ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focuses on how the curriculum encourages psychologists to train students in statistics and research methodology. McGovern, Furumoto, Halpern, Kimble, and McKeachie developed eight goals that they hoped would serve as guidelines in developing psychology curricula; one goal involved research methods and statistical skills. Messer et al. found that 73% of departments required at least one methods course; Perlman and McCann found that 40% of their departments required research methods, 38% required experimental psychology, and 7% required experimental design. Psychology student research conferences typically exist to give psychology undergraduates a forum for making research presentations in an environment modeled after professional conferences for faculty. The psychology curriculum has evolved over the years to include both statistics and research courses. Thus, the belief that conducting a research project is important appears to be a core belief in many departments.
