Psychology 402 (13627): Statistics in Psychology
Fall 2011
John Sparrow, Ph.D.
Office: University Center Rm. 351
Phone: 641-4151 (E-mail: john.sparrow@unh.edu; Web: pubpages.unh.edu/~jes1)
Office hours:
Tuesday -- 3:00 – 4:00; 5:00 – 5:45
Thursday -- 3:00 – 4:00
Friday -- 1:00 – 2:00
Additional meeting times can be arranged by appointment.
Course Syllabus
Textbooks and Supplies:
Jaccard, J., & Becker, M. A. (2010). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. [ISBN: 9780534634032] (REQUIRED)
Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Feeney, B. C. (2012). A Simple Guide to IBM SPSS Statistics for Versions 18.0 & 19.0. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. [ISBN: 9781111352684] (REQUIRED)
All titles are available at the UNHM Bookstore.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This introductory course in statistics is meant to give the student a general knowledge of the various techniques available in data analysis. Students are expected to learn the different computational techniques as well as some of the basic underlying theory in the application of the techniques. Furthermore, knowing when and where to apply the statistical tests is essential. Therefore, it is hoped that all students come away from this class not only with a "cookbook" knowledge of the material but, in addition, can apply their knowledge in later college courses and possible careers.
TEACHING/LEARNING STRATEGIES
The primary class format will consist of lectures, discussions, homework assignments, computer assignments, and (of course) exams. Although it is important to keep up with the material in any course, it is particularly important in a statistics class. This material, while not being especially difficult, does require the student to keep up with a relatively rapid pace. Also, like many math classes, understanding of later material assumes knowledge of material presented earlier. Statistics is definitely not a class that you can "cram" for the night before an exam.
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
This course is primarily designed for psychology majors although students with other majors are welcome. To help alleviate some of the worries of the "mathaphobic," PSYC 402 only assumes a knowledge of basic arithmetic and simple algebraic operations. While more advanced math skills may help the advanced student understand some of the technical components of the course, it should be kept in mind that only the basic math skills mentioned above will be sufficient for successful completion of this course. So, don't get too uptight about the math and sit back and try to comprehend the ideas behind data analysis. . . For those of you who are apprehensive about the mathematics, your student study-guide gives a brief review of some basic math principles needed to follow the textbook.
CALCULATORS
You will need a calculator for this course. You do not need one of the flashy models with 96,000 functions; a calculator with a square key, a square root key and a memory will be quite sufficient. More advanced machines that are capable of calculating standard deviations and correlation coefficients would be nice for checking homework problems, but such advanced machines are not necessary. Please note that you will NOT be able to use the calculator on your cell phone for taking exams!
STUDENT EVALUATION
Students will be graded on a number of different criteria:
Homework
There will be several homework assignments throughout the course of the semester. Homework will not be graded per se, but will be checked off and given credit for if complete. Upon handing in the assignments, an answer sheet will be handed back to you so that you can check your work. Given this arrangement, NO LATE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED! Be sure and do these assignments as they are essential to your understanding of the presented material. Homework assignments will make up 13% of your final course grade.
Exams
The exams will make up a substantial portion of your grade (74%). There will be three exams covering the first three blocks of material and a final comprehensive exam which covers material from the whole course with an emphasis on the last block of material covered in class. Tests will consist of a closed-book multiple-choice/short answer section and an "open-book" (i.e., appendices only of the textbook and a student-generated formula sheet) problem section. As a general rule, NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN! Therefore, make sure you do not miss any scheduled exams (unless there are extenuating circumstances - if so, see me at least one week before the scheduled exam).
Computer Assignments
An essential part of your understanding of "statistics in action" will come about through the completion of five computer assignments that together will represent 13% of your final grade. The assignments are very "user friendly" and hence should not intimidate those of you with limited computer exposure. The assignments will be distributed in class once we have covered the requisite background information pertaining to each module. In addition, the basic steps of each assignment are outlined in the Kirkpatrick and Feeney (2010) manual. Campus computers are located in the University Center Rm. 114 suite. If time permits, I will be showing you how to operate the computers in a later class meeting. Please hand in the completed assignments to me on the specified dates listed on the syllabus. Each assignment indicates what printouts should be turned in and what questions should be answered. Please note that all interpretations must be typed/word-processed!
As I've noted
above, the software is freely available on the campus computers in the Rm. 114
computer suite. If you'd like to pursue the idea of using the software on your
own machine at home, you can download a free copy from the UNH academic
computing services department, but there are a few connection details and
caveats that you should be aware of. This information can be found at: http://at.unh.edu/acs/services/software/
Once you've read about the connection details, the software can be downloaded
via the "SPSS Statistics 19"
link on that page (both Windows and Mac versions).
To summarize, then, grades will be broken down as follows:
Homework Assignments 13%
Computer Assignments 13%
Exam 1 18%
Exam 2 18%
Exam 3 18%
Exam 4 (w/cumulative section) 20%
-----------
100%
Grades will be calculated based on the following percentage cutoff points:
A = 93 - 100% A- = 90 - 92%
B+ = 87 - 89% B = 83 - 86% B- = 80 - 82%
C+ = 77 - 79% C = 73 - 76% C- = 70 - 72%
D+ = 67 - 69% D = 63 - 66% D- = 60 - 62%
F = 00 - 59%
CHEATING
Cheating will not be tolerated in this class. Students caught cheating on exams, homework assignments, or computer assignments will automatically receive a course grade of "F" and his/her name will be forwarded to the dean's office in accordance with university policy. Hopefully, this information goes without saying.
A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS
If you have taken other classes with me in the past you know that I expect a great deal from my students. You should take your work very seriously and make a strong attempt at keeping up with the reading assignments, paper assignments, etc. Keep in mind that the general rule-of-thumb for attending college at UNHM is that for every hour of in-class meeting time, the student ought to be spending 2-3 hours outside of class time preparing for the class meetings. I do not mean to scare you off by stating this policy, but I do want my students to know this fact up front. Also, you should be aware that I keep all student examinations on file; hence, you will not be able to keep your examinations after I return them for your perusal. I will spend some time in class going over the exams after they have been graded. If you would like to go over your examination in more detail, you are welcome (and encouraged!) to come see me during office hours. This policy is a strict one and is non-negotiable.
As a final note, please turn-off – and put away -- all cell phones during class time! I consider the use of a cell phone during class time to be unnecessary and downright rude (and that includes texting, checking messages, etc.). If you must leave the phone on for critical reasons, please discuss your reasons with me as to why the phone must be left on. Further, IÕm not in favor of using laptops during class time, with the possible exception of when theyÕre used appropriately and solely for the purposes of taking notes (itÕs counterproductive for the individual -- and distracting to others -- when students are surfing the web, checking email, Facebooking, etc.). Please note that all of the information outlined in this syllabus is subject to slight modification throughout the course. If any substantive changes in the syllabus are warranted, I will let you know well ahead of time. Let's work on having both an educational and enjoyable semester of ÒStatistics in PsychologyÓ!
Date Topic Chapter(s)
Aug. 30 Introduction & Mathematical Preliminaries & 1
Distributions: Frequency & Probability 2
Sep. 6 Central Tendency & Dispersion 3
13 Standard Scores & the Normal Curve 4
20 ///// Exam #1 ///// [& introduction to SPSS & Ch. 6]
27 Overview of Probability 6
Oct. 4 Parameter Estimation [Computer Module #1 Due] 7
11 Hypothesis Testing 8
18 Hypothesis Testing (continued) 9
25 ///// Exam #2 ///// [& introduction to Ch. 10]
Nov. 1 Independent- & Dependent-Groups t-tests 10, 11
8 One-Way Analysis of Variance [Computer Module #2 Due] 12
15 ANOVA (contin.) 13
22 ///// Exam #3 ///// [& introduction to Ch. 5]
29 Bivariate Correlation &
Linear Regression [Computer Module #3 Due] 5,14
Dec. 6 Chi-Square Test & Selecting the Proper Statistical Test 15,18
13 ///// Exam #4 - Comprehensive Final Exam ///// &
[Computer Module #4 Due]
Within a few days, a copy of this syllabus will be posted on my web page:
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jes1