Nervous About Statistics Course

College Life
1

<p>Greetings CC. </p>

<p>As the new term approaches, I’m growing increasingly nervous about an upcoming class. As a psychology major, I’m required to take a statistics course. It’s considered to be highly important in my school’s psych program, and I was encouraged to sign up for it right away upon transferring to my current college.</p>

<p>I know statistics courses vary, so here is the course description: “Descriptive/basic inferential statistics used in psychology. Measures of central tendency, variability, t tests, one-way ANOVA, correlation, regression, confidence intervals, effect sizes. Psychological measurement. Graphical data presentation. Statistical software. High school algebra, [PSY 1001 or equiv] required; intended for students who plan to major in psychology.” </p>

<p>My anxiety stems from my history of poor performance in math. During middle and high school, I was homeschooled. The responsibility of learning algebra and higher math was entirely up to me, and I had limited help and resources. I’m the first to admit that I did a poor job because I felt overwhelmed and often felt too ashamed or stupid to seek out the assistance that was available. I got through it, but barely, and I haven’t done any math in over three years. I did try to re-learn some this summer and was disheartened by how much my already weak skills had regressed. </p>

<p>I also feel incredible pressure to get an A. I’m trying not to look at it this way, but it’s hard not to since I’m interested in applying to my university’s graduate program, and this is considered a critical course. </p>

<p>The good news is that I’m planning to approach this with as much tenacity as I can muster and am already working on reviewing math. The professor also has great reviews and has already been in contact with those registered for the class. I’m thinking of visiting his office hours early in the semester and seeing if he has any advice. </p>

<p>To those of you who have taken stats courses, particularly those that are psychology-based, do you have any tips? How hard is it for those who are math-challenged? Are there any aspects of algebra I should especially focus on re-learning? Any advice is much appreciated.</p>

2

<p>My advice for you is to go to those office hours. Keep going until you COMPLETELY understand the material. I was in a similar position as you before going into stats, where I was afraid I’d perform poorly because of my shaky background in mathematics. But if your stats class was anything like mine, it mostly involved inputting data into formulas. The key was reading the problems critically and pinpointing words that would deduce which formula to apply. </p>

<p>But again, go to those office hours. Most people in my stats class only went right before an exam and that really ****ed off the professor. So go whenever he is available and have him help you until you are confident with the problem sets. Do those problems at home as well and spend as much time as you need to understand and apply the material. You have to go in with 100% confidence for those exams if you are positive you want that A. I did that, and I ended the semester at the top of the class. So good luck to you.</p>

3

<p>I’m not going to lie: the semester I took statistics for psychology I pulled 10 all-nighters; one for each “lab” we had to write up. I had done well in high school all the way through calculus, but felt like I didn’t know what I was doing in stats. I got through it though, and you will too. You don’t have to feel pressured to get A’s. Unless your U does grade inflation, I would bet a good majority of students get B’s and C’s, which are ok. Just get through it. You can do better in other courses to help boost your GPA. Schools know it’s a tough course - it has to be so that you understand what goes into research, and how to really understand the results of everything you will be reading. You also will probably be required to do an independent research piece at some point, so you will use what you learn, that is for sure! Just take it one lesson at a time, and immediately ask the TA or whoever for help if there is something you don’t understand. You can also look for additional little explanations and lessons online. The internet is such a great thing! If you think you need a tutor, ask early so you can get one. Better to ask and not need the help, than wait and then not be able to find a tutor because they are spread thin! It’s tough, but remember, college is all about learning. Making mistakes during learning is what it’s all about. If you knew it already, well enough to not make mistakes, then what would be the point of attending college? I am sure even researchers have notes, books, forumla sheets, etc, all nearby for resources too!</p>

4

<p>You can do it! Statistics is typically considered easier than most other math courses. Like others have said, go to office hours if you need it - you can even hire a tutor or perhaps find one for free. I doubt you’ll need it.</p>

5

<p>PSY 3801 isn’t through the Stats department so I don’t have a lot of information to give you.</p>

<p>You are probably going to need some basic algebra skills. I learned from the old (early 90s) McDougal Littell math textbooks in the series of “Algebra 1: An Integrated Approach” and “Geometry for Enjoyment & Challenge”. Those were excellent books.</p>

<p>You might like this free online introduction: [Understanding</a> Algebra by James Brennan](<a href=“http://www.jamesbrennan.org/algebra/]Understanding”>http://www.jamesbrennan.org/algebra/)</p>

<p>The actual statistics content is not like the math you’ve probably done before. It is very useful and can be interesting if you approach it with an open mind.</p>

6

<p>Sometimes statistics courses that are linked to a major are “easier” because they are in a context that has meaning to you. Things just seem to make more sense when you understand how and why something applies.</p>

<p>Definitely go to office hours. And definitely investigate what math and statistics tutoring is available on campus…and plan to be there. Literally work regular appointments in to your weekly schedule.</p>

7

<p>I can’t give an accurate assessment of Psych Stat because I haven’t taken it, but Math Stat was the easiest course I’ve taken in two years of college. Content-wise and workload-wise. The latter, however, depends on your particular professor; I happened to have quite an easy (and very nice) professor, which was reflected in the difficulty (or rather, lack thereof) of tests and such. So, it depends. </p>

<p>You say this professor of yours has good reviews, yeah? Then I wouldn’t be too awful worried. Study hard. Do your homework. Ask questions when you don’t understand.</p>

8

<p>Find the math tutoring center on campus and show up on Day 1 with syllabus in hand. Make a standing appointment with a good tutor, letting them know about your general math skills, and then review Every. Single. One. of the class sessions with the tutor - in addition to going to office hours etc. Like a foreign language, the knowledge is cumulative, so don’t let anything you don’t really understand slip by you - it will come back to bite you later on.</p>

<p>If you’re seriously interested in psych as a career, you really need to be comfortable with this basic level of statistics. Even if your ultimate career goal isn’t in research, you will need it to understand professional publications in the field.</p>

9

<p>My girlfriend is OK at math. She is a Psychology major and took the Psych Stats or whatever. Just do all the problems, memorize everything, and go to office hours. She got an A. It’s not really that hard and not much harder than a math major statistics course (I am a math major). </p>

<p>The only bad part she told me was sometimes the labs were a little confusing. So, make sure you study the heck out of the textbook so you know what you are doing. </p>

<p>I never studied for stats and got an A in the class. I’m taking Applied Probability Theory this semester. If it helps if you can think about the applications of things and how awesome it is to be able to apply it to psychology. It’ll give it more “importance” and you’ll be able to remember what you learn better. </p>

<p>Go to study groups with smart people before tests. Make sure you make friends with the smart kids in the class. They’re generally able to break it down better for you.</p>

10

<p>AP Stats at my high school was considered “Dumb Kid Math”. My school only offered AP and Honors math sections (except for Algebra II). If you were one of the students who made an A or B in Pre-Algebra in seventh grade, you basically were on track to take Pre-Calculus as a junior and then either Honors Calculus, AP Calculus AB, or AP Calculus BC. The other option was AP Stats. I barely got through Pre-Calc with a B-, so I chose to take AP Stats. It was really easy. It’s nothing like other math courses.</p>

<p>I took another Stats class in college and it was the easiest course I’ve ever taken.</p>

<p>The stuff you mentioned are all things that were covered in my two stats courses and it really wasn’t that hard. You’ll be fine.</p>

11

<p>Well, my Dumb Kid took AP Stats and found it challenging. She did it because she was considering a social science major and thought it was important to understand statistics, and was blindsided by all of those mathsmart people who were taking it as an easy course. So I’m sympathetic to the OP, who admitted that math is not a strength, and I think it would be more helpful if people actually gave the OP strategies for success rather than bragging about how easy they found the class. Not everyone does, you know.</p>

12

<p>Read the relevant chapters to the lesson before you go to class. Take notes and then follow along by listening to the teacher instead of worrying about writing everything they say down. If you have a good memory, just do the practice problems or homework. I’d say staying on top of it and fully paying attention (as well as getting a decent amount of sleep) will help a lot. </p>

<p>Make flashcards for formulas to memorize if you can’t remember. When you use the formulas think very carefully what you’re doing so you don’t punch it into the calculator wrong. </p>

<p>Review both old and new stuff so that you don’t cram everything in before finals that you may have forgotten. It is important for an already struggling student to stay on top of their assignments and studying so they don’t drown. </p>

<p>If it is hard to concentrate or stay awake in the class, drink coffee beforehand. I always had trouble staying awake in my physics classes because they were so long and boring. </p>

<p>Seek outside resources. There are wonderful places to learn statistics from online and plenty of universities that offer opencourseware. Statistics from Khan Academy gives you bite-size lectures that cover most of the topics you’ll need to know. </p>

<p>Sometimes it’s better to supplement your learning from a different book if your current one isn’t cutting it. I always found a cheap but good book for some of my more important classes to refer to if I wanted a second perspective. </p>

<p>Form study groups but make sure the people you study with contain somewhat strong individuals at math. It’s easier to approach other students when you’re struggling rather than a teacher. I’d make a buddy or two that you can rely on and get their phone number or e-mail.</p>

<p>Go to office hours every chance you get if you’re not doing so hot. Go to tutoring and see if someone there can help you. Consult other math professors if you have to. And then there’s just figuring out yourself. Find a quiet area where you can just sit there and spend either 5, 10, 20 minutes or hours to really “get” what is going on. It makes it easier to apply what you’ve learned when tests come around. </p>

<p>Richard Feynman, a great influence of mine, before his death wrote on the blackboard of his classroom at CalTech “Solve every problem that’s been solved.” Do every single problem if you have to but always do all of the assigned problems. I’d take special note of the examples he/she puts on the board and make sure to refer to those before examinations. </p>

<p>Also, do not compare yourself to others. It is discouraging to see someone just “get” it without ever studying or doing the homework and you’ve been at it for days without success. Some people are going to be mathematically talented and that’s a fact of life. If we were more accepting of other people’s strengths and didn’t have such big egos, I guess people wouldn’t have such low self-esteem. My advice? Put your nose to the grindstone more or ask them. Just because they’re smart doesn’t mean they’re necessarily “above” you. You shouldn’t feel stupid compared to them and chances are they are more than willing to help you. </p>

<p>If you can explain what you’ve learned to someone in a simple manner, you know it well. Teaching others sometimes helps with retention.</p>

<p>My ultimate advice: Do NOT procrastinate if you struggle with math.</p>

13

<p>First disclaimer, I’ve taken multiple statistics courses and yet don’t know anything about statistics. Most of what we did in those classes, excluding probability, I’ve forgotten. However, I know that we didn’t do ANOVA (though ours included several variables) until our 2nd Stats course, and it looks like that course you described contains a lot of topics. If that’s a 3 cr. course I think it will either be very shallow or quite hard, and either of those choices are entirely possible. </p>

<p>My stats classes weren’t particularly hard, because the way it was taught was basically “When you see a problem like this, do this thing. When you see a problem like this do this other thing.” I think many stats for non-majors classes may be like that at a lot of universities, but I’m sure there are schools where that’s not the case and for all I know you might be at one.</p>

14

<p>You’ll have lots of formulas, equations, and tables. Know why they work versus just using them without thought and you’ll do fine.</p>

15

<p>My suggestion would be to focus more on the concepts. Once you get the idea behind why a particular formula is used, you can be confident plugging in the numbers to get the numerical answer. There really isn’t going to be a whole lot of algebraic manipulation and no derivation using calculus in an introductory stats class like the one you’re taking. The important thing is that you understand intuitively what’s going on.</p>

<p>Make sure you’re familiar with statistical terminology and the notation used (especially what the greek symbol sigma means in terms of stats). Don’t fall behind because concepts build on one another and if you don’t completely understand something you already went over, there’s a good chance it will hurt you later on too. </p>

<p>Ask people in your other psych classes if they’ve already taken the class you’re taking maybe they can help you out. If you have friends who are in engineering/math/economics/ business/biology they might be able to help you out too. Stats is used in many fields and there are quite a few people who have taken an introductory class and maybe even advanced classes.</p>

16

<p>if you have trouble go to offic hours and any extra study sessions they may have for the class. I actually had a prof grade me higher (well other students too) because she know although i struggled, i made an effort to get help and try my best. plus the extra time does help</p>