General Statistics
Psychology 2011-001
Fall 2002

Wednesdays 6:10 to 9:00

212 Coates Hall

Updated September 25, 2002

See Class Schedule Changes for September 25, October 2, October 9, October 16, and October 23!

Instructor	Donald J. Rudawsky, Ph.D.
Office Hours	1 hour from the conclusion of class
Phone:	771-4150 Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm
E-mail:	[email protected]
Web Site:	http://www.geocities.com/donrudawsky is my professional site This is the site for your textbook
Textbook:	Pagano, R. R. (2001) Understanding Statistics in the Behavioral Sciences, 6th edition. New York: Brooks-Cole Publishing Company

Course Objectives:

• Understand the importance of the use of statistics in psychology.
• Understand the appropriate use of statistics in psychology.
• Differentiate between descriptive and inferrential statistics.
• Calculate measures of central tendency.
• Develop an understanding of the normal distribution and how it relates to random sampling.
• Understand what factors affect statistical power.
• Differentiate Type I and Type II errors and the factors that contribute to each error.
• Use the appropriate statistical test to test different hypotheses.

To accomplish the objectives above, the following methods and procedures will be used:

• Reading: You are expected to read material before you come to class and come to class prepared to ask questions about material that you do not understand.
• Class Sessions: Class sessions will combine lecture, practice, activities, quizzes and discussion time to help meet course objectives.
• Homework Assignments: I have had a lot of experience with learning statistics myself, and the only way to really understand it is to practice. There is a homework assignment due each week, worth 10 points each. Homework will be graded on completeness and effort. Assignments are due at the start of class. Late assignments will not be accepted. You may miss one assignment for the quarter, or you may complete them all for bonus points.
• Quizzes: Although few of us like quizzes, they are a part of this class to benefit you in multiple ways. There is a quiz every class worth 10 points. These quizzes include 4 two-point questions over the material covered in the previous class. They will also include 2 two-point questions over the material you read for the current class. These quizzes will help prepare you for the exams, prepare you for class, and give you an opportunity to earn points that lessens the pressure attached to the exams. There will be 12 quizzes at 10 points each. However, I will only count them as worth a total of 110 points.
• Webpage: At the top of the syllabus, you will note two website addresses. The first address is under construction. It definitely includes your syllabus and links to the textbook website. I expect to add lots of helpful information and links to other sources. Please let me know what you would like to see added.

Grades: Your grade is made up of the homework assignments, quizzes, a mid-term and a final exam.
 

Exams: Exams may include multiple choice, essay and computational questions.

Make-up Exams and Quizes: No exams (this includes the last exam, given during finals week) will be given before the scheduled time and no make-up exams will be given, unless it is due to a university excused absence. In order for an absence to be excused: 1), it must be accompanied by written documentation by a non-relative third party (e.g. a Doctor's excuse, police report, etc.) and 2) you must contact me via phone or email within 24 hours of the missed exam. Failure to do so will result in a score of 0 for that exam or quiz. Make-up quizes will be given during office hours after the class you have missed. Make-up quizzes may be essay format.

Grading Scale: Final grades will be determined as follows:

A = 90%, 450 points and above
B = 80% to 89%, 400 to 449 points
C = 70% to 79%, 350 to 399 points
D = 60% to 69%, 300 to 349 points
F = below 60%, less than 300 points

Extra Credit:

• Option 1: You may receive extra credit by participating in research currently being conducted by researchers in the Psychology Department. You will be provided with a list of procedures for participating in research in the Psychology Department. Your participation is strongly encouraged and will provide you with valuable learning experiences about different areas of psychology and the methods employed in research. You may participate in two experiments worth 10 points each. In order to sign up for studies you must go through PAWS on line. If you have any questions contact the psychology department.
• Option 2: If you do not wish to participate in research, or cannot fit it into your schedule you may earn 10 points for either a methodological article review paper, or a print-media research critique. You may do 2 of these assignments (any combination 2 of one type or 1 of each type) for a total of 20 points. To do the methodological review assignment you must identify and photocopy an article from a reputable psychology journal (e.g. The American Psychologist, The Journal of Social and Personality Psychology, The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, etc.) and show it to me for approval by November 13. You will then write a summary of the article with particular attention to describing the methodology and statistical procedures used. To do the print-media research critique, you must first identify and photocopy an article from a magazine or newspaper and show it to me for approval by November 13. You will then write a summary and critique of the article with particular attention to describing the methodology and statistical procedures used. All extra credit is due on December 4.

Class Cancellation: I am the only person authorized to cancel class. Only if I do not show up to class by 6:25pm should you consider the class to be officially canceled.

Mobile Phones: Please be considerate of your fellow students’ rights to learn in a peaceful learning environment as free from distractions as possible. Please turn off any device that may make noise during class, such as mobile phones, pagers, and watches with alarms.

Individuals with Disabilities: If you are entitled to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities act, you must provide me with documentation well in advance of any exam or quiz.

Academic Honesty: Any detected plagiarism or cheating will result in a failing grade and a report to the appropriate academic authorities, possibly resulting in dismissal from the University.

Modifications: This syllabus represents a tentative plan for the semester and may be subject to modification if needed. Adequate prior notice of any modifications will be given in class.

Class Schedule:

Date	Chapter(s)	Homework Due & Quiz Chapters
August 28	Course introduction, Chapter 1: Statistics and Scientific Method, Chapter 2: Basic Mathematical and Measurement Concepts	None
September 4	Chapter 3: Frequency Distributions	Ch 1: 6a, 6b, 6c, 8c, 8d, 8e Ch 2: 3a, 3b, 3g, 5a, 5c, 8b, 8c
September 11	Chapter 4: Measures of Central Tendency and Variability, Chapter 5: The Normal Curve and Standard Scores	Ch 3: 5a (delete last row of scores), 5b, 6
September 18	Chapter 6: Correlation	Ch 4: 32 (change last score from 7 to 5), 35 (change last score from 16 to 17). Ch 5: 8 (change last score to 20), 10a, 10b, 10(use score of 50), 13, 19
September 25 – Changed due to Storm	Class Cancelled due to Storm	None
October 2	Exam 1: Introduction and Chapters 1 - 5	None
October 9	Chapter 7: Linear Regression  Chapter 8: Random Sampling and Probability,	Ch 6: 8, 11, 15b, 15c
October 16	Chapter 9: Binomial Distribution  Chapter 10: Introduction to Hypothesis Testing Using the Sign Test	Ch 7: 6, 9 Ch 8: 2, 14all, 24, 25
October 23	Chapter 12:  Sampling Distributions, Sampling Distribution of the Mean, the Normal Deviate (z) Test.	Ch 9: 2, 9all, 12 Ch 10: 9all, 13all
October 30	Exam 2: Chapters 6 - 10	None
November 6	Chapter 13: Student's t Test for Single Samples  Chapter 14: Student's t Test for Correlated and Independent Groups	Ch 12: 5, 15, 21
November 13	Chapter 15: Introduction to the Analysis of Variance	Ch 13: 4, 14, 16 Ch 14: 10, 16, 18all
November 20	Chapter 16: Multiple Comparisons	Ch 15: 8,13, 17all
November 27*	Thanksgiving No Class	None
December 4	Review and Catch-up	Ch 16: 2, 7all All Extra Credit Due
December 11, 8:00pm	Final Exam: Chapters 12 - 16