Sociology 305
Anthropology 305
Main Campus Hybrid Course
This course is an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics. It will introduce you to a wide variety of statistical techniques, including:
Descriptive Statistics
Percentages, Percentage Change, and Proportions
Ratios and Rates
Frequency Distributions
Charts and Graphs
Measures of Central Tendency (Mean, Median, Mode, Percentiles, Quartiles)
Measures of Dispersion (Range, Interquartile Range, Standard Deviation)
Bivariate Association (Crosstabs)
Association between Variables Measured at the Nominal Level (Chi-Square-Based Measures, Lambda)
Association between Variables Measured at the Ordinal Level (Gamma, Spearman's Rho)
Association between Variables Measured at the Interval-Ratio Level (Regression and Prediction, Correlation
Elaborating Bivariate Tables
Partial Correlation and Multiple Regression and Correlation
Inferential Statistics
The Normal Curve (Computing Z Scores, Areas Under the Curve)
Sampling and the Sampling Distribution
Estimation Procedures
Hypothesis Testing: The One-Sample Case (t-test, Type I and Type II errors)
Hypothesis Testing: The Two-Sample Case (five-step model)
Hypothesis Testing: Nonparametric Tests for Variables Measured at the Ordinal
Level (Chi Square Test for Independence)
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the term, each student who has successfully completed the course will be competent to:
1) go on to more advanced statistics courses (weekly computer assignments, exams)
2) better understand articles written in her or his field of interest having achieved basic statistical literacy (weekly computer assignments, exams)
3) understand the mathematics involved in doing statistical problems (weekly computer assignments, exams)
4) understand and interpret statistical output (weekly computer assignments emphasizing interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of statistics)
5) present statistical results in a form required for formal presentation or publication (weekly computer assignments, exams)
6) use statistics to think and reason logically about cause and effect relationships (weekly computer assignments, exams)
7) use statistics as tools to test hypotheses, analyze social processes, and evaluate social programs (weekly computer assignments, exams)
The method of assessment of the specific learning objectives are in parentheses after each objective.
BOOKS AND MATERIALS
Healey, Joseph. 2009. Statistics: A Tool for Social Research. 8th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Combined with the textbook will also be a study guide, the SPSS CD-ROM, Wadsworth's Census 2000, and Data Disk for Statistics.
Note: You cannot buy a used textbook for this course, because the computer program only lasts one year from the time you open the SPSS program.
COURSE SPECIFICS
Incompletes. I do not allow students to take an �Incomplete� for this course. If you do not believe you will be able to finish the course, you should withdraw early to get possible refund of your tuition.
Homework. You will have computer assignments each week. Work through the exercises and send the computer output and your interpretations to your professor. Detailed instructions for these assignments are linked to the main page for this course. All assignments and exams must be completed at acceptable university levels for a passing grade in this course. Each assignment will be graded. If the assignment comes in late, your grade will drop one (2) letter grade for each day it is late, beginning with the afternoon of the first day.
Exams. There will be five exams during the course (see course weekly assignments for dates). Each exam consists of 40 multiple-choice or True/False items including interpretation of computer output. Bring a calculator, a pencil, and your book to the scheduled exam. The exams will stress interpretation and understanding of statistical concepts. If you are unable to make it to the regularly scheduled exam, the university will charge $20 for arranging and proctoring each make-up exam. You will need to make arrangements with the department administrative assistant for make-up exams. There are no make-ups for the final exam.
Attendance and Participation: You are expected to be in class and to participate in discussions. You will be allowed one absence without penalty. Attendance and participation will be part of your overall grade for the course.
The schedule and procedures, and the course outline and reading list are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.
COURSE GRADING
Exam #1 80 points
Exam #2 80 points
Exam #3 80 points
Exam #4 80 points
Exam #5 80 points
Attendance and Participation 50 points
Computer Lab 100 points
GRADE BREAKDOWN
A+ 98% and up B+ 88-89% C+ 78-79% D+ 68-69%
A 94-97% B 84-87% C 74-77% D 64-67%
A- 90-93% B- 80-83% C- 70-73% D- 60-63%
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