Statistical Research and Methods: Psychology Postgraduate Study

This report presents a study investigating postgraduate psychology students at Swansea University. The research employed a descriptive design, utilizing questionnaires and interviews with three participants to explore their motivations for pursuing advanced studies. The findings reveal that students were driven by a desire to advance their careers, a passion for psychology developed early in life, and an appreciation for the university and city. The study incorporated grounded theory and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to analyze the data, aiming to understand the reasons behind students' enrollment in the psychology program. The methodology involved the use of questionnaires and interviews to gather data, focusing on the participants' experiences and perspectives. The results highlighted the participants' ambitions to deepen their knowledge, advance their careers, and contribute to the field of psychology. The discussion section analyzes the themes of work, education, and experience, offering insights into the students' goals and aspirations.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY 1
Statistical Research and Methods
Student’s name
University affiliation
Author’s note

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Title
Study to investigate Statistical and research methods about students taking a postgraduate
degree in psychology at Swansea University.
Abstract.
The study wanted to investigate students who joined Swansea University for postgraduate
studies on psychology. There have been cases of students enrolling at Swansea University. The
number has risen over the years with a reason yet to be known. The study sought to find reasons
why this has been progressively taken place over the years. As such, the participants who were
involved during the study were postgraduate students taking psychology. The institution has
recorded a high number of students who are taking psychology over the years. The number of
participants included in the research were three students.
The research incorporated a descriptive research design. Here, surveys were taken in the
form of questionnaires and interviews. Since the research incorporated three participants, two
were offered questionnaires while the other one was interviewed. From the findings, the
participants had an urge of pursuing their career to a greater extent. As such, they opted into
doing their postgraduate program in psychology. Also, the participant had a passion which they
developed while they were young for doing psychology. Lastly, they loved the city of Swansea
the reason why they choose the university (Tian & Lowe, 2013). Also, the university offered a
competitive environment which provided everyone with the ability to learn.
The implication of the research was to establish why many students are enrolling for a
psychology course. Also, the chosen participants were young people who had started making a
career. As such, the study wanted to establish the link between age, career and postgraduate
studies.

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Introduction
In this section, a brief introduction on theories which relate to the theory are introduced.
Also, the section discusses how the theories relate to the behavior of students who join a specific
institution on the specified course.
The master’s degree in psychology is involvement of about two to three years after the
undergraduate degree. It can be classified into two, either the masters of Science or the masters
of Arts. Generally, masters in arts indicate a strong liberal focus on arts while the other type
involves concentrating on research and the sciences. Depending on the school, the type of degree
varies however with similar academic requirements. In most cases, the master's programs in
psychology offer a terminal degree. This is designed for preparing graduates for their
professional practice as they specialize in specific areas (Abdullah & Evans, 2012). In other
cases, the master’s degree would be done by students to offer a leeway to further a person’s
studies. Also, depending on the course requirements, the degree can be either thesis based or
might have a non-thesis option.
The study incorporates grounded theory. The theory analyzes data using comparative
methods from the start to the end of the research. Glaser and Strauss developed it in the 1960s.
Since it is a thematic report, the data collected was to compare different opinions essentially. The
grounded theory was developed for verification purposes during the sociological period. It is
essential in the study as it offers insights about different respondents towards an idea. The theory
can only be applied where analysis of data is done. For instance, using thematic analysis will
ensure this is accurate (Tian & Lowe, 2013). Using this theory, the study plans to verify the
reasons why students join Swansea University to further their undergraduate education on
psychology.

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Secondly, the research incorporated the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)
theory for self-evaluating. For instance, the research will incorporate open-ended questions
which will be used to ensure the respondents provide clear and accurate answers. The theory is
one which was derived by Smith in 1994 (Sun & Richardson, 2012). It offers alternatives to
psychological research traditional methods which relate to health issues. With the theory, it uses
the lived experience as one of the analyses of the theory. The theory ensures participants
maintain integrity on what made them decide to pursue the postgraduate degree course at
Swansea University (Ansong & Gyensare, 2012). By incorporating the theory to the study, the
research plans to identify clear answers towards the reason for joining Swansea and why they
decided to work on psychology while pursuing their career.
On the contrary, other individuals after completing their undergraduate studies, they opt
to pursue their careers or have other options (Abdullah & Evans, 2012). Other students study
psychology to fulfill their parents’ wishes. Others would be mandated to do so for career
purposes. As such, once they fulfill their dreams, they engage in something else. Others would
want to pursue the course also to fulfill their career choices. For instances, to gain promotion in
their jobs, they are required to have a higher level of education on a certain course. As such, they
join the university to ensure they fulfill this dream (Sun & Richardson, 2012). This shows that
depending on a person’s plan and ambition, different people work on that course to fulfill the
dreams they deserve. As such this research is mandated to investigate why each member would
want to join a specific university to pursue the postgraduate course after or during their career
(Carter, 2017).
Methodology

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This section reports the entire procedure which was used to acquire and incorporate the
samples. In this case, the independent variables were psychology. This is because it does not
depend on the student’s presence or on whether it is a postgraduate or undergraduate course
being taken (Scott, Pachana, & Sofronoff, 2011). On the other hand, the independent variables,
in this case, were the students and the period in which the course is being taken.
Participants
The target population of this study was for students who were pursuing their postgraduate
education. The students had to have had a career in the first place. Also, the students had to have
done a course in psychology in their undergraduate. The study incorporated a sample of three.
First, the period when the study took place was during a time when students are either on
vacation or having other things to work on. Also, the pick for three students was to be able to
provide accurate information (Ahmed, Al-Shaikh, & Akhtar, 2012). The geographical location
where the study was conducted was at Swansea. While the study had no specific age group, it
targeted individuals who had accomplished their undergraduate education. This in actual sense
could be between 23 to 28years.
Samples were randomly acquired upon a person’s comfortability. For instance, the
proposal was sent to the school about the study to be conducted. Upon permission being granted,
few students were asked to volunteer. The research was limited to five participants and only
managed to acquire three respondents. Also, most of the participants were occupied with their
careers. All of them undertook evening classes for them to balance between careers and studies.
Interview and procedure
Quantitative data was also used to ensure the research was perfect. The research was
based on the use of raw data and information focused on the techniques that yield the real issues

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from the reliable respondents and hence what is experienced, though of and felt by the
individuals concerned was collected. Primary data is the type of data collected directly from the
first-hand experience or respondent; examples are direct observation, questionnaires, group
discussions, and interviews (Kazdin, 2011). In the case of this study, the researcher collected the
data through the use of questionnaires, direct observations, and interviews. The materials used
for the research were a recorder, computer and survey papers. The survey instruments were in
questionnaire form which had only five questions to avoid consuming the respondents time. The
respondents were interviewed on questions which had already been prepared. Also, the questions
were short and precise to ensure the respondents were comfortable with the information they
provided (Karlaftis, & Vlahogianni, 2011). Two of the respondents were guided on how they can
answer the question while the other one was okay with being interviewed.
Results
The results of the research were positively received. Each of the participants had a reason
why they wanted to pursue the postgraduate course (Collinson et al., 2012). However, each had
an ambition of either furthering their studies or careers. While others wanted to become a
professor, others wanted to become a psychologist. The participant who was offered an interview
had a broader perspective on how they wanted their life to be. For instance, they took the course
to broaden their knowledge. Each student had their reason to why they were furthering the
The second question addressed personal factors which led to them taking the
postgraduate degree. Despite being a personal question, each one was geared towards helping
others in society. Also, they had goals which they had set in life that wanted to accomplish
(Singh Sandhu, Fahmi Sidique, & Riaz 2011). Also, passion was the main reason why each of
them had pursued their undergraduate course too. Thirdly, the question addresses the interests in

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psychology. The first respondent wanted to understand the nature of humans as well as the
second one. The second one also wanted to get training works (Kunkel, Gallagher, & Hendricks,
2016). The interviewee had other thoughts of knowing the importance of adding value to
undergraduate education.
The research incorporated the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) theory for
self-evaluating. For instance, the research will incorporate open-ended questions which will be
used to ensure the respondents provide clear and accurate answers. The theory is one which was
derived by Smith in 1994 (Sun & Richardson, 2012). It offers alternatives to psychological
research traditional methods which relate to health issues. With the theory, it uses the lived
experience as one of the analyses of the theory. The theory ensures participants maintain
integrity on what made them decide to pursue the postgraduate degree course at Swansea
University (Ansong & Gyensare, 2012)
Reasons for choosing the degree was also part of the questions which were asked. All of
them had seen it as the opportune time to work on their degree. However, each had different
thoughts. Two of the respondents had graduated and saw the need to learn while still energetic
and young (Singh Sandhu, Fahmi Sidique, & Riaz 2011). The other one saw it as time they could
undertake their research keenly. Lastly, the questions asked on why they choose the city.
Swansea is one of the best-ranked universities in the United Kingdom according to what they
had to say. Also, the city is favorable for educational purposes.
Lastly, there themes which can be derived from the interviews. For instance, this can be
found from the first respondent when they mentioned, “I am a teacher assistant at the university.”
Also, this theme is visible in the second and the interviewee. For instance, “…complete their

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post-graduate are taken a good position” in the second and “furthering my education and get my
postgraduate” from the third respondent.
Discussion
The section discusses about the major findings from the research. It is evident that from
the three selected respondents, the board can be able to derive specific themes which can be used
while admitting more students in future. This section analyzes the data obtained using a thematic
approach. Also, it incorporates some of the ways which the study can be improved and the
implications of the findings. Some of the thematic implication from the research were work and
education (Oppewal, Poria, Ravenscroft, & Speller, 2017). Each respondent was particular in
educating themselves to get to higher ranks. As such, they were hardworking and specific.
Secondly, there are feelings which were generated from the people. Experience is another theme
depicted by the results (McDougall, 2015). For instance, the respondents had either interacted
with people who had psychological issues or had worked at various institutions. The first
respondent was an assistant teacher for three years. The second respondent had an ambition since
they were young and the last respondent had met different people with certain diseases.
Despite having the results which were intended, the research could have been biased. As
such, it is important that the sample population increased from three to around ten to fifteen
people. This would ensure the information given is not within one phenomenon. The research
can also include other students who have already done their degree levels. Such include the
doctorate students. Lastly, the research can be done during the season when student’s admission
is hefty. This will improve the sample size.

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literacy at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. International Journal of Business
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Carter, I. (2017). Human behavior in the social environment: A social systems approach.
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Kunkel, M., Gallagher, F., & Hendricks, C. (2016). Introduction to General Psychology
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Appendix
List of theories that explain about to statistical and research methods about students taking a
postgraduate degree in psychology
Grounded theory analyzes data using comparative methods from the start to the end of the
research. Secondly, the research incorporated the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)
theory for self-evaluating (Singh Sandhu, Fahmi Sidique, & Riaz 2011). For instance, the
research will incorporate open-ended questions which will be used to ensure the respondents
provide clear and accurate answers. There emerged three different themes which describe the
entire research. That are in the line of hard work, feelings and education.