Statistical Methods in
Behavioral Science
Fall 2004
Course Syllabus
CRN 12241
Personnel
Instructor:
Edward Sargis, Ph.D.
Office: 1058-A BSB | Office Hours: Wednesday 12:00 - 1:00,
Thursday 3:30 - 4:30
E-mail: esargis@uic.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Katie McDonald | kmcdon3@uic.edu | Office: 1080 BSB | Office Hours:
Friday 11-12
Anna Veluz | aveluz1@uic.edu | Office: 1059 BSB | Office Hours: Monday
2:30-3:30
Locations & Times
Lecture:
11-11:50 MW; 305BH
| Lab Section |
CRN
|
When |
Where |
1
|
12231
|
9:00-9:50 AM |
104 LH |
2
|
12234 |
10:00-10:50 AM |
107 LH |
3
|
19774 |
2:00-2:50 PM |
210 LH |
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Overview
This is an introductory course in statistics that is designed for
students majoring in Psychology, although students from other
disciplines within the behavioral and social sciences should also find
it of value. The primary goal of the course is to help you
develop an understanding of the ways in which mathematics and
statistics can be used to deepen our understanding of psychological
phenomena. To accomplish this goal I will to provide you with a
conceptual understanding of statistics. People often believe that
learning statistics entails memorizing formulas and performing rigorous
hand calculations. However, that is not the focus of this
course. This is not to say that you will not have to perform
calculations by hand, or understand different formulae. Rather, this
course is designed to help you understand what the terms within various
formulae mean, how various statistics are calculated, as well as how to
interpret the results of statistical analyses. It is hoped that
you will leave this class with confidence in your ability to understand
statistics in published articles (both research articles as well as
those you encounter in newspapers, on television, etc.), and in your
ability to determine the kinds of statistical analyses that are
appropriate for different kinds of data.
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Required Text and
Materials
Aron, A., & Aron, E. N. (2003). Statistics
for psychology (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
A basic pocket calculator. You should bring
this calculator with you to lecture and lab sections. Any basic
calculator will do as long as it can perform addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division, as well as compute square roots.
There is no need to invest in an expensive calculator that can perform
graphical or complex statistical functions.
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Course Grading
Course grades will be based on exams (60%), quizzes
(20%), and lab activities and homework (20%). Grades will be based on
the following scale.
Grade Percent
A 89.5 – 100
B 79.5 – 89.4
C 69.5-
79.4
D 59.5 – 69.4
E 0 – 59.4
Lab Sections
Weekly lab sections are designed to give you “hands
on” experience with the statistical techniques and concepts discussed
in class. Attendance at lab sections is expected and will count toward
your lab section grade. Your lab section attendance grade will be based
on the percentage of sections you attend.
The other portion of your lab section grade will
come from homework. A total of 6 homeworks will be assigned over the
course of the semester. Homeworks will be assigned during lab
sections (with the exception of Homework 1 which will be assigned
during lecture during the first week) and will be due on the dates
outlined in the syllabus. Your lowest of the six homework grades
will be dropped.
Keep two things in mind when doing the homeworks:
1. Be sure to show all your work for each problem
that requires written calculations. Do not simply report your
final answer. If your final answer is incorrect it may still be
possible to earn partial credit if some parts of the problem were done
correctly. This is possible, however, only if you have shown all of
your intermediate steps.
2. Neatness counts. If your work is illegible,
crammed together, or so disorganized that it cannot be followed step by
step in a logical sequence it will be difficult to assign partial
credit.
Note: Late homeworks will not be accepted under any
circumstances. Moreover, class assignments are to be handed in at
the start of the class period in which they are due. No
assignments will be accepted at the end of class or in my or your TA’s
mailbox at a later time. If you are unable to turn in a homework
assignment on or before a due date, you will receive a 0 for that
homework and it will become the homework that will be dropped at the
end of the semester.
Exams
There will be four exams offered over the course of
the semester; your lowest grade of the four will be dropped. The
tests will be worth 60% of your final grade (See below for exam
dates). Exams offered during the semester will be
non-cumulative with the caveat that each section of the course builds
on previous sections. Though I will not explicitly test you on
concepts from an earlier unit, you will have to draw on knowledge from
previous units on later exams. A cumulative final exam will be given
during the week of finals.
As mentioned above, the lowest of your exams will be
dropped. I will drop your lowest exam for several reasons. One
reason is that everybody has a bad day now and then. If you
happened to take an exam on a day you were not prepared and you were
not satisfied with your score, the exam would be dropped from your
final grade calculation. A second reason one exam will be dropped
is that it eliminates the need for make-up exams. Make-up exams
will not be given under any circumstances. You may be sick or out
of town on a particular exam day, or oversleep on the day of the exam.
If this were to occur, you would not need to worry about missing the
exam because that exam will be dropped. However, ideally you
would take all three exams and drop the lowest of the three.
Quizzes
At least once a week in lecture (either on Mondays
or Wednesdays), I will give you a five-minute pop quiz at the beginning
of class. These quizzes will be administered at exactly 11:00 a.m. and
will be collected at 11:05 a.m. I strongly encourage you to come to
class on time; there will be no make-up pop quiz opportunities. These
quizzes will not be difficult. My objective in administering these
quizzes is to encourage you to keep up with the readings and the
lecture material so you don't have to cram at the last minute for the
exams. Up to 15 quizzes may be offered during the semester, and the
lowest of your quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the semester.
A Note About Attendance:
Statistics is a unique class in that each topic builds directly on the
previous one. If you miss a class, you run the risk of being
completely lost in the next lecture. Consequently, it is
important that you attend each lecture.
If you miss class it is your responsibility to get the notes, handouts,
homework assignments, and/or other announcements from one of your
fellow classmates.
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Miscellaneous
I would like to encourage you to work with your fellow classmates on
your homework assignments. However, this does not mean that you
should copy the work of another student. Any work you turn in
should be your own. Students should help each other with various
problems they might be having on the homework. But remember that
you will not be given any help during an exam and that students found
“helping” one another on an exam will be subject to immediate failure
as well as the implementation of formal proceedings dictated by
University policy.
Students with disabilities who require accommodations for access and
participation in this course must be registered with the Office of
Disability Services (ODS). Please contact ODS at (312) 413-2103
(voice) or (312) 413-0123 (TTY).
University policy on incomplete grades is very strict. The
instructor will grant an incomplete grade only under the most extreme
circumstances. Do not request an incomplete unless the following
conditions apply (taken from the undergraduate catalogue):
Course work is incomplete when a student fails to submit all required
assignments or is absent from the final examination; incomplete course
work will normally result in a failing grade. The IN (incomplete)
grade may be assigned in lieu of a grade only when all the following
conditions are met: (a) the student has been making satisfactory
progress in the course; (b) the student is unable to complete all
course work due to unusual circumstances that are beyond personal
control and are acceptable to the instructor; (c) the student presents
these reasons prior to the time that the final grade roster is
due. The instructor must submit an Incomplete report with the
final grade roster for the IN to be recorded. This report is a
contract for the student to complete the course work with that
instructor or one designated by the department executive officer in the
way described and by the time indicated on the report. In
resolving the IN, the student may not register for the course a second
time, but must follow the procedures detailed on the report. An
IN must be removed by the end of the student’s first semester or summer
session in residence subsequent to the occurrence, or, if not in
residence, no later than one calendar year after the occurrence.
When the student submits the work, the instructor will grade it and
change the IN to the appropriate grade. If an undergraduate fails
to meet the stated conditions, the instructor will assign an E for the
final grade.
If you have any problems or concerns throughout the class, please come
see us during our office hours, before it is too late at the end of the
semester. Please use office hours whenever possible, but we are
willing to make appointments if your schedule makes it impossible to
make our office hours.
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