Faculty of Social Sciences
Introduction to Statistics A
63-017-18/19
Dr. Ephraim Grossman
School year: 2015-16
Type of course: Lecture + Tutorial
Semester: A No. of hours: 2 hours per week+1 hour per week
A. Goals of the course:
 Recognizing the importance of statistics as a valuable administrative tool and its fields of
implementation.
 Using techniques from the field of descriptive and statistics for analysis, interpretation and
presentation of data.
 Imparting quantitative tools and skills for implementation of statistical techniques in solving
basic problems in all fields of the social sciences.
B. Content of the course:
Course structure: 2 hour lecture + 1 hour tutorial
Detailed lesson plan:
Introduction and definitions
Scales of measurement
Grouping data in statistical tables
Graphic presentation of tables
Measures of central tendency: mode, median, mean (including linear transformation)
Measures of dispersion: range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation (linear
transformation)
Measures of relative position – standard scores, percentiles
Correlations between variables: Pearson's r, Spearman's rho.
Linear regression
Probability – definitions, basic concepts in probability
The normal distribution
C. Course Requirements:
Prior requirements: none
Obligations / requirements / tasks: Weekly exercises.
Components of the final grade (numerical grade / passing score): 20% - Scores of two of the
exercises (10% each). 80% – final exam score.