PSY4215 Data Communication: From research problem to storytelling

Communicating data is fundamental to most career paths for psychology graduates. This unit aims to demystify the process of becoming adept in communication of a diverse range of psychosocial and health related data. You will learn about concepts that apply to post-analysis, including data visualisation and story-telling (i.e., how to shape analysis into an effective narrative), modern tools that can streamline research, and the open-science movement. You will learn about methods from the perspective of the researcher, following their footsteps as they solved a problem.

Lessons will (1) identify what was the specific research problem that needed solving, (2) how the researcher came to choose a useful approach (and reject alternative approaches that were not suitable), (3) how they implemented the method, and (4) how they told the story. Lessons will emphasise applications and interpretations for each method – what do the methods do and why are they useful? Relevant theory will be covered, emphasising practice over abstract content, with extension resources in case you wish to pursue expertise in any of the methods.