Training Staff and Students in Psychology in the R Computer Language: Implications for the Psychology Curriculum in South Africa

Abstract

In psychology departments in South Africa, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) is routinely used for quantitative analysis. While SPSS has a user-friendly interface, it does not permit application of some of the more sophisticated analytic approaches and therefore has limited functionality. The programming language R can perform most statistical functions. However, research on user experiences of R and its integration into the psychology curriculum in South Africa is lacking in the literature. To better understand the acceptability of integrating R into psychology training at a local residential university, we interviewed ten staff and students with a background in psychology about their experiences of a six-session R training course in November 2017. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti v8. We identified three super-ordinate themes that provided insights into our participants’ experiences of the software and the workshop. Participants spoke about the various advantages and useful functionalities of R and described it as a sought-after skill in research. They spoke about challenges they experienced with the software and preferred menu-driven software such as SPSS and perceived such tools as being easier to learn, time saving and more user-friendly. They also indicated that their limited statistical skills and knowledge influenced their willingness to pursue software like R in future. We found that there is sufficient curiosity and interest among staff and students in psychology about learning new statistical programs and integrating R into the curriculum.