UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Twin Cities Campus
Psychological Foundations of Education/
Quantitative Methods in Education
Department of Educational Psychology
College of Education and Human Development
250 EdSciB
56 East River Rd
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Office: 612-624-6083
Fax: 612-624-8241
To:
From:
Re:
Graduate Students and Advisors
M. Harwell, A. Zieffler, B. delMas
Enrolling in Introductory Statistics Courses in Educational Psychology Beginning
Fall 2016
March 30, 2016
Date:
Effective fall 2015, Educational Psychology (EPsy) 8251/8261 were combined into a single first semester
course in introductory statistics, and EPsy 8252/8262 into a single second semester course in
introductory statistics. Effective Fall 2016, we will fully transition to a single sequence: EPsy 8251 and
8252. The old courses, EPsy 8261 and 8262, will be deactivated, and students enrolling in the 8XXX level
Introductory Statistics Course in Educational Psychology should enroll in EPsy 8251 and 8252.
Our website (http://www.cehd.umn.edu/EdPsych/Current) offers the following guidance to students
preparing to enroll in the EPsy 8000 level sequence in introductory statistics beginning fall 2016:
1. Students enrolling in EPsy 8251 should be sufficiently familiar with the topics outlined below to draw
on that familiarity to support their learning in EPsy 8251. For example, in encountering one-way
analysis of variance of means in 8251 students should be able to draw on their conceptual
understanding of the two-sample t-test of means and how to properly apply and interpret this
procedure in ways that use the latter to promote a deep understanding of the former.
Specifically, students planning to enroll in EPsy 8251 should have a sound understanding of:
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Data collection and scope of inference
o Random sampling
o Random assignment
Exploratory data analysis
o Plots (Box-and-whiskers plot, histograms etc.)
o Descriptive Statistics
Basics of inferential analyses
o Normal distributions
o Estimators, parameters
o Sampling distributions
o Central Limit Theorem
One-sample inference (mean, correlation/slope)
o Hypothesis testing
o Confidence intervals
Two-sample inference (means)
o Hypothesis testing
o Confidence intervals
Association/Relationships
o Correlation
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Simple Regression
Chi-square test
Our experience is that students lacking this prerequisite knowledge often struggle in EPsy 8251, and
these students are strongly encouraged to first take EPsy 5261 (Introductory Statistical Methods)
which explicitly covers these and other topics helpful in preparing for EPsy 8251. Students planning
to enroll in EPsy 8251 are also strongly advised to be familiar with the R software prior to enrolling.
R is used in EPsy 5261.
A syllabus outlining the topics covered in EPsy 8251 can be obtained by contacting Dr. Michael
Harwell (harwe001@umn.edu , ph: 612-625-0196), Dr. Andy Zieffler (zief0002@umn.edu , ph: 612624-6083), or Dr. Bob delMas (delma001@umn.edu, ph: 612-625-2076). The 8251 syllabus is also
available at the Educational Psychology office in Room 250 Educational Sciences Building M - F 8:304:00.
2. Students planning to enroll in EPsy 8252 without having completed EPsy 8251 should have
completed a course comparable to EPsy 8251. The syllabus for EPsy 8252 can be obtained by
contacting Dr. Michael Harwell (harwe001@umn.edu , ph: 612-625-0196), Dr. Andy Zieffler
(zief0002@umn.edu , ph: 612-624-6083), or Dr. Bob delMas (delma001@umn.edu, ph: 612-6252076). The 8252 syllabus is also available at the Educational Psychology office in Room 250
Educational Sciences Building M - F 8:30-4:00.
3. The expectation continues to be that students planning to enroll in an upper-level
statistics/measurement course have completed a two-semester graduate-level introductory
statistics sequence. Upper level courses include courses such as:
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EPsy 8266 (Statistical Analysis Using Structural Equation Methods)
EPsy 8267 (Applied Multivariate Analysis)
EPsy 8268 (Hierarchical Linear Modeling in Educational Research)
EPsy 8282 (Statistical Analysis of Longitudinal Data)
EPsy 8290 (Item Response Theory)
Students who completed EPsy 8252 or who completed EPsy 8262 in fall 2015 or later should be
prepared for upper-level statistics/measurement courses. Students planning on taking upper-level
courses in statistics/measurement need to be aware that several topics covered in EPsy 8252 were
not covered in EPsy 8262 prior to fall 2015, and they should examine the following topics before
enrolling in upper-level courses in statistics/measurement in Educational Psychology:
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Weighted least squares estimation, maximum likelihood estimation (likelihood function, loglikelihood function, deviance function)
Information criteria (AIC, BIC, etc.) and use of information criteria for model selection
Using matrix algebra to express models, compute estimates, etc.
Regression diagnostics (leverage and influential observations)
Multi-level models for clustering (HLM) for cross-sectional and longitudinal data
Some resources that you might want to consult to help you in this endeavor include:
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Fox, J. (2009). A mathematical primer for social statistics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Burnham, K. C., & Anderson, D. R. (2004). Multimodel inference: Understanding AIC and BIC in
model selection. Sociological Methods and Research, 33, 261–304.
Myung, I. (2003). Tutorial on maximum likelihood estimation. Journal of Mathematical
Psychology, 47(1), 90–100.
Revelle, W. (2007). Matrix Algebra in R. Supplement to the Guide to R for Psychologists, 1–24.
Retrieved from http://personality-project.org/r/sem.appendix.1.pdf
Woltman, H., Feldstain, A., MacKay, J. C., & Rocchi, M. (2012). An introduction to hierarchical
linear modeling. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 8(1), 52–69.
Osgood, D. W., & Smith, G. L. (1995). Applying hierarchical linear modeling to extended
longitudinal evaluations. Evaluation Review, 19(1), 3–38.
To help students plan their degree programs, the current graduate catalog lists all of our advanced
courses in statistics/measurement, and it describes the planned schedule of offerings (e.g. every
semester, every spring semester, fall semester odd numbered years, etc.). Students can find the catalog
and the tentative schedule of offerings by going to MyU > Academics > Enrollment Tools > Course
Catalog > EPSY1. We will make every effort to adhere to this schedule of offerings within the limits of
our faculty resources.
If you have questions about the transition to a single introductory statistics sequence (EPsy 8251, EPsy
8252) or preparing for upper-level EPsy courses in statistics/measurement please contact Dr. Michael
Harwell (harwe001@umn.edu , ph: 612-625-0196), Dr. Andy Zieffler (zief0002@umn.edu , ph: 612-6246083), or Dr. Bob delMas (delma001@umn.edu, ph: 612-625-2076).
1
Students can access the schedule with these command steps, but faculty may not be able to do so at
this time. The University’s new system is still in the process of transition.