University of Evansville
SYLLABUS
Psychology 245
Statistics for Psychologists
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. John R. Lakey
http://faculty.evansville.edu/jl3/
lakey@evansville.edu
Office: 206 Hyde Hall: 488-2531 or 488-2520
(Home: 858-9378)
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. Three hours lecture, one hour [two actual hours]
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 lab. Prerequisite: Nine hours
of psychology and integrated distribution mathematics requirement.
Fall. [4 Semester Hours Credit]
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
(1) Jaccard, J. & Becker, M.A. (2010). Statistics
for the behavioral sciences (5th ed.).
Belmont CA: Thomson/Wadsworth [ISBN#0534634036]. Plan to keep this textbook for future reference.
[Minor changes from previous 4th
Edition and you may use the older edition in this course. Copies of 4th edition are on
2-hour Library Reserve.]
(3)
SPSS Inc. (2010). IBM
SPSS Statistics 19 brief guide.
Available at http://support.spss.com/productsext/statistics/documentation/19/clientindex.html.
RECOMMENDED SOFTWARE RENTAL: IBM®
SPSS® Statistics Base GradPack 19 for Windows. 6-Mo Rental Download: UE OTS Website (see Blackboard Course Information
for link).
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 a two hour period for
lab followed by an optional extra-help session.
On Wednesday and Friday, there are one-hour lectures. Each lecture is preceded by a short
10-minute quiz.
In Lab on Monday, we will
meet in the second-floor Hyde Hall 201 computer lab for two hours. We
will 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 SAs will be available until 5pm to help you with makeup labs,
understanding the material for the next quiz, or getting the homework done.
In Class on Monday, after the quiz on last week’s chapter (quizzes always
cover the entire chapter), the Instructor will introduce the new chapter's
topics. You are expected to have read the entire chapter before this
class. Bring your textbook and calculator to all classes and labs. The homework for the previous chapter is
due at this class.
In Class on Wednesday, after the quiz on this week’s chapter, we will continue to
explore the new chapter.
In Class on Friday, after the quiz on this week’s chapter, we will 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 your quizzes will not be returned
or available for later study (example quizzes are available online at the
textbook's Companion Website).
STUDENT ASSISTANTS (TEAM SA): The Class SA
administers the daily quizzes and records the scores,
and this SA also collects, credits, and returns the weekly homework assignments. The Lab SAs help with the lab exercises,
credit the required printouts, and return them. We also have an General SA who will help with these tasks. All SAs can help you with understanding the
material, preparing for big exams, working homework problems, and finishing lab
assignments. The SAs provide a second (student) perspective on everything
and to help you cover the material more thoroughly. SAs have office
hours for individual tutoring, and they will be available at group extra-help
sessions after labs. You also can see
the Instructor for help.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:
With homework, you do statistics
using hand calculations. Both semantic and procedural learning is necessary to
understanding statistics. Until
instructed otherwise, work EVEN-numbered Exercises at
the end of the chapter and submit this homework at the following Monday’s
class. Especially with later chapters, the SA will list the specific
Exercises that are due.
You must neatly show your work getting answers (some answers are listed in
the back of your textbook): You will not receive credit for sloppy
or incomplete (no intermediate steps shown getting to the answer)
submissions. 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 on
exams. Homework must be submitted
on standard-size paper, stapled together in the upper left corner, and your
name printed near the staple – not emailed. It is your responsibility to make sure that
all grades are entered in the Blackboard grade book and report any errors as
they occur.
Remember that the SAs 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 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 or SA 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. Fractional half percentages are rounded up.
This course requires a minimum 70% attendance for a
passing grade.
EXTRA-CREDIT: An extra 2˝% “bonus”
may be earned by three (3) units/credits of participation in the Psychology
Department’s subject pool or by completion of alternative projects arranged by
the instructor. The standard alternative
is a PsychINFO or PsychARTICLES
(APA databases of all its journals) search on a topic of interest and writing a
one-page summary of a journal article that specifically details the statistical
analyses. One search summary is worth
one (1) unit/credit. You keep track of your credit and, if you have earned a
minimum three units/credits, you claim it at the Final Exam (honor
system). This credit will not show in
Blackboard’s Gradebook and must be added by hand by
the Instructor when reporting the grade.
This is a substantial bonus that will raise your grade one step, e.g.,
B+ to A-, and you are encouraged to take advantage of it.
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:
BLACKBOARD/CLASS
WEBSITE/EMAIL: Blackboard
has links to our class website, the “official” syllabus and class
calendar. Blackboard also has copies of
the class PowerPoint slides and the Lab Guides.
Blackboard email addresses will be used for our communication – you are
to maintain and regularly check your
university email account.
GRADE POSTING: The
Instructor's grade book is that on BlackBoard, and
you should have direct online access to your grade entries throughout the
semester. Please report any errors
and omissions as they occur. The cutoff for any corrections is noon the
day after the final exam.
CLASS ATTENDANCE: Attendance is required for the entire class period,
and missing the daily quiz is always recorded as a zero. 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.
LAPTOPS: Laptops are permitted in class when used to follow the lecture slides and take notes, but not
anything else that not directly related to the lecture. Laptops may be used on exam, but not quizzes,
to access online Tables and p calculators, but not to calculate problems with SPSS or other
available software.
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, if you have documented excuse from the
Health Center or Dean of Students, you may submit a written e-mail request for
an excused absence, with the documentation scanned and attached as a PDF, to the Instructor. If your excuse is deemed adequate, you will
receive a reply instructing the TA to remove the zero or zeros for the quiz or
quizzes missed. Please keep
copies of these you-are-excused emails to resolve any errors that may arise later. Make-up
quizzes are never given: Missing quiz scores are automatically recorded
as zeros; however if excused by the
Instructor, 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 (1) to make sure the quiz score is correctly
recorded in the grade book and (2) to review the quiz you missed and questions
that may reappear on the Midterm or Final Exams with the SA. Regardless, seventy percent of the quizzes must
be taken (you must attend seventy percent of the classes) to pass the
course. The four lowest quiz scores, among the data not recorded as missing,
are automatically dropped from everyone’s grade computation.
MISSING 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. Missing homework is automatically
recorded as zero. Late homework is accepted only until the last class
and must be submitted as hard copy – not
emailed as attachments. Please make
a keep a copy of any homework submitted after the due date. Seventy percent of the homework is also
required to pass the course.
MISSING LABS: Should you miss a Lab, you may be permitted
to make-up the work independently with help of the SA as time permits (no other
help permitted). As quizzes and
homework, missing lab submissions are automatically recorded as zeros.
Late labs are accepted only until the last class and must be submitted as paper
printout – not emailed as attachments. Please make and keep a copy of any lab
submitted after the end of lab. Seventy
percent of labs are required to pass the course.
MISSING 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). Make-up exams are limited to 2 hours. Quizzes and exams cannot be taken early. All exams are required to pass the course.
OFFICE HOURS: Walk-In Hours will be posted on the
Instructor’s door and on the Instructor’s Faculty Website (linked from Blackbook Information). I am also available at other
times, and you can make formal appointments, call 488-2520 for available times
or email with a specific time you’re available. If you’re having problems
with the course, I want to see you!
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.
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.
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.
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 SAs (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.
DROPPING: 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 cannot certify otherwise.
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.
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION: It is the policy of the
University of Evansville to make reasonable accommodations for students with
properly documented disabilities.
Written notification to faculty from the Office of Counseling and Health
Education is required for any academic accommodations. If you are eligible to receive and
accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it
with me and allow two-weeks notice. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the
accommodation can be received on a timely basis. If you have questions about services for
students with disabilities or procedures for requesting services, you may
contact the Office of Counseling and Health Education at 488-2663.