Introducing StatHand

A Mobile Application Supporting Students' Statistical Decision Making

Abstract

Quantitative research methods are essential to the development of professional competence across a broad range of disciplines. They are also an area of weakness for many students. In particular, students are known to struggle with the skill of selecting quantitative analytical strategies appropriate for common research questions, hypotheses and data types, and this skill is not often practiced in class. Decision trees (or graphic organisers) are known to facilitate this decision making process, but extant trees have limitations. Furthermore, research indicates that students are more likely to access mobile-based material than content delivered via the web or face-to-face. It is within this context, and with funding from the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, that we developed StatHand (see https://stathand.net), a cross-platform mobile application to designed to support students’ statistical decision making. In this poster, we will briefly articulate the rationale behind StatHand, highlight ongoing research into its efficacy and provide delegates with hands-on experience with the application.