ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the development of statistical methods from the mid-16th century through the early 20th century. This history begins with the development of probability theory and the concept of the normal distribution. The chapter then turns to Francis Galton’s contributions, including the development of the concepts of statistics by intercomparison, correlation, and regression. The chapter next examines contributions to the development of modern statistical methods made by Karl Pearson, Ronald Fisher, and Charles Spearman. In this analysis, the influence that eugenic thinking had on these developments and early uses of statistical methods is considered. Also examined are the ways in which these statistical methods have and continue to be used in ways that contribute to a replication crisis in social science research and to the production of deficit narratives about nondominant racialized groups.
