Stats for the Social Sciences is a continuation of an earlier course that evaluated statistics based on survey research. Throughout this course, my process for doing research changed since I was able to pick up a variety of skills that will be very useful to me when I do another research project or when I am in my future career. One of the skills I continued to develop this semester was critical thinking; it assisted me in analyzing the data I was researching and taking into account how it affected the study using statistical methods. Another skill I learned fresh in this course was using applications such as SPSS to help show and use different statistical methods for the data set we were using to research. We also continued to use RStudio as well but at this time I was already familiar with it. The new things I learned to do in Rstudio were different lines of code and re-coding variables tho helped show my statistical data on the current data set I was researching.
Another skill set I learned was how to test different statistical tests on any kind of data I am given such as ANOVA(Analysis of Variance) tests, Chi-squared tests, Pearson’s correlations tests, Regression tests, and T-tests. I learned how to show each of these tests both on computerized versions with tables and charts and how to work them all by free hand by using formulas and simple math and knowledge I learned back in high school. Lastly, I learned a small skill but it was still essential when conducting research, that skill was organization. Throughout this course, I kept a binder full of instructions and notes on how to conduct all this statistical research. This skill helped me make sure nothing was out of order and I had everything in an organized manner so if someone wanted to learn how to conduct statistical research, this binder would be beneficial to them.
All of these skills I learned throughout this course helped me improve my statistical research knowledge to better improve my research and any future research I do. In today’s world, these skills are used daily in many big industries and career fields to help make decisions and evaluate any kind of data they want or need to research for their current situation. The skills I learned in this course will help me be better prepared for my future career when I need to do any sort of statistical test or statistical research that utilizes the tools I learned in this course.
In conclusion, I gained hard but useful skills after finishing this course, such as using Rstudio to code and SPSS. I have also improved other skills like, critical thinking, teamwork, and organization. This leaves me with a solid basis for future projects and it gets me ready for any future careers ahead of me.