Choice of analytical technique(s)

1. Choice of analytical technique(s) • Own experience of using quantitative methods & analytical techniques • Background: Organisational Psychology • Strongly influenced by positivist philosophical approaches; also pragmatism • Analytical techniques I use frequently: descriptives, correlations, different types of regressions, factor analyses (exploratory), reliability analyses • Analytical techniques I have used previously: (psychometric) meta-analysis, systematic review, statistical power analyses, pair comparison techniques • Analytical techniques I would like to use (more): structural equation modelling incl. confirmatory factor analysis and multi-level modelling, longitudinal methods, cluster analysis…

2. Choice of analytical technique(s) (ctd.) • Considerations when choosing analytical techniques: • ‘What works?’ i.e. what techniques can help me in answering my research question(s)? a) data collection (e.g. questionnaire); b) subsequent data analysis (e.g. regression) • On the one hand: Don’t use fancy methods if they won’t help you in your research! • But on the other hand: Be prepared to try new things and/or to adapt a technique used in a different subject area (e.g. medicine). • Do you know how to do it? Important to get things right. Go on training courses if necessary & speak to experts. • Recognise the limitations.

3. Choice of analytical technique(s) (ctd.) • Where can you get help & advice from? • Your supervisor(s). • The academic literature – textbooks (basic & advanced) & journal articles discussing specific techniques. • Your peers – ‘anonymous analysts’?? • Quantitative analysis experts in your department or university. • Training courses provided by your department/university, other universities, the ESRC etc. • Other scholars – don’t be shy. • The internet has some useful information, too, e.g. http://www.statisticalassociates.com/ (be careful to stick to trustworthy sources).