The subject of “bad” grades has been on my mind lately. With many university semesters drawing to a close, I’m watching my friends who teach at the college level cope with the by now routine requests from students to elevate their grades, whether through extra credit, re-grading an assignment, or just because. Based on stories from my friends, students can be quite aggressive in their pursuit to enhance a grade. Continue reading The Good Thing About a Bad Grade
Tag Archives: statistics
Research Methods Matter: The Case of Coffee and Productivity
As an undergraduate studying psychology, I dreaded my required research methods classes. Years later as a graduate student instructor, I saw the same lack of enthusiasm in my own students. That’s right, I opted to teach research methods. At some point as I became a better researcher and scientist, it became clear how important research methods are and how interesting they can be. Continue reading Research Methods Matter: The Case of Coffee and Productivity
Types of Statistical Validity: What You’re Measuring and How to Do It
Statistical validity is one of those things that is vitally important in conducting and consuming social science research, but less than riveting to learn about. It doesn’t help that people use the term “validated” very loosely. In a health coaching context, I hear mention of “validated instruments” and “validated outcomes” without a consistent meaning behind the terms.
In fact, there are lots of types of validity, and depending on what you want to do with your data, you may need to establish validity in several different ways. Saying a measure is valid at a high level means that statistically, it’s measuring what it’s supposed to measure in a stable, meaningful way. Continue reading Types of Statistical Validity: What You’re Measuring and How to Do It