A few questions and remarks concerning the application of specific statistical methods in psychotherapy research

Authors

  • Bernhard Rüger

Abstract

The value and credibility of a statistically obtained result is not judged by its content, but by the methodological principles of the statistical procedures by which the result was obtained. Based on this methodological point of view (as is usual in statistics) the classical statistical procedures in empirical psychotherapy studies are considered. It is pointed out, how restrictive the assumptions are on which the usual “hard” inference procedures (viz.: statistical tests) are based. It turns out that in most cases the use of “weaker” methods as developed in descriptive and explorative data analysis is more adequate. Methods of evaluation, measurements of validity and reliability, in particular statistical problems concerning the effect of the duration of a therapy are also inquired.

Keywords:
Evaluation, validity, reliability, proper statistical methods, multiple tests, duration of therapy.

Author Biography

Bernhard Rüger

Rüger Bernhard, Prof. Dr. rer. nat., Diplom-Mathematiker, München: Professor für Statistik am Institut für Statistik der Universität München. Forschungsschwerpunkte und Veröffentlichungen auf den Gebieten Grundlagen statistischer Inferenz, Test- und Schätztheorie, Zeitreihenanalyse und Biometrie.

Korrespondenz: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Rüger, Institut für Statistik der Universität München, Ludwigstraße 33, D-80539 München

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Published

1996-07-01

How to Cite

Rüger, B. (1996). A few questions and remarks concerning the application of specific statistical methods in psychotherapy research. Psychotherapie-Wissenschaft, 4(3), 135–143. Retrieved from https://psychotherapie-wissenschaft.info/article/view/643

Issue

No. 3 (1996): Psychotherapie Forum 4/3 (veröffentlicht bei Springer Wien New York)

Section

Original Work

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