stage progressive design, enable learners to not only grasp statistical concepts at different levels but also accurately apply corresponding statistical methods to solve practical problems in psychological research, establish scientific statistical thinking, understand statistical analysis content in psychological journals, and lay a solid foundation for subsequent academic research, thesis writing, and practical evaluation.
Three-Stage Course Specifications (Progressive Design)
Following the progressive logic of "Beginner (Concept Foundation) — Transition (Method Application) — Advanced (Case Integration)", the three stages are closely connected, with clear positioning and gradual deepening, ensuring that learners at different foundations can learn in a step-by-step manner and achieve phased growth.
1. Beginner Stage (Zero-Based Entry)
Stage Orientation
Tailored for learners with zero statistical foundation or who are "afraid of statistics", focusing on "breaking the psychological barrier + building basic cognition", and laying a solid foundation for subsequent learning without involving complex formula derivation.
Core Content
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Basic Statistical Cognition and Its Connection with Psychological Research: Systematically explain the basic concepts (variable, data, sample, population) and core principles of statistics, focusing on the role of statistics in psychological research (such as supporting research conclusions, verifying design rationality), and answering "why psychological research cannot do without statistics" in simple terms.
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Data Types and Characteristics in Psychological Research: Distinguish quantitative data (behavioral experiment scores, questionnaire scores) and qualitative data (clinical assessment descriptions, interview records) in plain language, and explain the basic collection methods and simple classification skills of various data in psychological research scenarios.
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Introduction to Core Descriptive Statistics: Understand the basic meaning of central tendency (mean, median, mode) and dispersion (range) without complex calculations, and learn to judge the simple characteristics of psychological data through basic statistical indicators.
Stage Learning Outcomes
Master the core basic concepts of statistics, eliminate the fear of statistical learning, be able to distinguish different types of psychological research data, and initially understand the role of statistics in psychological research, laying a solid foundation for entering the transition stage.
2. Transition Stage (Method Application)
Stage Orientation
For learners who have mastered basic statistical concepts (completed the beginner stage or have a preliminary statistical foundation), focusing on "connecting concepts with methods + mastering practical operation logic", and solving the problem of "knowing concepts but not knowing how to use them".
Core Content
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In-depth Learning of Descriptive Statistics: Master the calculation logic and practical significance of core indicators (variance, standard deviation), and learn to use charts (histograms, bar charts, box plots) to organize and summarize psychological data (such as questionnaire data sorting, experimental data display).
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Core Differences and Application Scenarios Between Descriptive and Inferential Statistics: Clarify the functional positioning of the two types of statistics, and combine simple psychological research cases (such as comparing the emotional scores of two groups of subjects) to explain when to use descriptive statistics and when to use inferential statistics.
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Data Preprocessing in Psychological Research: Learn the basic methods of sorting out and cleaning psychological research data (such as handling missing values, eliminating abnormal data), and avoid common statistical misunderstandings in the data preprocessing stage.
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Introduction to Data Distribution: Understand the characteristics of normal distribution, skewed distribution and other common distributions, and master the application of normal distribution in psychological research (such as intelligence test data, emotional rating data).
Stage Learning Outcomes
Master core descriptive statistical methods and data preprocessing skills, be able to use statistical indicators and charts to describe psychological data, clarify the application scenarios of descriptive and inferential statistics, and have the ability to initially apply statistical methods to simple psychological research problems.
3. Advanced Stage (Case Integration)
Stage Orientation
For learners who have mastered basic statistical methods (completed the transition stage or have certain statistical application experience), focusing on "integrating methods with psychological research cases + cultivating statistical thinking + supporting academic application", and connecting with actual academic research and thesis writing.
Core Content
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Practical Application of Statistical Thinking in Psychological Research: Combine classic psychological research cases (such as correlation between personality traits and behavioral performance, comparison of intervention effects of psychological counseling) to explain how to use statistical thinking to design research plans, control irrelevant variables, and verify research hypotheses.
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In-depth Analysis of Inferential Statistics Application: Focus on the basic application logic of inferential statistics in psychological research, understand the core ideas of statistical tests (without complex derivation), and learn to interpret the inferential statistical results in common psychological research.
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Interpretation of Statistical Results in Psychological Journals: Analyze the statistical analysis parts of mainstream psychological journals, help learners understand the expression norms of statistical results, and lay a foundation for thesis writing and academic reading.
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Avoiding Common Statistical Misunderstandings in Psychological Research: Focus on solving common problems such as "spurious correlation" and "causal confusion" in psychological research, and improve the scientificity and persuasiveness of research conclusions.
Stage Learning Outcomes
Establish scientific statistical thinking, be able to integrate statistical methods with psychological research cases, accurately interpret statistical results in psychological journals, avoid common statistical misunderstandings, and have the ability to provide statistical support for academic research, thesis writing and practical evaluation.
Course Highlights
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Psychology-Oriented Customization: Reject the generalized content of universal statistics courses. All knowledge points and cases of the three stages are centered on psychological research design, specifically addressing statistical pain points in psychological research with stronger practicality.
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Progressive Three-Stage Design: Closely connected stages, clear positioning for different foundations, catering to both zero-based learners and those with preliminary cognition, reducing the threshold of understanding and ensuring phased growth.
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Integration of Theory and Practice: Beyond formula derivation, each stage focuses on the practical application of statistical methods. Through case analysis, learners master "when to use, how to use, and how to interpret results" at different levels.
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Building Core Thinking Ability: It not only imparts knowledge but also focuses on cultivating statistical thinking in the whole process, helping learners examine psychological research from a data perspective and improve academic literacy and research capabilities.
Target Audience
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Beginner Stage: Undergraduate students majoring in psychology (freshmen and sophomores), psychology enthusiasts, and practitioners who have zero statistical foundation and want to get started with statistical learning for psychological research.
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Transition Stage: Learners who have completed the beginner stage, or undergraduate students majoring in psychology with a preliminary statistical foundation, who need to master basic statistical application methods to cope with simple research tasks.
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Advanced Stage: Graduate students majoring in psychology, practitioners engaged in psychological counseling, behavioral research, etc., who need to use statistical methods to support academic research, thesis writing and practical evaluation; learners who need to connect with advanced statistical courses.
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General Audience: Learners who need to supplement basic statistics to lay the groundwork for subsequent advanced courses such as Advanced Psychological Statistics, Experimental Psychology, and Psychological Measurement.
Overall Learning Outcomes (After Completing All Three Stages)
After completing the three stages of the course, learners will possess: 1. A systematic and clear understanding of basic statistics, enabling accurate distinction between core concepts and methods; 2. The ability to organize, describe, preprocess and conduct preliminary inferential analysis of psychological data; 3. The judgment ability to select appropriate statistical methods according to different psychological research objectives; 4. The core ability to interpret statistical results in psychological research and journals; 5. Scientific statistical thinking to avoid common statistical misunderstandings in research, empowering subsequent academic and career development.
Note
This is a progressive introductory course on basic statistics for psychological research. The three stages are closely connected and can be learned step by step, or selected according to personal foundation. After completing all three stages, it can seamlessly connect with advanced courses such as Advanced Psychological Statistics and SPSS Practical Operation, forming a complete competency system of "basic theory + tool operation + academic application".
