For Dr. Tony Roberson, understanding data is NOT about being a math whiz; it’s about developing intuition, and turning your curiosity about the real world into answerable questions and systematic answers.

Join us for a very grassy episode from the man who’s “in everyone’s backyard,” as we get “into the weeds” about every psych major’s (initially) least-favorite “weed-out class”: Statistics. 

Dr. Tony Roberson is an assistant professor in the school psychology specialist program and the combined clinical and school psychology doctoral program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He obtained his doctoral degree from Louisiana State University’s school psychology program and currently holds credentials as a licensed psychologist (LP) and licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP) in the state of Texas and as a nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP).

Dr. Roberson has worked as a school psychologist full-time in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, where he was involved in assessment, intervention, and consultation work with early childhood, elementary, and secondary students and staff. Beyond schools, he also has experience delivering a variety of services in clinic and residential treatment settings.

His research interests and expertise broadly concern applied research methodology, data analysis, and improving school-based psychological and behavioral measurement practices to make data more useful for efficiently monitoring risk and wellbeing at both the student and systems levels (e.g., whole classroom, whole school). His current work focuses on refining positively-oriented behavior rating scales for universal screening to help reduce systemic barriers to accessing quality care and promote student behavioral and mental health more equitably across diverse and resource-limited school systems.

When Dr. Roberson is not professing, he can likely be found watching an old movie or playing music. He never learned how to ride a bike but has grown to accept that with self-compassion and kindness.

Honorable Mentions:

-Quantitude podcast https://quantitudepod.org/ or on Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/quantitude/id1484406501 

-Dr. Andy Field’s books on Discovering Statistics https://www.discoveringstatistics.com/books/discovering-statistics-using-r/

-Discovr educational package for R (teach yourself to program!) https://www.discovr.rocks/discovr/ 

-Dr. James Guffey (Dr. Roberson’s stats professor): https://jguffey.sites.truman.edu/ 

Welcome to The Psychologists Podcast, where we talk about all things psychology through a very personal lens.

Gill Strait PhD and Julia Strait PhD are both Licensed Psychologists (TX) and Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs, TX). They are alumni of The University of South Carolina School Psychology Doctoral Program (Go Gamecocks).

Gill is a teacher, researcher, and supervisor at a university graduate psychology training program.

Julia is owner and therapist at Ocean Therapy in Houston, TX, offering telehealth therapy to young adults in their 20s and 30s who are struggling with anxiety. Check it out here: https://www.oceantherapy.net/