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0.4: Scientist-Practitioner Model; Scholar-Practitioner Model

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    56379
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    Acquiring updated knowledge of the field is essential for the psychology profession. Learning statistics, reviewing results, and understanding how new research advances the field is a skill for psychologists to develop. Psychologists espouse two roles for engaging in this aspiration: the scientist-practitioner model and the scholar-practitioner model.

    Statistics as part of the scientist-practitioner model could be considered as using statistics for data analysis. The practitioner part of the model wants science to inform practice, and the scientist part of the model wants practice to inform science. Statistics plays a role by analyzing the data to produce conclusions about how practice should proceed. Statistics plays a role by asking questions about practice and determining how statistics could be used to address them. The scientist-practitioner uses statistics, such as by conducting the statistical analysis and interpreting the results, to achieve the goal of informing and discovery.

    Statistics as part of the scholar-practitioner model could be considered as reading statistics as part of a scholarly engagement of an issue. The practitioner part of the model wants the scholarly engagement to inform practice, and the scholarly part wants the practitioner part to understand how scholarly ideas can be implemented. Statistics plays a role as the practitioner and scholar read and interpret statistical presentations. The role of a scholar-practitioner leans more on the consumer role. As a consumer, just like the phrase “let the buyer beware,” the scholar-practitioner reads the statistics, produces the conclusions of a study, and determines if the statistics results are valid and the statistical analysis decisions are valid. Evaluating the statistical validity of the study is part of the process for the scholar-practitioner to decide if the study should inform their clinical practice.

    Either model involves statistics in the process. The art of conducting statistical analysis and the art of evaluating the validity of the statistical results are part of the process of deciding if science and scholarly ideas inform clinical practice. This process is evidence-based treatment and is the bedrock of psychology as a profession. We cannot do whatever we want to do simply because we believe in it. The evidence legitimizes our profession, and either the scientist-practitioner model or the scholar-practitioner model will involve statistics in the process.


    This page titled 0.4: Scientist-Practitioner Model; Scholar-Practitioner Model is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Peter Ji.