Jeromy Anglim's Blog: Psychology and Statistics


Monday, December 21, 2009

How to Write Predictions and Hypotheses in Psychological Research Reports

This post discusses the topic of predictions in psychological research. The main aim of the post is to provide assistance to researchers who are in the process of writing their predictions in a thesis, lab report, or journal article. The post: (a) provides an overview of the purpose of prediction in empirical reports; (b) discusses properties of predictions, such as the rationale, research question, and relationship with researcher belief; (c) discusses types of prediction, including abstract versus operational, qualitative versus quantitative, and single versus grouped; and (d) presents ideas about how to write about predictions in the introduction of an empirical report.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Matrix Algebra in R: Resources, Videos, Textbooks

I noticed how John Myles White has posted a useful overview of Matrix Algebra in R. This post lists a couple of other resources that are available on the Internet on the topic, including R resources, online video courses, and online textbooks.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Problems with High Resolution Laptops and External Monitors

In this post I outline why buying a high resolution laptop is a bad idea if you ever plan to use an external monitor and run an extended desktop.

Friday, December 11, 2009

How to Write the Introduction Section in Psychology: Theses, Lab Reports, and Journal Articles

This post discusses how to write an effective introduction in a psychological empirical report, including lab reports, theses, and journal articles. It discusses: (1) the overall purpose of the introduction; (2) the different elements of the introduction, including the opening, literature review, and the current study; (3) issues associated with main and transitional introductions in multiple study investigations; and (4) provides links to additional resources on writing introductions.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Writing a Method Section in Psychology: Lab Reports, Theses, Articles

This post discusses how to write a method section in psychology. It has relevance to writing journal articles, theses, and lab reports. It includes discussion of: (a) key elements to include in each section; (b) specific issues to consider; and (c) links to online and offline resources.

Article Deconstruction: How to Write a Method Section in Psychology

The following post applies an approach that I call article deconstruction to extract principles for writing a Method section in a psychological empirical report. The post aims to both extract useful principles for writing a Method section and to demonstrate how article deconstruction can be applied to writing challenges in scientific psychology. It builds on my other post discussing general principles and resources for writing a method.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Dark Nudges: Your Loss is the Company's Gain

I've recently been thinking about the concept of the nudge. I'm talking about ways that systems can be altered to encourage or discourage particular behaviour. As opposed to telling people that they cannot do something or that they must do something, a system is set up that just makes a given behaviour a little easier or a little harder. A classic example is the difference between opt-out versus opt-in systems for organ donors, and how an opt-out system can dramatically increase organ donor rates. However, while some writers are commenting on the beneficial effects of nudges, I've been thinking more about the dark side of the nudge. Specifically, I've been thinking about the ways that companies use nudges for their own advantage and to the detriment of the customer. This post presents a few examples of dark nudges that have recently come my way and makes some general comments about dark nudges.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Structural Equation Modelling and Path Analysis Resources

The following post lists some resources for conducting structural equation modelling and path analysis.

Multinomial Logistic Regression: SPSS Resources

This posts sets out a few Internet resources on analysing and interpreting a multinomial logistic regression.

Meta-Analysis: Tips, Resources, and Software

The following discusses issues related to conducting a meta-analysis. It sets out: (a) some tips for getting started; (b) some online resources for learning about meta-analysis; (c) some links to software for conducting meta-analysis; and (d) a few thoughts that I have had about meta-analysis.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Practice Questions for Statistics in Psychology (Undergraduate Level)

This post is intended for undergraduate students who are studying statistics in psychology. The post provides links to online resources that provide practice questions.