Do not be confused or intimidated by data! Confront it, scrutinize it, evaluate it. This course aims to help participants become more informed and discerning consumers of scientific and other data-driven findings that we encounter daily. The instructor, a retired academic clinical psychologist trained in the scientist-practitioner model, will help students gain a working knowledge of the scientific method, the terms and techniques associated with statistics and data analysis, and how these processes can sometimes go awry. Participants will emerge not only more comfortable with these concepts, but also with the healthy skepticism that is at the core of good science.

The course will cover the following topics:

• The Scientific Method and Process will explain hypothesis development and testing that is the foundation of scientific inquiry and study.
• Data and Statistics will provide an overview of basic statistical concepts and terms (no equations!).
• Data Analysis will discuss how scientific data is analyzed, interpreted and presented.
• Science Done Wrong will show how science can be done incorrectly due to incompetence, unconscious bias or, occasionally, outright fraud, but also by outside forces distorting or misrepresenting its processes and findings.

Recommended Reading: How to Lie with Statistics, Darrell Huff; The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn; The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds, Michael Lewis; Statistics Done Wrong: The Woefully Complete Guide, Alex Reinhart; The Art of Statistical Thinking, Albert Rutherford and Jae Kim.