PROFESSOR: Dr. Christopher May OFFICE: Rankin 309B EMAIL: cmay@carrollu.edu PHONE: 262-524-7250 OFFICE HRS: M 2:30 - 3:50, W 1:30 - 3:00
Course Description: This course teaches the data analysis procedures most widely used by researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. Instructional emphasis will be on learning which statistic to use, how to perform the data analyses and how best to communicate one's results. Students will gain extensive experience collecting, analyzing, thinking about and using statistical data.
Prerequisites: PSY 101
Texts: Gravetter, F. J ., & Wallnau, L. B. (2013). Statistics for the behavioral sciences. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson CENGAGE Learning.
Best, J . (2004). More damned lies and statistics: How numbers confuse public issues. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (available electronically through the library)
Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1. Explain the reasons for using statistics. 2. Articulate what statistics can and cannot do. 3. Describe the differences between inferential and descriptive statistics. 4. Create and read data graphs and tables. 5. Explain fundamental experimental design. 6. Evaluate quantitative claims in the popular press. 7. Better understand the results section of a journal article. 8. Analyze data using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and interpret SPSS output.
Statement on Liberal Learning from the AACU A truly liberal education is one that prepares us to live responsible, productive, and creative lives in a dramatically changing world. It is an education that fosters a well-grounded intellectual resilience, a disposition toward lifelong learning, and an acceptance of responsibility for the ethical consequences of our ideas and actions. Liberal education requires that we understand the foundations of knowledge and inquiry about nature, culture and society; that we master core skills of perception, analysis, and expression; that we cultivate a respect for truth; that we recognize the importance of historical and cultural context; and that we explore connections among formal learning, citizenship, and service to our communities.
We experience the benefits of liberal learning by pursuing intellectual work that is honest, challenging, and significant, and by preparing ourselves to use knowledge and power in responsible ways. Liberal learning is not confined to particular fields of study. What matters in liberal education is substantial content, rigorous methodology and an active engagement with the societal, ethical, and practical implications of our learning. The spirit and value of liberal learning are equally relevant to all forms of higher education and to all students.
Because liberal learning aims to free us from the constraints of ignorance, sectarianism, and myopia, it prizes curiosity and seeks to expand the boundaries of human knowledge. By its nature, therefore, liberal learning is global and pluralistic. It embraces the diversity of ideas and experiences that characterize the social, natural, and intellectual world. To acknowledge such diversity in all its forms is both an intellectual commitment and a social responsibility, for nothing less will equip us to understand our world and to pursue fruitful lives.
The ability to think, to learn, and to express oneself both rigorously and creatively, the capacity to understand ideas and issues in context, the commitment to live in society, and the yearning for truth are fundamental features of our humanity. In centering education upon these qualities, liberal learning is society's best investment in our shared future.
Assessment I. Attendance & Assignments This course will be taught as a flipped classroom. You will come into each class having some familiarity with that days material and the majority of each class session will be dedicated to working through an assignment. You will work through the assignment until you have arrived at both the correct solutions and the correct steps to derive your solutions. Therefore, class attendance is absolutely essential. Attendance will be monitored by the submission of assignments. If you miss a class, you may earn 33% of the credit for that day by submitting the assignment within one week (note that it must be 100% correct to receive credit).
II. Daily Quizzes You must read course material in advance. There will be a quiz each day assessing that you have come to class prepared to fully participate in that days lesson and activities. Quizzes will also contain questions about previous class material.
III. Exams There will be five exams assessing your comprehension of course material and your ability to apply and evaluate course material. After each exam, you will have the opportunity to gain up to 20% of your missed points back by reworking problems.
IV. Final Exam The Final Exam will be cumulative, and have the same format as regular exams.
V. Real World Statistics Blog We will be reading J oel Bests More Damned Lies and Statistics. In preparation for discussion of a chapter in the book, you are required to submit a blog post on the chapter in which you give an example of where youve seen one of the issues mentioned in the chapter. You may have personally been fooled, seen somebody else misinterpret or misuse statistics, or you can find a current example in the news. Grading is pass/fail. You either clearly put in effort to find an appropriate example, or you did not. Blog posts for a chapter are due 24 hours before the start of the class in which we will discuss it.
Assessment Weights Grading Scale Attendance and Assignments 20% A 92.5 - 100 Reading Quizzes 15% AB 87.5 92.49 Exams 45% B 82.5 87.49 Final Exam 15% BC 77.5 82.49 Blog 5% C 69.5 77.49 D 59.5 69.49 F <59.5
Expectations of Students A. I expect students to act in a professional and respectful manner in class at all times. This includes these specific expectations: 1. You may only use your computer to take to notes in class. Doing otherwise pollutes and degrades the class environment. 2. I do not have a cell phone policy, but please be considerate. I can see you. Be mindful of the possible effects of cell phone use on both your neighbors and myself. 3. Please do not pack up before the class is over- it is disruptive to whomever is speaking and those trying to listen. B. In addition, I expect students to cultivate intellectually mature practices and habits of mind. These include: 1. Take ownership of your education. 2. If material in a book is difficult, re-read it. Ideas, arguments, or writings that are sophisticated and worth grappling with are often hard to grasp on the first pass. 3. Confusion is not bad. Dont push away material simply because you find it confusing. Theres no reason to expect that you should immediately get everything. Things that you can immediately get dont stretch you. Come to see confusion as a signal that now some REAL learning can occur. Build up confidence that with perseverance, confusion will yield to understanding. 4. Work to formulate questions to ask that will help resolve your difficulties. 5. I dont know is a starting point, not an ending point to inquiry. 6. If taking notes is preventing you from really listening to and reflecting on a lecture, stop. Notes are meant to serve you; if you are a slave to your note-taking, then change or abandon that practice. If you struggle with note taking, please see me. The library also offers helpful classes. 7. Look for the connections between material and your other interests. Computers hold facts better than brains do. Brains see connections better than computers do. If anything about your future career depended primarily on knowing facts, you would be replaced by a computer. 8. Be open-minded, yet skeptical. Be skeptical, but not cynical. 9. Aspire for constructive resolution of confusion or controversy, rather than simply negating or dismissing ideas. 10. Ask questions. 11. Have fun- figure out ways to make material personally interesting and meaningful.
Additional Information Accommodation for Disabilities Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, or any student considering obtaining documentation should make an appointment with Ms. Marty Bledsoe, Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, no later than the first week of class. She can be reached by calling 524-7335 or contacting her via e-mail at mbledsoe@carrollu.edu.
Academic Support The Learning Commons, located in the bottom floor of the Library, offers tutoring, writing assistance, and study skills assistance as well as group study rooms and places to study. For more information, go to: www.carrollu.edu/Learningcommons/
Make-up Exams Make-up exams REQUIRE objective evidence/official documentation of the reason for missing a regularly scheduled exam. I am happy to accommodate you when necessary, however missing an exam should be a last resort. Make-ups are inconvenient both for instructors and for your classmates, who would like their tests returned as soon as possible.
Modifications to the syllabus The instructor and Carroll University reserve the right to modify, amend, or change the syllabus (course requirements, grading policy, etc.) as the curriculum and/or program require(s).
Statement on Academic Integrity The Carroll University Academic Integrity Policy is located in your student handbook (pages 30-33). (http://www.carrollu.edu/studentlife/handbook.pdf). Please familiarize yourself with it. If a student is found in violation of the Carroll University Academic Integrity Policy, the instructor reserves the right to fail the student on the assignment/exam or even FAIL the student in the course.
Schedule 9/5 Course introduction; Surveys 9/10 Chapter 1 Introduction Surrounded by statistics 9/12 Chapter 2 Frequency Distributions 9/17 Chapter 3 Central Tendency Missing Numbers 9/19 Chapter 4 Variability 9/24 Review J ournal Article 9/26 EXAM 1 (Chs. 1 - 4); Corrections 10/1 Chapter 5 Z-scores Scary Numbers 10/3 Chapter 6 Probability 10/8 Chapter 7 Distribution of Sample Means Authoritative Numbers 10/10 Review 10/15 EXAM 2 (Chs. 5 7); Corrections 10/17 Chapter 8 Introduction to Hypothesis Testing 10/22 FALL BREAK 10/24 Chapter 9 Introduction to the t Statistic 10/29 Chapter 10 The t-test for Two Independent Samples Magical Numbers 10/31 Chapter 11 The t-test for Two Related Samples 11/5 Chapter 12 Introduction to Analysis of Variance; Review J ournal Article 11/7 EXAM 3 (Chs. 8 - 11); Corrections 11/12 Chapter 13 Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance Contentious Numbers 11/14 Chapter 14 Two Factor Analysis of Variance 11/19 Review J ournal Article 11/21 EXAM 4 (Chs. 12 - 14); Corrections 11/26 Chapter 15 Correlation 11/28 THANKSGIVING BREAK 12/3 Chapter 16 Introduction to Regression 12/5 Continuing Ch. 15 16 J ournal Article 12/10 EXAM 5 (Chs. 15-16); Corrections; Review for Final 12/17 FINAL EXAM