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Elementary Statistical Methods and Design
PY 214-OV
Summer 2014
Instructor:
Meeting Times:
Office Hours:
Office Location:
Mailbox Location:
Phone:
Email:
Olivio J. Clay, PhD
Tuesday & Thursday -- 10:20 am - 12:20 pm
Wednesday 2pm – 5pm or by appointment
Campbell Hall 321
Campbell Hall 415
934-2728
oclay@uab.edu
Teaching Assistant:
Office Hours:
Office Location:
Meredith Henry (mahenry@uab.edu)
Tuesday & Thursday 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm or by appointment
Campbell Hall 202E
Required Textbook:
Fundamental Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, 7th ed., by
David C. Howell.
Additional Requirement: A regular hand-held calculator at each class and exams.
Blackboard Learn: www.uab.edu/bblearn
Course description:
This course is an introduction to the theory and application of statistical procedures used in the
behavioral and social sciences. The initial part of the course will focus on techniques for summarizing
data (descriptive statistics) whereas the latter part will illustrate procedures for generalizing results
from samples to populations (inferential statistics).
Homework:
Homework problems may be assigned at the completion of each topic; however they will not be
graded. The purpose of homework problems is to give you the opportunity to practice the statistical
procedures covered in class and to help prepare for exams. Exam questions will be very similar to
these homework problems. Therefore, it is in your interest to attempt all of them.
Grading System:
There will be two (2) exams given during the semester and a final examination. Each will be worth
100 points. Grades will be based on the average of the 2 exams and the final.
For example: Exam 1  92, Exam 2  76, Final  94
Grade = (92 + 76 + 94) / 3 = 87.33
90 – 100 = A; 80 – 89 = B; 70 – 79 = C; 60 – 69 = D; < 60 = F
There is no presumption of any particular distribution of grades in this course. The last day to
withdraw is July 3, 2014.
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Policies and Other Important Items:
1. ALL CELL PHONES MUST BE PLACED ON SILENT WHILE IN CLASS.
2. The Department of Psychology adheres strictly to UAB’s Academic Honor Code which may be
viewed at: https://www.uab.edu/students/academics/honor-code. All UAB students are expected to
read and agree to the UAB Academic Honor Code. The code represents a commitment to integrity
in the academic community and a respect for an individual’s educational endeavors. Ignorance
regarding the range of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty will not excuse you if you get
caught. Penalties range from denial of credit for the work in question to a failing grade (F) in the
course, and, for repeat offenders, termination of student status.
3. Make-up exams will only be given in cases of emergency and must be completed no later than 1
week after the regularly-scheduled exam. Cases of emergency require appropriate documentation.
For example, personal significant illness must be accompanied by a doctor’s note. Emergencies do
not include vacations or oversleeping. Missing exams for other reasons such as military service or
travel for university related reasons should be discussed with the instructor at the beginning of the
semester so special provisions can be made. If the instructor allows you to take a make-up
exam, it should be scheduled with Gloria Owens (gloriao@uab.edu). She is located in the
main Psychology office (CH 415) and can also be reached by phone at 934-3850.
4. Unless you are seriously ill or injured, please do not have your parents call me with an excuse for
your absence. Feel free to contact me directly to schedule an appointment to discuss any issues.
5. Calculators are needed for exams and 2 (two) #2 pencils. A calculator that is capable of calculating
square roots is required. Students found utilizing functions on calculators that automatically
calculate means, variances, standard deviations, etc… will be found guilty of cheating. No cell
phones, laptops, PDA’s, iPod’s, or other electronic devices can be used while taking exams. If full
work is not shown on the exam, credit will not be given.
6. Exams are closed book with multiple-choice, true-false, short answer, and word problems that
require calculation. You will be given some formulas and tables needed to complete calculations.
You will also be allowed to utilize the front side of one sheet of paper where you will be able to
put as much information as will fit.
7. Attendance is highly recommended. You are responsible for obtaining any notes, answers to
homework questions, etc… that you miss from your classmates. Class information will also be
available on Blackboard Learn.
8. If you have a disability and require special accommodations, please speak with me within the
first two weeks of class to discuss the matter. No accommodations will be made after the first
exam unless the disability was diagnosed after the exam.
9. Office hours are on Wednesday’s from 2 pm – 5pm or by appointment. Meetings can be arranged
immediately following class or by email (oclay@uab.edu). Even if you plan to come by my
office during regular office hours please verify with me in advance so I can be prepared for
your particular questions. My preference is to schedule time where more than one student can
benefit. Meetings will be held in my office at Campbell Hall, Room 321.
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10. If there is a possibility of classes being cancelled due to inclement weather etc, please listen to
WBHM (90.3 FM, UAB’s only official source for such information) or check the UAB webpage
for up-to-date information. If class is cancelled due to instructor’s unavailability (illness etc), there
will be a notice on the classroom door with relevant instructions.
Blackboard Learn:
This course will make extensive use of Blackboard Learn (www.uab.edu/bblearn). If you are registered
for the course, you will be automatically registered for the course’s Bb resources. The syllabus, slides,
and handouts will be available via Bb. On this site, you will find any class announcements and there is
also a discussion board. The discussion board allows you to posts questions or comments regarding
the material we are learning about and other students can then post answers and responses. I will use
the Bb site to post announcements and important handouts so please check this site regularly.
CLASS SCHEDULE
June 3rd
Introduction to Class, Syllabus, Expectations
Chapter 1 -- Introduction
Chapter 2 -- Basic Concepts
June 5th
Chapter 3 -- Displaying Data
June 10th
Chapter 4 -- Measures of Central Tendency
June 12th
Chapter 5 -- Measures of Variability
June 17th
Chapter 6 -- The Normal Distribution
June 19th
Chapter 7 -- Basic Concepts of Probability
Brief Review for Exam
June 24th
Exam 1
June 26th
Chapter 8 -- Sampling Distributions and Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 12 -- Hypothesis Tests Applied to Means: One Sample
July 1st
Chapter 13 -- Hypothesis Tests Applied to Means: Two Related Samples
July 3rd
Chapter 14 -- Hypothesis Tests Applied to Means: Two Independent Samples
July 8th
Chapter 16 -- One-Way Analysis of Variance
July 10th
Chapter 16 -- One-Way Analysis of Variance (continued)
Brief Review for Exam
July 15th
Exam 2
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CLASS SCHEDULE (continued)
July 17th
Chapter 17 -- Factorial Analysis of Variance
July 22nd
Chapter 17 -- Factorial Analysis of Variance (continued)
July 24th
Chapter 9 -- Correlation
July 29th
Chapter 10 -- Regression
July 31st
Chapter 19 -- Chi-square
Chapter 21 – Choosing the Appropriate Analysis
August 7th
Final Exam
8:00 AM - 10:30 AM