PS292DE: RESEARCH METHODS II
Text: - Statistics for the Behavioral and Social Sciences: A Brief Course (Aron, Aron &
Coups, 2005)
Chapters Covered – See below for detailed reading list
Evaluation:
1) Quizzes 25% (Average taken from 5 Quizzes) - Please check quiz area for dates
of quizzes.
2) "Statistical Consulting" Assignment 25% - (5% per day late
deduction)
3) Discussion Board Participation 10% -see below for details
4) Final Exam 40% (must be proctored, students must reserve time for this as per
university policy)
Course Objectives:
The intention of this course is to give students an introduction to basic statistical methods
used most commonly in social-scientific research. This introduction includes conducting
analyses using formulae, as well as an introduction to the use of SPSS - the most
commonly used statistical analysis software. It is hoped that upon completion of this
course, students will have a general working knowledge of SPSS, and of what analyses to
use when answering basic research inquires.
Graded components of the course
Participation – 10%
Discussion board participation will be an integral part of this course. This interaction can
help students feel more “connected”, and encourages students to support and assist one
another. Research has shown that the best way to understand material is to teach the
material to others. For this reason, the discussion board will be a venue for students to
call upon each other and the instructor for discussion and clarification of the material. I
want the discussion board to be “owned” by the students in the course, and thus I will
moderate the discussion board, but not act as the key focus of discussion.
I will read postings made on the discussion board on a regular basis, and expect students
to do the same. This is a good place for important information to be posted about the
course, clarification of the material to occur, and it is hoped that a positive community
will be formed.
Grading of participation:
When reviewing the discussion board, I will grade postings on the basis of quality,
effortful thought, and assistance to others. Participation in the discussion board will be
based on the quality – not quantity of postings. Throughout the term, I will keep track
of postings and read them on a daily basis. At the end of the term, students can see their
grade for participation, but no participation grade will be given before the end of the
term. The average grade of your 5 best postings will be used to calculate your
participation grade. Higher participation grades will be given for postings that give
assistance or guidance to others, adds thoughtful discussion about the material, or that
might assist others in understanding concepts or problems. Encouragement to others in
their understanding of the material will also be given a higher grade.
* A minimum of 5 posting per student need to be made during the course of the
term.
* Participation points can be deducted for discouraging comments or insults towards
others in the bulletin board. Such postings will also be removed from the discussion.
Some notes to consider about postings:
a) If you ‘think’ you can help out – take a stab at it (no points are deducted for incorrect
answers, and there are no “dumb questions”)
b) If someone has already posted a reply to a comment, don’t be discouraged – maybe
you can add value to the discussion
c) There will be lots of postings to read – but these are valuable for conceptual
understanding of the material (seeing other people get help, and being a part of this)
d) Be specific in the title of your posting – so that people can link replies and go back to
specific discussions later.
A value between 0-10 points will be awarded for overall Discussion Board participation
(representing the 10% participation grade).
Quizzes (25%) and Final Exam (40%)
Quizzes and exams will be based on the textbook, and interpretation of SPSS output
covered in supplementary readings (what is written in the online SPSS examples). You
are responsible for all the material assigned for reading.
The quizzes are ‘open book’.
The final exam will NOT be open book, but you will be allowed a 1 page (double
sided) 8 ½ x 11 “cheat sheet”. All p value tables required for the final exam will be
provided for you (e.g., Table A in the text).
Only simple calculators will be allowed during the final exam. This means any
calculator with more advanced features than: addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division, square root, or percentage will be taken away. If the calculator has any
programmable features (beyond memory recall features), it likely does not meet the
requirements. Usually, if the calculator has more than 25 buttons, or second function
commands, it is likely not a simple calculator. If you are unsure if your calculator is a
“simple” one, please contact the instructor prior to the exam.
Be familiar with the calculation and use of the statistics we cover, as well as the
interpretation of the SPSS output discussed in the notes.
Missing quizzes or exams
As the quizzes for this course will be open for a period of time, they are flexible to
accommodate varying schedules. If for some reason, you will not be able to complete a
quiz, please notify me in writing prior to the quiz. This applies only to quizzes for grades
– not practice quizzes. University policies for missing exams will apply to the online
quizzes. If reasoning and/or adequate proof of absence from a quiz (for grades) is not
given, a grade of zero will be assigned for that quiz.
The administration of the final exam is governed by university policy. Individual
instructors have no part in the petition process for missing or deferring a final exam. This
is done directly through the Dean of Science, and certain requirements must be met in
order for a petition to be heard (see deferral policies for details).
Please keep track of your time while completing the quizzes, and be aware of the time
limits and deadlines for these. To accommodate various schedules, I will make the
quizzes “open” for a two day period. Please be aware though, that you will only have one
opportunity to view and complete the quiz. The quizzes are to be done individually – not
as a group or in pairs. Although quizzes are “open book”, it is recommended that you
only reference formulae when completing these – as you will not be able to reference
anything else during the final. Off-campus final exams should be mailed to the Distance
Ed office by proctors as per instructions in your guide.
Statistical Consulting Assignment (25%)
This assignment will have you acting as a "statistical consultant". You will chose from
several mock corporate examples in which you are hired to analyze and interpret data that
is meaningful to the corporation. For this assignment, raw data will be given to you, and
you will be required to produce a report with meaningful interpretation and SPSS output
for a business. You will also include an hourly log of your hours for this contract, and
what you expect as a wage (unfortunately, you won't actually get paid for this
consultation). Please see the "Consulting Assignment" Link in the Course Menu for more
details. There will be a 5% per day late deduction for assignments handed in after the
deadline. University policies for plagiarism apply to this assignment, and it is expected
that all work will be done individually. If you are repeating this course, please note that it
is expected that you submit a substantially different assignment than you have in the past
(the data set for each term will also be different).
General Communication
Using e-mail within WebCT, or the bulletin board is the most efficient was to contact me.
Also, please use the bulletin board to post any questions you have for me. I will answer
most questions in the bulletin board, so that everyone can learn from this. Formal office
hours can be made upon request.
Review and use bulletin board postings prior to e-mailing me - this is a more efficient
way of disseminating information (and students may get participation credit for it). I will
likely post e-mail replies in the bulletin board anyway, if I feel that others can be helped
by this information. Certainly send personal issues, or issues unrelated to course content
to me directly. Be aware that discourse in some of the chat rooms is logged (and I cannot
control this).
If you have any technical problems with the quizzes or suspect errors with these, please
inform me immediately.
I will set up chat room times, when I will be available for chatting online. If you have a
question that has not been answered in the bulletin board, you can e-mail me within
WebCT, or call me. Please understand that I will reply as soon as I can, but this may not
be instantaneously. You can expect a reply to e-mail and bulletin board postings from me
within two days, unless otherwise noted.
Organization of the bulletin board
It is expected that by the end of the course, the bulletin board will have a significant
number of postings on it. Please refer to this regularly throughout the course for
important messages. Also, if you plan to read ahead, please limit questions in the bulletin
board to the approximate chapter currently being covered. So if you're ahead, save your
questions and keep reading. This allows for better organization of the bulletin board - so
everyone reading the bulletin board is looking at the same chapter. It also helps later on if
you want to review postings - it helps when all of one chapter are grouped together
(roughly). It gets confusing when some people are posting about chapter 7, while others
are posting about chapter 5. Be sure to also identify specifically the focus of your
posting (e.g. question 1.23 in Chapter 1), so that people know precisely what the post
(and follow-ups) are about. Below is a rough timeline for chapters to be covered that can
be used as a guide for postings on the bulletin board:
Material outline:
Chapter 1 – Displaying numbers
Chapter 2 – Mean, SD & Z Scores
Chapter 3 – Correlation and Prediction
Chapter 4 – The Normal Curve and Probability
Chapter 5 – Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 6 – Hypothesis Testing with Means of Samples
Chapter 7 – Making Sense of Statistical Tests
Chapter 8 – t Tests
Chapter 9 – t Tests for Independent Means
Chapter 10 – ANOVA
Chapter 12 – Making Sense of Advanced Statistical Procedures
The approximate timeline for the course is as follows:
*Please refer to detailed reading list above for exact material cover in each chapter
- Intro, SPSS introduction, Chapter 1: July 4-8
- Chapter 2: July 9-11
- Chapter 3: July 12-15 Quiz 1 open July 13 - 15 (covers Chapters 1 & 2)
- Chapter 4: July 16-18
- Chapter 5: July 19-22 Quiz 2 open July 20-22 (covers Chapters 3 & 4)
- Chapter 6: July 23-25
- Chapter 7: July 26-29
- Chapter 8: July 30 – Aug. 1 Quiz 3 open July 30 – Aug. 1 (covers Chapters 5, 6 & 7)
- Chapter 9: Aug. 2-5 Assignment due Aug. 4 (sent via e-mail - see instructions)
- Chapter 10: Aug. 6-8 - Quiz 4 open Aug. 6-8 (covers Chapters 8 & 9)
- Chapter 11: Aug. 9-12
- Chapter 12: Aug.13-15 Quiz 5 open Aug. 13-15 (covers Chapters 10, 11 & 12)
- Final exam period – Aug. 18-21
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS
Examination Deferrals:
The Academic Date section of the Calendar (Printed and Web Site Versions) clearly
states the examination date period for each semester. Students must note that they are
required to reserve this time in their personal calendars for the examinations. The
examination period is Aug. 18-21, 2006. Students who are considering registering to
write MCAT, LSAT or GMAT or a similar examination, should select a time for those
examinations that occurs outside the University examination period. For additional
information regarding Deferred Examinations, please refer to Examinations: Deferred in
the Undergraduate Academic Calendar.
Academic Misconduct:
Academic misconduct is an act by a student, or by students working on a team project,
which may result in a false evaluation of the student(s), or which represents a deliberate
attempt to unfairly gain an academic advantage. For additional information regarding
Academic Misconduct, please refer to Academic and Research Misconduct in the
Undergraduate Academic Calendar.
Plagiarism:
Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students may be
required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for
plagiarism.
Accessible Learning (Special Needs):
Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier=s Accessible
Learning (Special Needs) Office for information regarding its services and resources.
Students are encouraged to review the Undergraduate Academic Calendar for information
regarding all services available on campus.
Important Dates:
For important dates to remember, such as last day to drop a course: Please refer to
Academic Dates at the front of the Undergraduate Academic Calendar.
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