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How is Statistics?

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zeldapsychology
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28 Aug 2010, 8:41 pm

I'm taking Elementary Statistics. I'll give you some of my math learning history and no I'm not super good with math! LOL! Pre-Algebra,Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 were pretty easy basic math concepts I could grasp. I assumed College Algebra would be to. NO! It was HELL! f(x) (whatever the hell that means!) and wavy graph lines TOTALLY confused me to death! No matter the teacher help I'd break down and cry at the end of class or stay late on tests. I only passed since I tried an online tutoring site (through the college) and Since FL had major Hurricanes in Fall 2004 teachers said No final exams. That following semester I started statistics (but the suspension happen) Sadly This was with an AWESOME teacher I had had previously for Algebra 2 (he relates the work to real LIFE!) Something I need to grasp math. At the time we were learning Probability which seemed ok. What other stuff that class entailed I'm not to sure (Since I didn't finish it) So how should I approach doing Statistics again?

I need it to understand how to do Psychology research but I'm not sure if this new teacher Mrs. Walsh relates to LIFE or just goes by some book. Reading reviews I hear "she moves fast" If this is good/not I'm not sure. Based off of College Algebra being HELL should I look for a tutor ASAP? Or do you think it'd be easily understandable? I don't want to fail tests and have meltdowns. A few weeks into college algebra the teacher asked if I wanted to quit her class I said no and trudged on. I'm not to sure. What are your thoughts guys?



OddDuckNash99
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28 Aug 2010, 10:09 pm

Based off of your user name, I would guess that you are majoring in psychology? A good understanding of statistics makes research so much more valuable and meaningful, so if you start having trouble early on, yes, I would suggest a tutor. Just because you want to be able to interpret your results and others' results. But don't let math scare you off of statistics. I have Nonverbal Learning Disorder, so I've struggled with math my whole life. But I'm a whiz at stats. This is because non-calculus-based stats are rooted in algebra, the only type of math I'm good at. Some of the concepts were tricky for me to understand at first, but I got lots of additional help from my professor during office hours, and I ended up being a stats TA for her, grading papers and whatnot.

The best thing about statistics is that it actually means something for your career. It is just so satisfying to be able to not only understand how a study is conducted but also the statistical benefits of why a study is conducted the way it is. It's also a joy to be able to run statistics on your very own data and see if there's significance or not. It's like a fun guessing game.

So, in summary, yes, you may need a tutor, but don't be scared of stats just because you don't like math all that much. With stats, the numbers are really plug-and-chug. What's important is that you be able to figure out what research design and statistics are being used, because that means a lot in the real world.
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daydreamer84
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28 Aug 2010, 11:58 pm

OddDuckNash99 wrote:
Based off of your user name, I would guess that you are majoring in psychology? A good understanding of statistics makes research so much more valuable and meaningful, so if you start having trouble early on, yes, I would suggest a tutor. Just because you want to be able to interpret your results and others' results. But don't let math scare you off of statistics. I have Nonverbal Learning Disorder, so I've struggled with math my whole life. But I'm a whiz at stats. This is because non-calculus-based stats are rooted in algebra, the only type of math I'm good at. Some of the concepts were tricky for me to understand at first, but I got lots of additional help from my professor during office hours, and I ended up being a stats TA for her, grading papers and whatnot.

The best thing about statistics is that it actually means something for your career. It is just so satisfying to be able to not only understand how a study is conducted but also the statistical benefits of why a study is conducted the way it is. It's also a joy to be able to run statistics on your very own data and see if there's significance or not. It's like a fun guessing game.

So, in summary, yes, you may need a tutor, but don't be scared of stats just because you don't like math all that much. With stats, the numbers are really plug-and-chug. What's important is that you be able to figure out what research design and statistics are being used, because that means a lot in the real world.

I agree....I also have NVLD and did not do well in high school math. I also did really well in psych stats and loved it. It is very basic math, involving a lot of logic and word problems. I think it is the kind of course where the more you study the better you do (I don't think all courses are like that). It is a very hands on course and requires a lot of practice. Spend time doing a few equations a day everyday after you start the course and you should do very well. If your textbook has questions at the back do those all ....if there is a companion website with practice questions do those as well.

Also you should be able to apply this kind of math to the research you want to do in psych and to experiments that you have to read about for other psych courses........... (I.e. some of the word problems will involve the exact research designs used for experiments you read about in your textbooks for other psych courses)
Good luck =)


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zeldapsychology
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29 Aug 2010, 8:48 am

Yes my area is Psychology research. Thanks for the advice. :-) The teacher does have office hours. My fear is College Algebra was so hard and yet the earlier ones were pie! You need College Algebra to be able to do Statistics at this college so I assume Statistics is CA but harder! :-( Thanks though. :-) YA!