PSYCHOLOGY 2003

 UNDERSTANDING STATISTICS

 

 

Instructor:                    Jorge Mendoza, 736 Dale Hall, Phone 5-4568

E-mail: Jmendoza@ou.edu

Web Page: www.ou.edu/Faculty/M/Jorge.L.Mendoza-1

 

Office Hours:                Mon & Wed. 10-11 a. m.

 

 

Graduate Assistants:    Siew Ang, 811 Dale Hall , email: sang@ou.edu

                                    Office hours: 10-11 Mon & Th

                                    Chris Chasteen, 733 Dale Hall, email: cchasteen@ou.edu

 

 

 

Course Description: This course is designed to familiarize the student with the basic principles and techniques of data analysis.  The student will be introduced to data expository techniques, elementary probability and inference, and many useful statistical procedures.

 

The objectives of this course are to:

 

1.       Understand basic statistical principles that help us make inferences from samples to populations and their probability foundation;

2.       Learn some basic statistical procedures helpful in summarizing and analyzing data;

3.       Examine the basic issues involved in establishing causality in research designs;

4.       Learn to critically evaluate research projects;

5.       Discuss issues relevant to behavioral measurements; and

  1. Become familiar with basic statistical computations.

 

Textbook:

 

Triola, Mario F.  Elementary Statistics.  8th ed.  Addison-Wesley, 2000.  ISBN #0201614774. 

 

Optional Text:

 

Loyer, Milton.  Student’s Solution Manual to Accompany Elementary Statistics.  8th edition.  Addison-Wesley, 1999.  ISBN #0201859238. 


Outline of Course:

 

Topic                                                                Assignment from Textbook

 

Overview                                                          Chap 1

Descriptive Statistics                                          Chap 2

Basic Probability                                                 Chap 3, 3.1 -- 3.5

Probability Distributions                                      Chap 4, 4.1 -- 4.4

Central Limit Theorem                                        Chap 5, 5.1 -- 5.6

Estimation                                                         Chap 6, 6.1 -- 6.5

Hypothesis Testing                                             Chap 7, 7.1 -- 7.5

Two-sample Problem                                          Chap 8, 8.1 -- 8.4

Regression and Correlation                                  Chap 9, 9.1 -- 9.5

Qualitative Data                                                  Chap 10

ANOVA                                                            Chap 11

Nonparametric                                                   Chap 13

 

Please note that Triola has a web site to help you with the book: http://www.triolastats.com

 

Grading:

Your grade for this course will be based on a three tests and two short reports.  As you know all general education courses require graded writing assignments.  You will have two writing assignments in this course.  These are group projects that the group will present in class, but that you will write individually.  For each assignment we will expect you to use statistics to analyze and present data that deal with relevant societal issues.  You can use secondary data sources from the web, or you can collect your own data.  Each writing assignment will be worth 100 points.  We will use lab time to design and execute the group projects.  Here you will work with your classmates to carry out your projects.  The projects will culminate on two individual papers and two group presentations.  You will earn up to 50 points for each paper, 25 for each group presentation, and 25 for your contribution to each project. This last category will be assessed by your peers in the group.  They will decide how many points you should have.  In summary, your possible points are as follows:

 

                                                Three exams……………………….         300

                                                Two papers…………………………         200

 

                                                Total …….…………………………..         500

 

 Your task is to become an active participant in the course.  You are expected to be prepared for class and to participate in class and in the lab.  I encourage to buy a simple statistical calculator (Texas Instruments makes some very good and simple ones) and to bring it to class and the lab.  We will work problems in class, and go over assignments.

 

Reasonable Accommodations:

Any student in the course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible so we can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunities.