UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOUR DEGREE IN CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCINCE DEGREE IN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

MODULE STATISTICS FOR PSYCHOLOGY (HCDP106)

Lecturer: Mr M. Paradza
Email: mathewparadza@[Link]
Level: 1:2
Status: Core and Department-wide
Credits: 15
Consultation Hours: Monday 1300-1400hrs and Thursday 1300-1400hrs

Purpose of Module
The module seeks to help students to understand methodological and statistical procedures
used to generate psychological knowledge in applied settings within the discipline of
psychology. The advent of computers dramatically changed the way in which psychological
research is conducted. Hence contemporary psychologists now rely on computes to design
research studies, collect data, analyse data, and present research reports/publications.
However, the effective use of computers will largely depend on one understanding the basic
principles involved in conducting research and analysing data. Hence the purpose of the module
is to assist students to understand key issues and problems confronted by psychologists and
how such issues are dealt with using scientific procedures, particularly statistical analysis.
Aim:
With students having gone through a module dealing with psychological research methods, the
module seeks to acquaint students with scientific techniques of analysing research data in order
to arrive at scientific conclusions. The major aim of the module is to introduce students to the
study of statistics and assist them to demonstrate knowledge of the application and utility of
different statistical procedures, primarily focusing on descriptive statistics. Another objective of
the module is to teach students to use computers in analysing data. The module also seeks to
give students knowledge of statistical analysis and methods to assist them when they do their
dissertations in their final year, as well as applying the knowledge in the field of work when they
complete their degrees.
Objectives

At the end of the module, students should be able to:

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 1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the scientific method of psychological research.

2. Demonstrate knowledge and application of descriptive statistics, focusing on their utility

in summarising data.

3. Be able to differentiate between descriptive and inferential statistics.

4. Be able to compute descriptive and inferential statistics manually.

5. Demonstrate the ability to use computers and statistical packages (specifically the
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences [SPSS]) to analyse data.

Module Outline

WEEK ONE
Topic Content No. of Hours Delivery
Method

1. Introduction to Statistics - Statistics and the scientific method of 4 Lecture and

in Psychology research notes
- Introduction to statistical notations and
their use
- Basic mathematical and measurement
concepts
2. Variables and - Variable types, characteristics, 4 Lectures and
Measurement Scales application and statistical analysis notes
- Continuous Variables
- Discrete Variables
- Independent Variables
- Dependent Variables

- Measurement Scales and their utility

- Ordinal Scales
- Nominal Scales
- Interval Scales
- Ratio Scales
3. Descriptive Statistics I - Frequency distribution tables for raw 8 Lectures and
(Theory and Manual and grouped data notes
Calculations) - Frequency distribution Graphs
- Charts
- Frequency polygons
- Stem and Leaf displays
- Measures of relative standing
(percentiles)
- Shapes of distributions (e.g.,
symmetrical, skewed, bell-shaped, J-
shaped, etc.)
WEEK TWO
Topic Content No. of Hours Delivery
Method
4. Descriptive Statistics II - Measures of Central Tendency and 12 Lectures
their utility (Mean, mode, median) Computer
- Raw Scores and Grouped Practicals
Distributions
- Measures of variability
- Range

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 - Variance
- Standard Deviation
- Centile ranks of scores

- The normal curve and standard scores

(Skewness and Kurtosis)

5. Z Scores - Probability 8
- T-Scores

6. Correlation and Simple (Test of Statistical Association) 6 Lectures and

Linear Regression Parametric notes
Pearson’s R2
Spearman’s R2
Simple Linear Regression

WEEK THREE
Topic Content No. of Hours Delivery
Method
7. Descriptive Statistics I - Lab Practical using SPSS 10 Computer Lab
(Practicals) - Creating Data Templates Practicals on
- Data Capturing and Cleaning SPSS in groups
- Analysing Descriptive statistics
(frequency tables, graphs, charts,
percentiles)
8. Descriptive Statistics II - Lab Practical using SPSS 8
(Practicals) - Creating Data Templates
- Data Capturing and Cleaning
- Analysing Descriptive statistics (mean
range, variance, standard deviation)
-
Total Number of Hours for the Module = 48
The lecturer will give students practical exercises for students to capture data and analyse it
using SPSS where possible and on Excel computing relevant descriptive statistics.

Assessment
Module includes only tests, which constitute 50% of the final mark and the examination which
constitutes 50% of the final mark.

Selected Resources (References)

Bluman A. G.(2012). Elementary Statistics: A Step by Step Approach. New York. McGraw-Hill

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Durrheim, K. & Tredoux, C. (2002). Numbers, Hypotheses and Conclusions: A Course in
Statistics for the Social Sciences. Cape Town. UCT Press
Haslam, S.A & McGarty, C (2014) Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology, Sage
Publications, London.
Howitt, D. & Cramer, D. (2018). Introduction to Statistics in Psychology (6th Edition).
Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

E-books:
Cohen B. H (2018). Explaining Psychological Statistics. Link
[Link]

Good, P.I. (2014) Introduction to Statistics Through Resampling Methods and R Link:
[Link]

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