Psy 2012: Statistics for the Social Sciences
M & R 9:20-10:35 (BR 217)
Dr. Anthony C. Santucci
Spring 2007
BOOKS & CALCULATOR:
1. Heiman, Gary W. (2006). Basic statistics for the behavioral sciences (5th ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Heiman maintains a Web site at
http://college.hmco.com/psychology/heiman/basic_stats/5e/students/index.html
Many learning tools are available on this Web site.
2. Study guide for Basic statistics for the behavioral sciences (5th ed.) is suggested but
is not required.
3. A battery powered calculator with basic functions (+,-,x,/, square, and square root) is
required
4. A few sheets of small-squared graph paper.
OFFICE & OFFICE HOURS: My office is located in Brownson Hall 233B. My office
hours are as follows: Monday 2-4 pm; Wednesday 10-11 am, Thursdays 3:30-4:30 pm,
and by appointment.
e-MAIL & WEB: My e-mail address is santuccia@mville.edu. I check my e-mail frequently
and is the best way to communicate with me. I also maintain a WEB site at
http://faculty.mville.edu/santuccia/. This Web site contains information about my teaching,
research, and scholarly activities.
BLACKBOARD: I have developed a BlackBoard Web site for this course. The home
page for the college’s BlackBoard site can be found at http://blackboard.mville.edu/ .
You must immediately enroll for this course on the BlackBoard Web site. Instructions
on how to register for a BlackBoard Web site are located at
http://www.mville.edu/ADMINISTRATION/JUSTINGDR/resources.htm . Information
about the course, including its syllabi, and PowerPoint notes, are located on the Web
site.
PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT WEB SITE: The Psychology Department maintains a
Web site at http://faculty.mville.edu/psych/. Information about course offerings and their
descriptions, internships and research opportunities, faculty profiles and much more
can be found on our site. I encourage you to visit it for general departmental news.
PHONE: My phone number is 914-323-5359 (ext. 5359 from campus). If I do not
answer my phone, please leave a message on my voice mail; I shall return your call
ASAP. BE SURE YOUR MESSAGE INCLUDES A PHONE NUMBER AT WHICH I
CAN REACH YOU. I, however, prefer to communication with students via e-mail.
OBJECTIVES: Many social and natural science disciplines, including psychology, use
statistical tests and procedures as tools for analyzing and interpreting data. This course
will provide a thorough introduction to these tools and how they are used in
psychological research and practice. Although statistics rely on arithmetic
computations, such computations are NOT the most important aspect of this course –
they are used only to derive a numeric result that is then in need of interpretation.
Learning how to INTERPRET the numeric result is most important. Moreover, the
arithmetic skills required for this course are absolutely minimum - knowing how to add,
subtract, multiply, divide, square, and take square roots are the only math prerequisites.
Therefore, the emphasis throughout this course will be on understanding the theoretical
concepts behind the statistical tests and procedures. Sure, there will be some
arithmetic computing involved, but these computations are relatively simple. You
should know that there are available many computerized statistical programs that do
the "number crunching" for you. One such program is called Statistica -- a powerful
Windows-based program available on the lab computers in BR115 and BW5 -- will be
covered in the optional lab section of this course (Psy 2033). By the end of this course
it is hoped that the student will:
 have become knowledgeable with regard to the various statistical tests and
procedures available
 be able to determine the appropriate statistical test or procedure for various
experimental designs
 be able to compute the statistical tests and procedures
 be able to interpret the meaning of the statistical results computed and understand
statistical reasoning
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is required and will be recorded AT THE BEGINNING OF
CLASS. Please be on time. Attending class late is rude and disruptive so please
refrain from doing it. Exhibiting a pattern of missing class or attending class late will be
cause for a grade deduction or removal from the course at my discretion. Please keep
in mind that not attending even one class in this course inevitably will result in missing
assignments and falling behind with course work, so please do make every effort to
attend all class meetings. If for some good reason (i.e., sickness or other reasons
beyond your control) you do miss class, you are still responsible for the information
covered and assignments made. If you are absent for an extended period of time due
to illness or other reasons beyond your control please inform both the academic dean
and myself.
MAKE-UPS: Generally, no make-ups for missed exams or assignments are given. If a
bona fide medical situation arises, it must be documented by a health care professional.
This is the only basis for providing a make-up exam and the decision to do so is entirely
up to me. Please do not ask me to extend you special privileges or to treat you
different than I do other students in the class. If you are extended a deadline courtesy,
you must submit missing work immediately upon your return to school but no later than
upon returning to this course.
EXAMS: Four exams, spaced approximately equally throughout the semester, will be
administered with the fourth exam administered during the last week of the semester.
The exams will be non-cumulative with the exception of exam 4. There will be a section
on this exam that will require students to identify (but not compute) the appropriate
statistical test and provide a concluding interpretation for various experimental designs.
HOMEWORK ASSIGMENTS: Problems from the text will be assigned and should be
completed before coming to class. Students are responsible for doing all the assigned
problems and should be ready to discuss the homework and share their solutions with
the class.
GRADING:
Source
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Exam 4
% of Total
25%
25%
25%
25%
FINAL COURSE GRADING CRITERIA: Final course grades will be based on the
following distribution:
% of Total Points
94% & above
90% to 93.9%
86% to 89.9%
82% to 85.9%
78% to 81.9%
74% to 77.9%
70% to 73.9%
66% to 69.9%
62% to 65.9%
below 62%
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
Final Course Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
These letter grades reflect the following criteria:
 A = Work of exceptional quality reflecting superior understanding and insight of
the material and an excellent working knowledge or skill level; performance
exceeds that of the class average by a substantial margin and indicates that the
student is very well suited for further study in the field.
 B = Work of good quality reflecting a high level of understanding and insight of
the material and a good working knowledge or skill level; performance exceeds
that of the class average by a modest degree and indicates that the student is
most likely well-suited for further study in the field.
 C = Work that is adequate and satisfactory reflecting average understanding and
insight of the material and an average working or skill level; performance is
similar to that of the class average and indicates that the student is minimally
prepared for further study in the field.
 D = Work that meets the minimal standards of the course reflecting marginally
adequate understating and insight of the material and a minimal working or skill
level; performance indicates a lack of readiness or ability to continue in the field.
 F = Work is unsatisfactory; failing work, clearly inadequate and unworthy of
credit.
READINGS: All reading assignments are to be done PRIOR to attending class. This
will facilitate, to a great extent, understanding lecture material.
KNOWN ERRORS IN BOOK CHAPTERS:
1. On p. 86, question # 18: “five participants” should read “four participants.”
CLASS ETIQUETTE: In order to ensure a safe and supportive learning environment, I
request that all students abide by the following rules:
1. Be respectful of fellow students by speaking to them in a civil, socially
acceptable manner.
2. Do not have a cell phone, PDA, beeper, or any other electronic
communicating device on during class. The only exception to this rule is if
you are responsible for the well-being of another individual (e.g., elderly
parent, child, etc.). In this instance, I ask that you silence your device by
using the “vibrate” mode.
3. Ask thoughtful and probing questions. Asking questions that are mundane or
repetitive, including those that can easily be answered by the student
him/herself, is not the best use of class time.
4. Be prepared for class so as to maximize your time with your professor. This
includes reading in advance, maintaining homework assignments, and
bringing calculators and PowerPoint notes to class.
5. Maintaining academic honesty is the backbone of the learning experience.
You are expected to do so without question. Violating academic honesty not
only undermines your own academic experience, but also will be dealt with
severely.
Course Outline
Week #
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Final’s
Date
Jan. 18
Jan. 22
Jan. 25
Jan. 29
Feb. 1
Feb. 5
Feb. 8
Feb. 12
Feb. 15
Feb. 19
Feb. 22
Feb. 26
March 1
March 5
March 8
March 12
March 15
March 19
March 22
March 26
March 29
April 2
April 5
April 9
April 12
April 16
April 19
April 23
April 26
Monday,
April 30
during
class
Chapter
Ch. 1: Introduction to Statistics
Ch. 2: Statistics and the Research Process
Ch. 3: Frequency Distributions and Percentiles
Ch. 4: Measures of Central Tendency: The Mean, Median, and Mode
Ch. 4: (con’t)
Exam 1
Ch. 5: Measures of Variability: Range, Variance, and Standard
Deviation
Ch. 5: (con’t)
Ch. 6: z-Scores and the Normal Curve Model
Ch. 7: Describing Relationships Using Correlations
Ch. 7: (con’t)
Exam 2
Ch. 8: Linear Regression
Ch. 8: (con’t)
Ch. 9: Using Probability to Make Decisions about Data
Spring Break – No Class
Ch. 10: Introduction to Hypothesis Testing
Ch. 11: Performing the One-Sample t-test and Testing Correlation
Coefficients
Ch. 11: (con’t)
Exam 3
Ch. 12: The Two-Sample t-test
Ch. 12: (con’t)
Ch. 13: The One-Way Analysis of Variance
Ch. 13: (con’t)
Ch. 14: The Two-Way Analysis of Variance (pp. 334-343 and pp. 353362)
Ch 15: Chi Square and Other Nonparametric Procedures
Ch 15: (con’t)
Exam 4
(Please note the date and time of the exam and make travel
arrangements for the semester break accordingly.)
Note: The instructor reserves the right to alter this course outline.