ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As a doctoral student at the University of Kansas (1992-1996), I learned that “a foreign language” was a graduation requirement. Please note that as one who studies the intersections of global, vocational, and sustainable psychology, I regret that I do not have language skills beyond English. This could have been met with credit from high school, but my rural, mid-Missouri high school did not offer such classes. This requirement would have typically been met with courses taken during an undergraduate program – but my non-teaching degree in the University of Missouri’s School of Education was exempt from this. The requirement could have also been met with a computer language (FORTRAN, C++) – but I did not have any of those either. There was a tiny footnote on my doctoral degree plan that indicated that a 2-credit course, “SPSS for Windows” would substitute for the language requirement. Given that it was taught by my one of my favorite professors, I readily signed up. As it turns out, Samuel B. Green, PhD, was using the course to draft chapters in the textbook (Green & Salkind, 2017) that has been so helpful for so many. Unfortunately, Drs. Green (1947 - 2018) and Salkind (1947 - 2017) are no longer with us. I have worn out numerous versions of their text. Another favorite text of mine has been Dr. Barbara Byrne’s (2016a), “Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS.” I loved the way she worked through each problem and paired it with a published journal article, so that the user could see how the statistical evaluation fit within the larger project/article. I took my tea-stained text with me to a workshop she taught at APA and was proud of the signature she added to it. Dr. Byrne created SEM texts for a number of statistical programs (e.g., LISREL, EQS, MPlus). As I was learning R, I wrote Dr. Byrne, asking if she had an edition teaching SEM/CFA with R. She promptly wrote back, saying that she did not have the bandwidth to learn a new statistics package. We lost Dr. Byrne in December 2020. I am so grateful to these role models for their contributions to my statistical training. I am also grateful for the doctoral students who have taken my courses and are continuing to provide input for how to improve the materials.
The inspiration for training materials that re*center statistics and research methods came from the Academics for Black Survival and Wellness Initiative. This project, co-founded by Della V. Mosley, Ph.D., and Pearis L. Bellamy, M.S., made clear the necessity and urgency for change in higher education and the profession of psychology.
At very practical levels, I am indebted to SPU’s Library, and more specifically, SPU’s Education, Technology, and Media Department. Assistant Dean for Instructional Design and Emerging Technologies, R. John Robertson, MSc, MCS, has offered unlimited consultation, support, and connection. Senior Instructional Designer in Graphics & Illustrations, Dominic Wilkinson, designed the logo and book cover. Psychology and Scholarly Communications Librarian, Kristin Hoffman, MLIS, has provided consultation on topics ranging from OERS to citations. I am also indebted to Associate Vice President, Teaching and Learning at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Rajiv Jhangiani, PhD. Dr. Jhangiani’s text (2019) was the first OER I ever used, and I was grateful for his encouraging conversation.
Throughout the ReCentering Psych Stats series, students (both paid and volunteer) have served as editorial assistants in copyediting the text and correcting the text captions. In the Psychometrics volume, these have included Layla Hakim and Kelly Ng.
Financial support for this project has been provided the following:
- Call to Action on Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, Justice, and Social Responsivity Request for Proposals grant from the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (2021-2022).
- Diversity Seed Grant, Office of Inclusive Excellence and Advisory Council for Diversity and Reconciliation (ACDR), Seattle Pacific University.
- ETM Open Textbook & OER Development Funding, Office of Education, Technology, & Media, Seattle Pacific University.