Tentative Fall 2008 Syllabus
SYLLABUS
Psychology 245
Statistics for Psychologists
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. John R.
Lakey
lakey@evansville.edu
Office: 122F Hyde Hall: 488-2531 or 488-2520
(Home: 858-9378)
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Ms. Kymberly Knust
Ms. Natalia Potrzuski
Office: 121A Hyde Hall: 488-2039 or 488-2520
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Introduces statistical procedures including measures of central tendency,
variability, correlation, and testing of hypotheses by t-test, chi-square and
analysis of variance. Also emphasizes their use and interpretation in
experimental and other areas of psychology. Two hour
lecture, one hour [two actual hours] lab. Prerequisite: Nine
hours of psychology and integrated distribution mathematics requirement.
Fall. [3 Semester Hours Credit]
INSTRUCTOR'S
DESCRIPTION: PSYC
245 is the standard introductory statistics course required of all
psychology and psychobiology majors, and it is the prerequisite for PSYC 246
(Experimental Psychology). For many of you, these courses are only the
beginning of your study of applied statistics. Virtually every graduate
program (both masters and doctoral) will require proven statistical competence:
You must be able to read and speak the primary scientific
literature to be any type of psychologist. For the doctorate, you
must further contribute to (do research and write for) that scientific
knowledge. Statistics is the language of science and
psychology. It takes years to learn a second language well, and it
takes years to really learn statistics well. Our course is the first
important step in that process, and we will carefully provide a solid
foundation for your success.
This course is designed
for serious students who want the best preparation. It will closely
follow an excellent and up-to-date textbook. A brief supplemental text
will support hands-on experience with the major computer programs used by
psychologists. At the end of this semester, you should be comfortable
reading, sometimes speaking, and occasionally writing statistics--you may even
find yourself thinking in statistics at times. You should also be
comfortable doing basic statistical analyses on the computer and writing a
basic results report. You will be
prepared to start undergraduate research, and you will have started your
preparation for graduate school.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
(1)
(2) LA Kirkpatrick & BC Freeney (2009). A simplified guide
to SPSS for Windows, Version 16, 9e,
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
(1) Gaining factual knowledge of statistics.
This objective includes:
(a) Understanding behavioral
data,
(b) Understanding graphic
presentations and descriptive indices,
(c) Understanding sampling
theory (how a randomly selected small group can represent a larger group),
(d) Understanding statistical
decision theory (the values and costs of being correct and making errors), and
(e) Understanding basic
statistical tests that determine significant (reliable) differences.
(2) Developing specific skills, competencies,
and points of view needed by psychologists. This objective includes:
(a) Developing comfort with
data and quantitative methods,
(b) Developing skills with
modern computer statistical analysis,
(c) Developing competency in
evaluating and presenting statistical results,
(d) Developing competency selecting appropriate statistical procedures, and
(e) Developing appreciation for
the scientific basis of valid psychological knowledge.
COURSE FORMAT:
This class uses a basic chapter-a-week format with
daily quizzes to develop and maintain steady progress. On Monday, there is an
optional extra-help session. On
Wednesday and Friday, there are one-hour lectures. On Wednesday or Friday, there is a two-hour
lab. Each lecture is preceded by a short 10-minute.
In Lab on Monday, we will meet in the second-floor Hyde Hall 201 computer lab for two hours. Your homework assignment of the previous week is due at the beginning of lab. We will then complete a lab Excel or SPSS exercise – you should read the Lab Guide (available on BlackBoard) and the relevant Kirkpatrick & Feeney’s SPSS chapter before lab. You are to work independently. Most will finish in the first hour, and the TAs will be available in the second hour to help you get started with the homework assignment or understand the material.
In Class on Wednesday, after the first quiz on this week’s chapter (the entire chapter), the Instructor will discuss that chapter's topics, perhaps adding new material. You are expected to have read the entire chapter before this class. Bring your textbook and calculator to all classes and labs.
In Class on Friday, after the second quiz on this week’s chapter, we will continue to highlight the major things that you need to know. You may see some of the same quiz questions on the midterm and final exams, but these will not be returned or available for later study (example quizzes are available online at the textbook's Companion Website).
TEACHING ASSISTANTS (TEAM TA): The
Class TA administers the daily quizzes and records the scores, and this TA also
collects, credits, and returns the weekly homework assignments. The Lab TAs help with the lab exercises, credit
the required printouts, and return them. All TAs can help you with understanding the material, preparing for big exams, working
out homework problems, and finishing lab assignments. The TAs provide a second (student) perspective on everything and to
help you cover the material more thoroughly. TAs have
office hours for individual tutoring, and they will be available at
group extra-help sessions after labs. All
TAs really know the material: Take
advantage of their help!
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:
With homework, you do statistics using hand calculations. Both semantic and procedural learning is necessary to understanding
statistics. Unless instructed otherwise,
do Exercises 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, &
30 at the end of each assigned chapter. These are due at the following
lab period.
You must neatly show your work in getting homework
answers (odd answers in the back of your textbook): You will not receive credit for sloppy
or incomplete (no intermediate steps shown getting to the answer)
submissions. Homework must be submitted on standard-size paper,
stapled together in the upper left corner, and your name printed near the
staple. It is important to establish the
habit of clearly showing all your work steps: Not only does it help you
get the right answer, it provide a basis for award of partial credit when you
miss the final answer (especially important for exam problems).
Remember that the TAs are
regularly available to help you with homework. It is important to
honestly do this homework as the Mid-Term and Final Examinations have
computational problems based on these exercises. Your ability to
do problems will determine a major part of your course grade, and we want you
to do well in this course. In respect to the Honor Code, you are
authorized to give help and receive help from other students when stuck
in completing a specific problem, but you must cite that help on your homework: Simply note “[John Smith] helped me with problem [#5].”
at the end of the problem. Be clear that you
are not authorized to copy
or plagiarize completed problems, and you are not authorized to “work in groups” that produce carbon-copy submissions.
Wise Tip:
Be positive and have a good attitude! Homework serves
several purposes: (1) it gives you a thorough review and a
different understanding of the chapter, (2) it gives you an easy
100% on a weekly assignment, and (3) it gives you practice and
confidence doing problems for the big examinations. Homework directly determines an easy 20% of
your course grade, and it indirectly determines how you do on the Midterm and
Final exam problems (another but highly competitive 20% of your course grade).
COMPUTER LAB:
In lab, you
do statistics using the latest technology and statistical analyses. In a typical lab, you will complete several
exercises to learn how to analyze data, better use the computer, and appropriately report results. These exercises will provide model data analyses
for your future research--and introduce material that is not in the
textbook. This is an important part of
the course, and most find the lab to be crucial
to learning statistics.
During the first part of the session, the
Instructor and TA will provide any necessary explanation of the lab exercises
and helpful technical tips. An online handout will provide detailed step-by-step
procedures, and we will be present to help and answer questions. Lab exercises are time-limited and due at the end of
the lab period. Lab work must be
submitted as directed, stapled together in the upper left corner, and your name
printed near the staple. They are collected, credited, and returned by the
Lab TA. Lab Assignments and the Lab
Practical Exam determine 25% of your course grade.
GRADE ASSESSMENT:
Daily Quizzes are worth 10 points each for 20% of your course
grade. Examinations are worth
40%: A Midterm Exam is worth 200
points, a Lab Practical Exam is
worth 100 points, and a Final Exam is worth 300 points. Homework
Assignments are worth 25 points each for 20%, and Lab Assignments
are worth 25 points each for 20%. The
grading criteria are: 94% A, 90% A-, 87% B+, 84% B,
80% B-, 77% C+, 74% C, 70% C-, 67% D+ and 60% D. This course requires a minimum 70% attendance
for a passing grade.
EXTRA-CREDIT: Extra points may be awarded for your participation in PSYC 246 research
studies, class poster presentations, attending undergraduate research
conferences, faculty research studies, and special projects (maximum of
2.5%). There is no other extra credit.
STUDY METHODS REVISITED:
If you read a chapter once, you've “read it”, but
if you read it three times and use the concepts twice, then you've “studied
it”. Some courses may require only “reading”, but this course will
require conscientious “study” for most.
Study Tip: Put in the time, do the work, and keep the faith. This
material has a real “practice effect” – you slowly get better at
knowing/understanding statistics – often without realizing it!
Also, you do not have to have good mathematical ability to do well in
this course. Learning this material is more like learning a foreign
language – practice pays off. Get organized and establish a systematic
schedule to put in the necessary time and effort from the start.
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES:
ACELINK/BLACKBOARD/CLASS WEBSITE:
Refer to the posted “official”
syllabus for course updates and changes – major changes will be alerted by
email. You are expected to maintain
and regularly check your university email account for class communications.
AUTHORIZED AID:
Acknowledge all outside assistance you obtain in preparing written
assignments as a notation on your submission (a statement saying who helped
and the nature of that help). You may freely obtain help from the TAs
(Hyde 121A). You may ask other students for help with problems, but you
must acknowledge this aid. You are not authorized to work in
tandem with other students to produce a joint or collective homework or lab
submissions.
CLASS ATTENDANCE:
Attendance is required for the
entire class period. Attendance is required for the entire lab period or
until you finish the exercise. If you have scheduling conflicts, see your
Academic Adviser to resolve the problem.
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION:
It
is the policy of the
DROPPING A COURSE: A course may be dropped, as never
enrolled, during the first two weeks.
From the third through the eleventh weeks, you may withdraw from the course
receiving the grade of W which does not affect your GPA. After the
eleventh week, the grade of F is assigned in this course (a higher grade
requires that you actually complete the course). Discontinuance of
attendance does not constitute withdrawal; you must formally withdraw at the
Registrar’s Office. Regardless the
reason, those who can not complete eighty percent of the course (attendance,
assignments, and tests) should drop the course.
Due to the nature of this material, you simply do not have the basis
necessary for future work, and we can not certify otherwise.
EXAM
ANSWER-PROFILE ANALYSIS: Examination
results will regularly subjected to “answer profile analysis” for
correspondence of answers between students (for example see R.B. Fray,
1993, Detection of Multiple-Choice Answer Copying, Applied Measurement in
Education, 6, 153-165). This analysis is reliable, valid, and
effective. Students do not have to be seen copying: Statistical
analysis can easily identify those who have exchanged answers and given or
received unauthorized aid on examinations.
GRADE POSTING:
The Instructor's grade book is
that provided by BlackBoard, and you should have direct online access to your
grade entries throughout the semester. If you can not access your grade, please
notify the Instructor..
HONOR CODE: Everyone will
support the University of Evansville’s Academic Honor Code and the
following standards of ethical conduct: “I understand that any work
which I submit for course credit will imply that I have adhered to the Academic
Honor Code: I will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid nor will I
tolerate an environment which condones the use of unauthorized aid.”
Please report any honor code problem to the instructor immediately.
INCOMPLETE GRADES: The grade report of Incomplete Grade (I) will be submitted only
when contracted, justified by personal crisis or legitimate sickness, and when there is a reasonable chance of
completing the required work. Given
the nature of this course, this is seldom the case. Invariably, a student is best advised to drop
with W (petition if necessary) and repeat the course a following semester. Should you believe an I
to be a viable option, you should request it in writing, presenting your extenuating circumstances and, if
possible, providing a detailed time schedule for completion of missing
work. You must receive the instructor’s approval in writing to be assured of the I grade
report. If the I is not removed within twelve months (anniversary of
final exam), the grade automatically becomes F. Under current UE
regulations, you may formally repeat a course once to replace a poor grade.
LATE
HOMEWORK:
Students are to submit their homework assignments on a timely basis, and
again only significant personal difficulty will be considered adequate for
accepting late work. Should you be tardy in submitting any assignment,
you must submit a written request for late acceptance providing your
excuse (stapled to the first page of the assignment). Acceptance
of a tardy assignment is solely at the discretion of the Instructor and it may
be assessed a late penalty, usually one letter grade. Seventy percent of the homework is required
to pass the course.
MAKE-UP EXAMS: Students will regularly sit for scheduled exams. Should you miss
an exam without that absence being excused by the Instructor, the score is zero.
If excused, you will be allowed to take a substitute exam to replace the
zero. Usually this “makeup” will be administered by the Department
Assistant, Mrs. Miller, and you must schedule it at her convenience
(call 488-2520 to make arrangements). Quizzes and exams can not be taken early. All exams are required to pass the course.
MISSING LABS:
Should you miss a Lab Exercise,
you may be permitted to make-up the work independently with help of the
TA as time permits (no other help permitted). You may submit a written
email excuse to the Instructor, but acceptance of your excuse is solely at
his discretion. Missing lab scores are automatically recorded as zeros;
if excused, the score is simply omitted in computation of your course grade
until the work is made up. Depending on the circumstances, late
submissions may be assessed a late penalty, usually one letter grade. Seventy percent of labs are required to pass
the course.
MISSING QUIZZES:
Students are to regularly
attend class and sit for quizzes, and only legitimate personal difficulty will
be considered an adequate excuse for missing a quiz. Other class or work
activities, including field-placement hours and outside employment, are not
an adequate excuse. Should you miss a quiz, you may submit a written
e-mail excuse to the Instructor. Make-up quizzes are not given: Missing quiz scores are recorded
as zeros; if excused, the quiz score will be replaced with a blank (a “missing
datum”) and will not enter computation of your grade.
Afterwards, it is your responsibility to see the TA: (1) to make sure the
quiz score is correctly recorded in the grade-book program and (2) to review
the quiz you missed and questions that may reappear on the Midterm or Final
Exams. Seventy percent of the quizzes
are required to pass the course.
OFFICE HOURS: Walk-In Hours will
be posted on the Instructor’s door (call 488-2520 for available times). I
am also available at other times, and you can make formal appointments.
If you are waiting to see me outside my office, please make sure I know you’re
waiting for me (five professors are off the same small hallway).
PLAGIARISM: Presenting someone
else’s work, in whole or in part, as your own is never “authorized,” and it is
always violates our Academic Honor Code.