STATISTICS (SC200.01)
Spring 2010
Campion 9
TTh 9-10:20am
Gretchen Sisson
gretchen.sisson.1@bc.edu
Office Hours: TTh 10:30-11:30
Maggie Willis
bracema@bc.edu
TTh 12:00-1:00
While the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical
certainty. You can, for example, never foretell what any one man will be up to, but you can say
with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary, but percentages remain
constant. So says the statistician. – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
This course provides an introduction to the use of statistics for social science data analysis.
Students are expected to develop an understanding of commonly used descriptive and inferential
statistics and to become competent in the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS) software.
The schedule for the course follows. You are responsible for reviewing all readings by the date
to which they are assigned.
January 19
January 21
January 26
Centrality and
Dispersion
January 28
February 2
February 4
Probability,
Sampling and
Descriptive/Inferential Stats
Levels of Measurement
Percentages and Proportions
Ratios and Rates
Frequency Distributions
Measures of Central Tendency
General Social Survey
Using SPSS
Measures of Dispersion
The Normal Curve
Z Scores
Healey pp. 15-24, 30-50
Healey pp. 85-95
Kirkpatrick pp. 1-24
HOMEWORK 1 DUE
Healey pp. 105-119
Healey pp. 127-141
February 9
February 11
February 16
February 18
February 23
February 25
March 2
March 4
March 9
Estimation
Spring Break
Measures of
Association
March 25
March 30
Regression
April 1
April 6
April 8
Easter Break
No Class
April 13
April 22
April 27
May 4
May 6
May 11
12:30pm
Analysis of Variance
Crosstabulations
Chi-Square Tests
Review for Quiz
Healey pp. 232-244
HOMEWORK 3 DUE
Healey pp. 256-270
Bivariate Association
Nominal Level Association
Phi, Cramer’s V, Lambda
PRE Measures
Ordinal Level Association
Gamma
Directional Relationship
Interval Level Association
Algebraic Review
Scattergrams
Healey pp. 282-300
Regression and Prediction
Pearson’s r
Correlation Coefficients
Computing r2
Review for Quiz
Healey pp. 339-351
QUIZ 2
March 23
April 15
April 20
HOMEWORK 2 DUE
Healey pp. 146-171
QUIZ 1
Guest Speaker: Quantitative Research and Mixed Methodology
Intro to Hypothesis Testing
Healey pp. 177-199
Hypothesis Testing One Sample t-tests
Two Sample t-tests
Healey pp. 206-221
March 11
March 16
March 18
Probability
Sampling Distributions
Confidence Intervals
Review for Quiz
Healey pp. 308-321
HOMEWORK 4 DUE
Healey pp. 330-339
HOMEWORK 5 DUE
QUIZ 3
Analyzing statistics in
research and the media
Statistics and Social Conducting quantitative
Research
research
Final Project Presentations
Final Project Presentations
FINAL EXAM
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FINAL PROJECTS DUE
Grading
Your grade in the course will be broken down as follows:
Homeworks
Quizzes
Final Project
Final Exam
20%
30%
20%
30%
Final grades will be determined as follows: A= 100-90; B= 89-80; C= 79-70; D= 69-60; F < 60.
HOMEWORKS (20%): Throughout the semester, there are five homework assignments; only
your four highest scores will be counted to calculate your grade (alternately, you may chose
to complete only four of the five assignments, in which case all of your homework grades would
be included). Of the four counted, each will be worth 5% of your final grade. Hard copies of the
homework assignments must be turned in on the day they are assigned (or earlier). Late
assignments will receive a 10% deduction per day late.
QUIZZES (30%): Three quizzes, each making of 10% of your final grade, will be given. Makeup quizzes will not be given. If you miss one quiz due to illness or extenuating circumstance,
your quiz average will be calculated using the other two grades (thus weighting each 15%). A
second missed quiz will count as a zero, unless both absences are due to documented medical
reasons, or upon my receipt of written excuses from the Dean’s office. Hand calculators (but not
graphing calculators with statistical and regression functions) may be used.
FINAL PROJECT (20%): Final projects will include examination of a sociological question of
your choosing, either using data provided by the GSS or gathered by you. Projects can be
completed in groups of up to three people, and will include a written component (worth 15% of
final grade) and a presentation to the class showing your findings (5% of final grade). More
details on the requirements and structure of the final project will be provided throughout the
semester.
FINAL EXAM (30%): A comprehensive final exam (covering the entire semester of material)
will be given on May 11 at 12:30pm, Room TBA.
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Academic Integrity & Honor Statement
Within this setting of this course, we will be operating on an honor system. Boston College, as
an institution, does not codify academic integrity in this way, but I believe it to be a fundamental
way of ensuring that all participants within the course are turning in work that is wholly their
own. Consequently, it is a requirement of the course that all enrolled students read, consider,
sign, and follow the following statement, which is drawn from information available on
www.bc.edu/integrity.
The Honor Statement is designed to promote academic integrity as a priority for all participating
in the course and to ensure that students who are honest are not placed at an unfair disadvantage.
As a student enrolled in this course, I acknowledge the following:
1. I understand that integrity is essential to the academic setting and that upholding the
integrity of the classroom environment is one of the requirements of this course.
2. I acknowledge the following definitions of dishonorable behavior, and affirm that I will
not engage in any such behaviors in the context of this course:
Cheating is the fraudulent or dishonest presentation of work. Cheating includes but is not
limited to: the use or attempted use of unauthorized aids in examinations or other
academic exercises submitted for evaluation; fabrication, falsification, or
misrepresentation of data, results, sources for papers or reports; manipulating or altering
data or other manifestations of research to achieve a desired result; selective reporting,
including the deliberate suppression of conflicting or unwanted data; falsification of
papers, official records, or reports; copying from another student's work; actions that
destroy or alter the work of another student; unauthorized cooperation in completing
assignments or during an examination; the use of purchased essays or term papers, or of
purchased preparatory research for such papers; submission of the same written work in
more than one course without prior written approval from the instructors involved;
dishonesty in requests for make-up exams, for extensions of deadlines for submitting
papers, and in any other matter relating to a course.
Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas, data, illustrations, or statements of
another person or source, and presenting them as one's own. Each student is responsible
for learning and using proper methods of paraphrasing and footnoting, quotation, and
other forms of citation, to ensure that the original author, speaker, illustrator, or source of
the material used is clearly acknowledged.
Collusion is defined as assistance or an attempt to assist another student in an act of
academic dishonesty. Collusion is distinct from collaborative learning, which may be a
valuable component of students' scholarly development. Acceptable levels of
collaboration vary in different courses, and students are expected to consult with their
instructor if they are uncertain whether their cooperative activities are acceptable.
3. If I believe a fellow student is breaching the honor code, I recognize that the following
responses are available to me:
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I may discuss my concerns with the student whom I suspect of a violation, recognizing
that direct contact by another student may be the best means of resolving the problem.
Repeated demonstration of student concern for academic integrity will in the long run
build a peer-regulated community, which is the primary goal of participating in the honor
code system.
If I believe the incident to be a major violation or part of a repeated pattern of violations,
I will bring my concerns to the attention of the instructor, or to the appropriate
department chairperson or associate dean. Suspected violations by students reported to
members of the faculty or to an associate dean will be handled according to the
procedures set on www.bc.edu/integrity.
4. If I have serious concern that the instructor is not living up to her responsibility to
safeguard and promote academic integrity, I will speak with the faculty member directly,
or bring my concern to the attention of the department chairperson or associate dean.
Signature: ______________________________________________________________
Name:
______________________________________________________________
Date:
______________________________________________________________
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