Things I have learned (so far)

Abstract

This is an account of what I have learned (so far) about the application of statistics to psychology and the other sociobiomedical sciences. It includes the principles “less is more” (fewer variables, more highly targeted issues, sharp rounding off), “simple is better” (graphic representation, unit weighting for linear composites), and “some things you learn aren’t so.” I have learned to avoid the many misconceptions that surround Fisherian null hypothesis testing. I have also learned the importance of power analysis and the determination of just how big (rather than how statistically significant) are the effects that we study. Finally, I have learned that there is no royal road to statistical induction, that the informed judgment of the investigator is the crucial element in the interpretation of data, and that things take time.