Integrating Research Methods and Statistics for Behavioural Sciences

Book excerpt: This book shows why and how the concepts, control and happenstance, are crucial to methodology and statistics, respectively. Control, as a means to reduce ambiguity, fulfills its function because of inductive rules. Statistical null hypothesis renders it possible to use test of statistical significance to rule out happenstance as explanation of research result. This book shows why and how the concepts, control and happenstance, are crucial to methodology and statistics, respectively. Control, as a means to reduce ambiguity, fulfills its function because of inductive rules. Statistical null hypothesis renders it possible to use tests of statistical significance to rule out happenstance as an explanation for research results. Basic concepts of descriptive statistics are introduced in the context of data collection, tabulation, derivation, and standardization. Issues related to psychometric measurement, correlation and regression are thereby explained as well. Random sampling distribution renders possible inferential statistics (viz., confidence interval, parameter estimation, hypothesis testing and goodness-of-fit). The book shows how standardizing random sampling distribution gives rise to parametric tests. In short, this book shows that research impartiality is possible despite the belief in (as well as instances of) “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”