Course Catalog Description

This course introduces statistical methods including organization and presentation of data, measures of central tendency and variability, hypothesis-testing, correlation, regression, sampling, the F distribution, the t distribution, and the Chi-square distribution. Prereq: PSY 201 and mathematics requirement for the University Core Curriculum..

About the Course

Statistics are everywhere. Did you know that Scott Rolen hits .286 on Tuesday night games in Domed stadiums? I hope not, but why would anyone care? If you’ve been to Las Vegas you know there are a lot of people for whom that data is important. Scott’s average and really all statistics serve a very important function, i.e. prediction.

We begin the process of making accurate predictions by first describing the situation. We must first know what we are dealing with before we can make a prediction. We then turn our attention to describing other events that may interact or affect our prediction. If we can describe related factors, our chances of predicting correctly improve. The relationships that exist between factors can provide us with valuable information. Having finally described our situation completely we are in a position to infer the outcome, i.e. to predict!

Or in other (fancy) words…..

Data is collected by sampling from a large set of things (individuals, objects, measures). The sample of things constitute a subset of the population and numbers resulting from the manipulation of sample data are called statistics. Statistics are numbers that characterize a sample. Statistics may describe the sample. For example, we might add all the numbers in a sample and then divide by the number of numbers in the sample and call the resulting statistic the mean of the sample. Frequently, statistics calculated from samples drawn from a population are used to estimate characteristics of the population. Characteristics of a population are called parameters. Thus, the mean of a sample is a statistic and the mean of a population is called a parameter.

Generally statistics serve two functions:

1) to describe the nature of the sample and

2) to infer about characteristics of a population (parameters) from a sample (statistics).

That's what it is all about, and we will spend the next 17 weeks learning about those two very basic functions.

Required Materials

Textbook

Heiman, Gary W. (2001). Basic Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, 4th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Calculator

A calculator is essential. We will be carrying out fairly large calculations which if one were to do by hand would take far too long. The math in this course is really quite simple but it can be tedious so a calculator should help you along.

Evaluation

Exams (4 * 100 Points)

The course consists of 2 mid-term & 1 final exam. Exams will be combination of multiple choice, calculations and essay questions.

Quizzes ( 3 * 10 Points)

Quizzes will occur throughout the semester and will center around the topics currently being discussed in the course. Quizzes will be fairly brief and often consist of a single problem to solve. Quizzes will be very similar to recent in-class or homework assignments and will reward you for remaining current. Quizzes will NOT be announced prior to class and cannot be made up if missed. Occasionally, extra credit quizzes may be offered in addition to the 7 specified here.

Homework (10 * 10 Points)

In a typical week, homework will be assigned to be finished over the weekend and turned in when we return. Homework in many ways is the most important aspect of the course. It allows you to practice the things we’ve learned in class and really master them. Math, including statistics, is really a matter of practice not skill or intelligence. We’ll get lots of practice. Additional extra credit assignments may be offered in addition to the 12 specified here.

In Class Assignments (60 points)

More of the same but in this instance I’ll be there to help. We’ll often carry out problems in groups and present them to each other. This is a bit old fashioned I admit but I find it exceedingly helpful. Those of you who struggle will have a chance to practice with someone around to help and those of you who thrive can use it as an opportunity to teach your class-mates. Nothing helps master a concept like trying to teach it!

Point Break Down

Task	Number	Points	Total
Exams	4	100	400
Homework	10	15	150
Quizzes	3	10	30
In Class		70	70
Total.			650

Grade Breakdown

91-100% A 81-90% B

71-80% C 65-70% D

Academic Honesty

Cheating on examinations and/or plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students will receive a grade of F for the course and the incident will be brought to the attention of the department chairperson. Please find below the statement of Academic Honesty:

“The college community relies on academic honesty which requires that words and ideas that

students present as their own truly represent their own work. Plagiarism, defined as using another writer’s ideas or expressions without adequate acknowledgment, undermines the very foundation of education that is a quest for the truth. Often plagiarism occurs because students do not understand the boundaries of legitimate scholarship. In brief, the honest use of research material requires that writers:

1. Use quotation marks around (or indent) words of another writer, and cite the source of these words;

2. Cite the source of paraphrased material, even when the paraphrase differs substantially from the original;

3. Attribute to their sources ideas of other writers.

4. Purchase the work of others in part or in whole.

A handbook on writing research papers will provide writers with detailed information on citation of sources. The MLA handbook, in particular, includes examples of plagiarism.

Cheating is a purposeful deception in preparation of papers, and assignments and the taking of examinations, tests or quizzes.”

Schedule of Events

Attached is a schedule of course topics and events. Please note that this schedule is subject to change and it is the responsibility of the student to keep abreast of any changes in scheduling that occurs.

Date	Topic	Reading
Monday, January 13, 2003	Introduction & Review of Syllabus	Chapters 1 & 2
Wednesday, January 15, 2003	Statistics as a Research Tool
Friday, January 17, 2003
Monday, January 20, 2003	Dr. King's Birthday
Wednesday, January 22, 2003	Frequency Distributions	Chapter 3
Friday, January 24, 2003
Monday, January 27, 2003	Central Tendency	Chapter 4
Wednesday, January 29, 2003	Variability	Chapter 5
Friday, January 31, 2003
Monday, February 03, 2003	Exam 1	Chapters 1-5
Wednesday, February 05, 2003	z-scores & Normal Distribution	Chapter 6
Friday, February 07, 2003
Monday, February 10, 2003
Wednesday, February 12, 2003	Correlations	Chapter 7
Friday, February 14, 2003
Monday, February 17, 2003
Wednesday, February 19, 2003	Linear Regression & Prediction	Chapter 8
Friday, February 21, 2003
Monday, February 24, 2003
Wednesday, February 26, 2003	Exam 2	Chapters 6-8
Friday, February 28, 2003	Probability	Chapter 9
Monday, March 03, 2003
Wednesday, March 05, 2003	OverView of Statistical Hypothesis	Chapter 10
Friday, March 07, 2003
Monday, March 10, 2003	Spring break
Wednesday, March 12, 2003	Spring break
Friday, March 14, 2003	Spring break
Monday, March 17, 2003		Chapter 10
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Friday, March 21, 2003	Single sample t & correlations	Chapter 11
Monday, March 24, 2003
Wednesday, March 26, 2003	Exam 3	Chapters 9-11
Friday, March 28, 2003	Two-sample t-test	Chapter 12
Monday, March 31, 2003
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Friday, April 04, 2003
Monday, April 07, 2003	F-test	Chapter 13 & 373-382 of 14
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
Friday, April 11, 2003
Monday, April 14, 2003
Wednesday, April 16, 2003	Two-Way ANOVA	Chapter 14
Friday, April 18, 2003	No Class
Monday, April 21, 2003
Wednesday, April 23, 2003	Non-Parametrics	Chapter 15
Friday, April 25, 2003
Monday, April 28, 2003
Wednesday, April 01, 1931	Final Exam Review	Chapters 12-15

Final Exam as Scheduled