Development of a measure on statistics anxiety in graduate-level psychology students

Journal of Instructional Psychology, June, 2002 by Chris Piotrowski, Subhash C. Bagui, Rohan Hemasinha

Table 1. UWF Statistics Anxiety Survey Form

To the best of your recollection, please list the high-school
mathematics courses you have completed:

--:   --
--:   --
--:   --

Have you completed an introductory or basic statistics course
as an undergraduate student?

[] YES   [] NO

How would you rate your experience in the above-mentioned
course.

-- Very comfortable   -- Confortable   -- Not comfortable

List any statistics courses beyond introductory or basic
that you have completed as an undergraduate student:

--:   --:   --:

Have you completed a course on Research Design as a
graduate student?

[] YES   [] NO

How would you rate your likeability of statistics?

[] Liked it very much   [] Liked it   [] Neutral
[] Disliked it          [] Disliked it very much

How would you rate your level of anxiety in anticipation of taking
the required statistics course in your curriculum? (please check)

[] Low        [] Moderate   [] No anxiety   [] Somewhat high
[] Very high

How would you rate your level of anxiety while taking the required
statistics course in your curriculum? (please check)

[] Low        [] Moderate   [] No anxiety   [] Somewhat high
[] Very high

If it is applicable to you, what do you find most apprehensive about
taking a graduate level statistics class: (lease describe)

1. --
2. --
3. --
4. --

Could you provide a practical suggestion on how statistics anxiety
can be lessened for psychology students?

Listed below are strategies you might employ when you are in a
statistics class. Check the strategies that would be beneficial
to you when taking the class:

[] Spend more time studying       [] Come prepared to class
[] Plan to study in groups        [] Hire a tutor
[] Consult with instructor        [] Other, please list
   outside class hours

Would you be interested in taking additional statistics courses
during your graduate study?

[] YES   [] NO   [] Not Decided

References

Bessant K.C. (1997). The development and validation of scores on the Mathematics Information Processing Scale (MIPS). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57, 841-857.

Bessant K. C. (1995). Factors associated with types of mathematics anxiety in college students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 26, 327-345.

Dolinsky, B. (2001). An active learning approach to teaching statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 28,55-56.

Huntley, D., Schneider L., & Aronson H. (2000, Fall). Clinical interns' perception of psychology and their place within it. The Clinical Psychologist, 53(4), 3-11.

Peden, B. F. (2001). Correlational analysis and interpretation: Graphs prevent gaffes. Teaching of Psychology, 28, 129-131.

Pretorius, T.B., & Norman A. M. (1992). Psychometric data on the Statistics Anxiety Scale for a sample of South African students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 933-937.

Richardson, F. C., & Suinn R. M. (1972). The Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale: Psychometric data. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 19, 551-554.

Schonfeld, A. H. (Ed.) (1987). Cognitive science and mathematics education. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.