Psychology Personal Statement Example 69

Almost four years ago, when I started my undergraduate studies in(school name) the only thing in mind was that psychology is all about treating people with psychological problems.

I never knew that there was field in psychology specifically about quantitative methods and psychometrics. In my two years of undergraduate studies at (school) I was fortunate enough to take courses specifically focusing on experimental psychology, testing and psychometrics, these courses allowed me to understand the basics of theory testing, reliability and validity issues in psychology.

That was the point I realised that I really wanted to do something related to methodology in future.

But unfortunately my journey was interrupted by political situation of the Pakistan and I was unable to complete my undergraduate degree at (school), Pakistan. But this brings me to Canada and I was fortunate enough to continue my degree at (school). This transition did not affect my interests but it gave me an interesting opportunity to explore more about quantitative side of psychology in general.

I remember taking first part of statistics (course), I was surprised that numbers are not just mere symbols telling quantities but they have power to explain phenomena’s that are unimaginable. It intrigued me as how statistics prove things so easily and how to prove an experiment right or wrong.

At that point I started exploring different options at graduate level and I was excited to find one of discipline in psychology. Since then I have been interested in doing MA in Quantitative Psychology at (school). In particular, I am interested in studying Item Response Theory (IRT).

I was first introduced to IRT in my undergraduate studies at (school in Pak) in a course called Theory Testing. As a part of course project, as group of 3 students, we created a test for grade 12 students and analyse test items using IRT model. This really intrigued me that it indicates the reliability of measurement.

I am therefore interesting in studying IRT at graduate level. I am very impressed by the work of Dr. NAME on IRT. I am specifically interested in creating new IRT model. Another area I am generally interested in is, structure equation modeling (SEM). I also learned about SEM in my undergraduate studies.

I was fascinated; how SEM helps in understanding relationship between variables. Working with Dr. NAME will be an excellent way to improve my research abilities as well as learn more about my intended area of interest. I am also interested in the work of Dr. NAME 2 about robust statistical analyses.

I am specifically interested in studying assumptions violations in robust analyses and problem associated with violations. It will be an interesting opportunity to study with Dr.NAME.

I feel that my research interests fit extremely well with quantitative psychology department at SCHOOL, and in particular with Dr. NAME and Dr. NAME2.