PSY 309 Statistics

Fall Semester, 1998 at Houghton College

Paul Young, Department of Psychology

Office: Academic Building N - 324

Phone: 567-9308

e-mail: pyoung@houghton.edu

Office hours: 9 - 9:50 a.m. daily or by appointment

To load a printable copy of the syllabus, click here.

Catalog Description	General Objectives	Learning Outcomes
Course Arrangement	Textbook	Explanation of Assignments
Assignment Calendar	Class Topic Schedule	Computer Usage: Excel
Computer Usage: SPSS	Attendance Policy	Phramous Widget Data
Links to Statistics Sites	E-discussion	Newsletter and Reminders
PowerPoint Slides

Catalog description:

Study of descriptive and inferential statistics, including analysis of variance and measures of correlation. Focus on applications to social and psychological data.

Meets requirements in Business Administration, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology majors.

General objectives:

To understand and employ a logical approach to statistical analysis
To apply appropriate statistical analysis to the solution of research problems

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course, you ought to be able to

Convert a research problem to numerical form
Describe the numerical data with statistics
Represent data with graphs
Compare variables with correlation
Predict changes with regression
Test differences between groups
Use spreadsheet statistical functions for data analysis
Use SPSS for research applications

General Course Arrangement:

1. Thinking statistically in history. Statistics as a tool for logic.
2. Descriptive statistics: Scales of measurement, averages or measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion.
3. Correlation and regression.
4. Probability and decision-making. Sampling and re-sampling.
5. Inferential statistics, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing.
6. Frequency analysis: Non-parametric methods.

Required Textbook:

Pagano, R.R. (1998). Understanding statistics in the behavioral sciences, 5th edition. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Explanation of Assignments:

1. Homework assignments require either or both of hand computation and computer analysis. There is a homework assignment for each major topic in the course, a total of 17 assignments. The assignments correspond to each of the 17 chapters to be covered in the textbook (chapter 11 is omitted and chapter 19 is review). Specific questions to be answered for each assignment are listed in the assignment calendar. (25%)

2. You will write three examinations on the content of the course. You will be asked to demonstrate what you have learned both in writing and by computation. On examinations, you may use a calculator, provided all class members have one with them. However, you may use only the arithmetic functions add, subtract, multiply, divide, and square root.
Examinations are scheduled

September 25(15%)
November 6 (15%)
December 17, 10:30 a.m. (15%).
Material to be covered on each examination appears under the Class Topic Schedule.

3. A semester-long research project will culminate in a 5 - 7 page paper (not counting cover sheets, references, or data analysis appendices) in which you demonstrate your ability to select and apply appropriate statistical analyses to a research problem of your choice. The paper, in APA format, is due 7 December, 1997. (15%)

Follow these steps:

A. Choose a research problem in your area of interest by reviewing course notes, reading books and journals, or consulting the popular media. For example, you might be interested in the water level problem, that is, the apparent difficulty which intelligent people have figuring out the direction which the surface of water will take when its container is tilted. Or you might be interested in the news reports of the poor performance of U.S. students on mathematics tests, compared to their peers in several other countries.

B. Once you have chosen a problem, find five scholarly sources which have considered the problem in the past. Scholarly sources include most journal articles, many books, and some Web sites. You must exercise discernment in your choice of sources, and at least three of your sources must be from academic journals.

C. Using what you will learn about research design in this course, set up a research study to gather data to help you answer the research problem. You will get good ideas about designing your study from the scholarly sources you have read on your topic.

D. Then, you have one of three options.

i. You may choose to conduct the study you have designed, gathering new data. If you choose this option, consult with me about meeting the ethical obligations of research.

ii. You may find appropriate data in a published database. Several databases are linked to this syllabus, and you will be able to find others electronically.

iii. You may make up some data. If you choose this option, you must either generate the numbers randomly, or in such a way that the results will support your research hypothesis.

E. Analyze the data from step D, choosing the appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics, including graphs.

F. Explain the meaning of your results in a discussion section. Tell what the results indicate in words. Connect your results with the results of the studies you considered in section B. Draw a conclusion or a set of conclusions.

G. Identify your sources in a reference list.

H. Include your statistical computations, either by hand or computer, in an appendix.

4. Computer assignments (10%)

We will be studying the meaning of statistical analysis with formulas and calculations, in order to develop a deeper understanding of what we are doing. However, most statistical analysis in research settings and in business is done - often badly - by computer programs. Consequently, we will also learn the statistical capabilities of two applications - Microsoft Excel and SPSS.

Laboratory sessions will be held in the PC laboratory in the Paine Science Building.

You are responsible to learn these applications during the laboratory sessions.

In the lab sessions, you will do two things. First, you will check your homework calculations to verify your work. Second, you will be given extra problems to work on in lab sessions, as listed in the assignment calendar. Please print the results of the extra problem assignments and submit them with your homework. You must attend and participate in one lab session per week. Computer assignments will be collected at the end of each lab session. You may not replace missed computer lab assignments.

5. Attendance and participation are mandatory. You must not fall behind in this class. For each absence after the first, you will lose one-half of one point from your grade, up to a maximum of five points. (5%)

Assignment Calendar:

Date	Assignment	Value	Date	Assignment	Value
9/7	Homework Chapter 1	1/17 of 25%	11/2	Homework Chapter 12	1/17 of 25%
9/9	Homework Chapter 2	1/17 of 25%	11/6	Second Examination	15%
9/16	Homework Chapter 3	1/17 of 25%	11/11	Homework Chapter 13	1/17 of 25%
9/23	Homework Chapter 4	1/17 of 25%	11/16	Homework Chapter 14	1/17 of 25%
9/25	First Examination	15%	11/20	Homework Chapter 15	1/17 of 25%
9/30	Homework Chapter 5	1/17 of 25%	11/23	Homework Chapter 16	1/17 of 25%
10/7	Homework Chapter 6	1/17 of 25%	12/4	Homework Chapter 17	1/17 of 25%
10/14	Homework Chapter 7	1/17 of 25%	12/7	Research Paper Due	15%
10/21	Homework Chapter 8	1/17 of 25%	12/11	Homework Chapter 18	1/17 of 25%
10/26	Homework Chapter 9	1/17 of 25%
10/30	Homework Chapter 10	1/17 of 25%	12/17	Final Examination: 10:30 a.m.	15%

Class Topic Schedule:

Includes specific homework assignments

Chapter

Learning objectives

Homework

Understand how statistics relates to scientific method and epistemology

Realize the usefulness of statistics in the search for truth

Define and identify these terms:

population, sample, variable, independent variable, dependent variable,extraneous variable, data, statistic, parameter, observational study, true experiment, descriptive, inferential, correlational, parameter estimation, random sampling

Load and edit data in Microsoft Excel

1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Due: 9/7

Lab: Enter the data from 9 a, b, and c in Excel. Save it. Copy it to SPSS and save it.

Understand and apply the rules of mathematical notation, summation, real limits, significant figures, and rounding

Distinguish among scales of measurement

Differentiate discrete variables from continuous variables

2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10

Due 9/9

Lab: Enter the data from 5 (a - d) and 9 in Excel. Find the sums. Copy to SPSS and find the count of scores.

Construct simple frequency distributions and grouped frequency distributions

Add relative frequency, cumulative frequency, and cumulative percentage distributions

Compute percentile points and percentile ranks

Select the appropriate use of these frequency graphs: bar graph, histogram, frequency polygon, cumulative percentage curve, stem-and-leaf diagram

Identify symmetrical and skewed distributions

Prepare graphs with honest impact, and detect graphic deception

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Due 9/16

Lab: Use Excel to form a frequency distribution of the Age data in the Phramous dataset. Then, graph homework problems 4b and 18.

Compute the arithmetic mean and identify its properties

Define and compute the median and the mode

Explain how mean and median relate to skew

Understand and compute range, standard deviation, SS, MS, and variance

3, 4, 6, 9, 13 - 16, 20, 29, 30, 32, 33

Due 9/23

Lab: Graph #16, handout

Mathematically describe the normal curve

Compute standard scores (Z - scores) and find their percentiles, areas, and probabilities (PAP)

Use Z - scores to reverse from PAP to raw scores

3, 5, 6, 8 - 19

Due: 9/30

Lab: Graph # 18

Define these terms: scatter plot, Y intercept, slope, positive/negative/inverse relationships, perfect/imperfect relationship

Compute and interpret Pearson r, COD, and Spearman rho.

Distinguish between correlation and causation.

3, 8, 11, 14, 17, 18 (Careful!)

Due: 10/7

Lab: Graph #18. SPSS handout.

Define these terms: least-squares regression line, standard error of estimate, homoscedasticity

Compute the Y intercept and slope of a line and use them as regression coefficients to predict values of Y'

Understand the application of SEE

Apply and interpret multiple correlationand multiple regression

Know when not to use linear regression for prediction

5, 7, 10 - 13

Due: 10/14

Lab: SPSS handout. Graph the data in # 13.

Understand the purpose of sampling, and use a table of random digits and a computer to sample both with replacement and without replacement.

Use resampling to compare sample results.

Distinguish between a priori and a posteriori probabilities. Compute each of them.

Apply the addition and multiplication rules of probability.

Connect probabilities to Z - scores.

2, 3, 4, 8 - 13, 15, 18, 21 - 23

Due: 10/21

Lab: Handout

Use the binomial table to simplify the binomial expansion.

Use Pascal's triangle to simplify the binomial expansion.

Compute the mean and standard deviation of a binomial distribution.

2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16

Due 10/26

Lab: Handout

Identify the features of a repeated measures design.

Define these terms: alternative hypothesis, null hypothesis, decision rule, alpha, Type I error, Type II error, one-tailed probability, two-tailed probability

Conduct and interpret the Sign test

Understand the concept of statistical power, and know how to compute it and maximize it.

7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14

Due 10/30

Lab: Handout

Know the general characteristics of sampling distributions.

Use resampling to generate sampling distributions of the mean.

Apply the sampling distribution of the mean in the Normal Deviate Test using Z - scores.

Know the Central Limit Theorem

Apply the Critical Region approach to statistical decisions, using resamplling.

5, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19

Due 11/2

Lab: Handout

Understand the concept of degrees of freedom.

Apply the t-test for single samples, and compare it to the Normal Deviate Test with Z.

Use t to establish confidence intervals and critical regions.

Use t to evaluate Pearson r.

3, 4, 9, 12, 13, 17, 18

Due 11/11

Lab: Handout

Distinguish correlated groups from independent groups.

Understand and apply the relevant t test for correlated groups and for independent groups.

Know the assumptions underlying the t test.

9, 11 - 13, 16, 19

Due 11/16

Lab: Handout

Understand and apply the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Know the relationship between ANOVA and t tests.

Understand the concepts of factorial designs and interactions.

4, 7, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19

Due 11/20

Lab: Handout

Understand and apply the t test for independent groups to planned comparisons

Understand and apply Tukey's HSD test for post hoc comparisons

1, 3, 6, 9 Due 11/23

Lab: Handout

Compute, evaluate, and interpret the two-way or factorial analysis of variance

8, 9, 10 Due 12/4 Lab: Handout

Understand and apply the chi-squared tests for goodness of fit and for independence

Know when to apply the Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests

5, 12-15, 17 Due 12/11

Lab: Handout

Computer Usage: Excel

Shortly, you will find an introduction to Excel here.

2. Drawing column charts with Excel.

3. Setting spacing between columns in Excel charts.

Computer Usage: SPSS

Shortly, you will find an introduction to SPSS here.

Links to Statistics Sites

Several statistical databases maintained by federal government agencies are available on this site.

E-Discussion

A discussion group folder has been added to your Groupwise account. It should show up in the left panel of your Groupwise screen as a folder labeled Statistics Discussion under your Cabinet files. If there is a plus sign (+) in the box to the left of your Cabinet files icon, click it to show the folders available: one of them should be Statistics Discussion.

When you get to the Statistics Discussion group icon, it chould have a receiving hand over a folder icon. If it doesn't, please let me know.

To post a message to the Discussion group, click on the icon, then click File...New...Discussion. That will open a dialog box, and you can send an e-mail as usual.

Remember that items you post to the discussion group may be read by any member of the class, including the teacher. However, nobody else has access to your musings.

PowerPoint Slides

Click on the date of the presentation you wish to review. You will reach an index of the day's (or week's) slides. Click on the first of the list if you wish to see the entire presentation, or on any slide in the list where you wish to start.

The slides will be presented whole, with no animations or sound effects. Please tell me of any improvements you can suggest.

9/2	9/4	9/7	9/9	9/11	9/14	9/16
9/18	9/21	9/23	9/25	9/28	9/30	10/5
10/7	10/9	10/12	10/14	10/16	10/19	10/21
10/23	10/26	10/28	10/30	11/2	11/4	11/6
11/9	11/11	11/13	11/16	11/18	11/20	11/23
11/30	12/2	12/4	12/7	12/9	12/11	12/17

Last updated 30 November, 1998