PSY 400 - Special Topics in Psychology
Devoted to the study of psychological topics not currently part of the
curricular offerings. Topics change with the interests of students and
faculty. Students may repeat the course as the topics change. Prereq:
PSY 201 and approval of instructor. Additional prerequisites (which
may be added at the discretion of the instructor) include that you have
completed and done well in PSY302, that you are not computer phobic, and that
you truly have a desire to learn this material.
Required
Materials
- yes, all three texts! The second two will be packaged together at
the bookstore.
Mertler,
C. A.
& Vannatta, R. A. (2002). Advanced and Multivariate Statistical Methods.
2nd Ed.
Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.
Lawson,
T. J. (2002). Everyday Statistical Reasoning.
Pacific Grove, CA:
Wadsworth - Thomson Learning.
Kirkpatrick, L. A. &
Feeney, B. C. (2001). A Simple Guide to SPSS for Windows. Pacific
Grove, CA: Wadsworth - Thomson Learning.
Objectives: The purpose of this course is to expand on students’ knowledge of statistics from PSY 302. This course combines a theoretical introduction to Multivariate Statistics with the practical application of such in SPSS, as well as an interpretation of the SPSS output. Students applying themselves in this course will be better prepared for advanced work in psychology as well as improve on their critical thinking and computer skills.
Papers
You will have several
papers based on material covered in
class. The final will be a project
presentation to the class and a final cumulative paper.
These will be discussed further in class. The final cumulative paper will
involve comparing/contrasting all the methods we learned throughout the term.
Use definitions and examples to explain when each method is most
appropriate and what kind of information is to be gained from each method.
Assignments/Quizzes You will have several assignments and quizzes throughout the term to ensure that you understand not only SPSS, but the appropriate application of the advanced tests.
Presentation The project presentation will involve a paper that was completed during the term. You may select which paper you choose to present. However, I may make suggestions. I am hoping to have at least one paper selected from each section: Multiple Regression, Path Analysis, Factor Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling, Multivariate Analysis of Variance, and Meta-Analyses.
Final Comment: I am very excited about teaching this course again. I taught it Summer 2000 (on which the above notes/comments are based). I have since changed the texts (as noted above) and may change the requirements.
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