Psych/Soc 314  Statistics                            Hill    Spring 2008

 

 

COURSE MEETS:  Mon. Wed. Fri. 1:30-2:20 in Sc 204

               plus Mon. 2:30-3:20 in Sc 209

 

 

OFFICE HOURS:  3:00-4:00 TuTh in Science 205, or by appointment

               (email chill@whittier.edu or call 562-945-6051 or ext. 4805)

 

 

COURSE GOALS:

     The goal of the course is to learn to understand the proper use of statistics, especially as employed in social science research.  Even if you never conduct research yourself, you will be a consumer of research both in the classroom and in daily life.  In addition, the course provides an opportunity to learn to use computers to calculate statistics, employing the most commonly used statistical program, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

 

 

TEXTBOOK:

     McCall, Fundamental Statistics for Behavioral Sciences, 8th Edition

 

 

POCKET CALCULATOR:

     You will need to bring a pocket calculator to class every day, including exams.  You should be able to purchase one inexpensively if you do not already have one.  Make sure that it has a square root key and a memory.  It should also have a key for squaring and a reciprocal (1/X) key.

 

 

COURSE FORMAT:

      On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:30 we will discuss readings from the McCall text. Class sessions will be spent reviewing homework, lecturing on new material, working on sample problems together, and answering questions. If you don't understand something, ask for clarification so you will understand the material that follows. There are probably others who also do not understand but who are afraid to ask.

         On Monday at 2:30 we will meet in the computer classroom in Science 209 to learn how to use SPSS.

 

 

HOMEWORK:

      In some ways, learning statistics is like learning a foreign language. You have to practice it in order to learn it. In addition, it is essential to keep up with the class so that you do not become lost. Therefore, homework problems will generally be assigned every class meeting (except on Review days and exam days).

      Homework from the McCall text that is assigned on a Monday will be due in class the following Wednesday;  that assigned Wednesday will be due Friday; and that assigned Friday will be due Monday. Homework involving the computer that is assigned on a Monday afternoon will be due in class the following Monday afternoon; start your computer work several days ahead to allow for computer crashes. The homework from McCall is listed on the last page.

      Homework turned in after the class period at which it is due will earn half credit. Do not come late or miss class to finish homework. If you are not finished, come to class then finish the homework later. No late homework from McCall will be accepted more than a week after the due date.

   

 

PLAGIARISM:

     You are strongly encouraged to form study groups, to help each other understand the material.  However, if you do discuss homework with someone else, make sure that you understand it fully and that you work it out yourself. Copying work from someone else is plagiarism, and can result in disciplinary action.

     When you do data analyses on the homework or exams, be sure to write out the formulas you are using, show your substitution of values into the formulas, show intermediate results, and final results.  When conducting statistical tests, list all steps in the test (including assumptions and conclusions). Note that some answers in the back of the book may be incorrect.

     When computer output is assigned as part of an SPSS homework assignment, the output must have your name printed on it. You should save all of your SPSS files on a floppy disk or flash memory drive.

 

 

ATTENDANCE:

     Attendance is required and will be counted as part of the course grade. If you have to miss class for any reason, it is your responsibility to find out the homework assignment.  A prior absence does not excuse late homework, unless you are ill. If you are ill, let me know as soon as possible by email or phone.

         Try to arrive on time, since late arrivals distract the instructor and interrupt the class. If you have a cell phone, turn it off before class begins;  if it does ring during class turn if off immediately. If you bring a laptop computer to class you may only use it for taking notes, not for email, surfing the web, or other computer activities.

    

 

EXAMS:

     There will be three midterms and one final exam.  There will be a review session before each exam.  A study guide will be handed out before each review.

     To remove some of the pressure in exams, and to aid in studying for the exams, each person will be allowed to bring one sheet of paper (8 1/2 by 11 inches) to each midterm.  The sheet can contain whatever formulas and notes you think would be helpful, provided that you prepare the sheet yourself.  You may not copy the sheet from someone else or some other source.  The note sheet will be handed in with the exam, and then returned to you with the graded exam. Since the final will be accumulative, you may bring the three sheets from the three midterms, plus a fourth sheet prepared for the final.

     You may also use the handouts on F, Two-way F, r, and Deciding Which Test To Use. But you may not use books or other notes during the exams. Any tables that are needed will be provided with the exam.

 

 

GRADING:

     Each of the following will count one-eighth of the course grade: Midterm 1, Midterm 2, Midterm 3, McCall homework, SPSS homework, and Attendance. The Final will count two-eights. The percent correct for each of these will be averaged.

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE:

     The schedule of the course follows.  The exam dates are fixed.  If the pace of the lectures varies somewhat from the topics listed below, then the exams will cover as much as we have covered in class. The chapters assigned refer to the McCall text.

 

 

MONDAY

MONDAY SPSS

WEDNESDAY

FRIDAY

 

 

 

 

 

2/8

Appendix 1

& ch. 12

2/11

ch. 1

Measurement

2/11

SPSS MAC #01

Intro to SPSS

2/13

ch. 2a

Freq. Distrib.

2/15

ch. 3b

Graphing

2/18

ch.3a

Central Tendency

2/18

SPSS MAC #02

Defining Variables

2/20

ch. 3b

Variability

2/22

ch. 5a

Percentiles

2/25

ch. 5b

Normal Distribut.

2/25

SPSS MAC #03

Entering Data

2/27

ch. 13a

Set Theory

2/29

 

REVIEW 1

3/3

 

MIDTERM 1

3/3

SPSS MAC #04

Frequencies

3/5

ch. 13b

Probability

3/7

ch. 8

Sampling

3/10

ch. 9a

Hypothesis Testing

3/10

SPSS MAC #05

Graphing

3/12

ch. 9b

Single Samples

3/14

ch. 11

Interval Estim.

3/17

ch. 10a

2-sample t-test

3/18

SPSS MAC #06

Variable Transf.

3/19

ch. 10b

Paired-t tests

3/21

ch. 14a

Logic of ANOVA

3/24

REVIEW 2

3/24

SPSS MAC #07

t-tests

3/26

 

MIDTERM 2

3/28

ch. 14b

Partition SS

3/31

 

 

S P R I N G

 

 

B R E A K

 

4/7

ch. 14c

one-way F-test

4/7

SPSS MAC #08

F-tests

4/9

ch. 15a

Interaction

4/11

ch. 15b

Partition SS

4/14

ch. 15c

two-way ANOVA

4/14

SPSS MAC #09

ANOVA

4/16

ch. 6a

Linear Relnps.

4/18

ch. 6b

Regression

4/21

ch. 7a

Correlation

4/21

SPSS MAC #10

Regression

4/23

 

REVIEW 3

4/25

 

MIDTERM 3

4/28

ch. 7b

Properties of r

4/28

SPSS MAC #11

Case Selection

4/30

ch. 10c

Significance of r

5/2

ch. 16a

Chi-Square

5/5

ch. 16b

Mann-Whitney

5/5

SPSS MAC #12

Non-parametric

5/7

ch. 16c

Kruskal-Wallis

5/9

ch. 16d

Wilcoxon, ranked-r

5/12

 

REVIEW 4

5/12

SPSS MAC #13

Additional

5/14

(Reading Day)

(no class)

 

 

 

FINAL EXAM:   Monday, May 26, 10:30–12:30 plus 1:00-3:00 if needed.

                    Note that the first time is for the SPSS time slot,

                      and the second is for the lecture time slot.

 

 

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS IN McCALL 8th EDITION:

 

After each topic has been covered in class, the relevant homework questions will be due the following class session.

 

Appendix 1 review    p. 468 #1,3,5

 

ch. 1  measurement:   p. 24-25 #1-4,7,8

       summation:     p. 25-26 #9-11

 

ch. 2  freq.distr.    p. 50 #7

       graphing        p. 50 #8

 

ch. 3  central tend.  p. 75 #3,4,9,11

       variability    p. 75 #5,6,10,13

 

ch. 5  percentiles    p. 130 #7,8

       scales         p. 129 #1,2

       z-scores       p. 130 #9

       normal dist.   p. 130 #11,13,15

 

ch.13  simple prob.   p. 348 #1-2,8,9

       complex ev.    p. 348 #3,7,10

       permutations   p. 348 #11,12

       combinations   p. 348-9 #13

       binomial       p. 349 #17  (hint: 5 or more is 5 & 6 & 7)

 

ch. 8  sampling       p. 211 #1,7

       sampling dist. p. 211-212 #3,8,10

 

ch. 9  z-tests        p. 238 #4,5,6,11a

       t-tests        p. 238 #11b,c,d

 

ch. 11 confid.interv. p. 293 #13  (note: look carefully at s in b)

 

ch. 10 2-sample t     p. 265 #6

       paired-t       p. 266 #7

 

ch.14  ANOVA logic    p. 386 #1

       Partitioning   p. 386 #4

          F-tests        p. 387 #6

 

ch.15  interaction    p. 421 #1

       2-way ANOVA    p. 421 #6

 

ch. 6  regression     p. 159 #1,2,6

 

ch. 7  correlation    p. 186 #10

       explained var. p. 185 #3

 

ch.10c test of r      p. 266 #10

 

ch.16  chi-square     p. 455-6 #1-4

       Mann-Whitney   p. 457 #7  (note: convert to ranks first)

       Kruskal-Wallis p. 458 #11c  (third-week data only; convert to ranks)

       Wilcoxon       p. 458 #9

       rank-order r   p. 458 #10