Spring 2014
INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGICAL STATISTICS
University of Illinois at Chicago
Sociology 201
Lecture: Monday/Wednesday 2-2:50 PM
4105 Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB)
Instructor: Rachel Allison
Email: rallis2@uic.edu
Office: BSB 4126D
Office Hours: by
appointment
Laboratory: Fridays, 12-1:50 or 2-3:50 PM
4133 Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB)
Teaching Assistant: Tim Adkins
Email: tadkin2@uic.edu
Office: BSB
Office Hours: by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Shawn Perkins
Email: sperki4@uic.edu
Office: BSB 4051
Office Hours: Friday 12:30-2:30
General Comments About this Course
This course is different than most sociology courses you have taken before. The purpose of this course
is to increase your understanding and ability to interpret and manage quantitative data. For this reason,
this course does not deal with a particular subject matter in the usual sense but rather focuses on
developing your quantitative skills and knowledge in a broader sense. The skills you will learn in this
class will allow for more productive and successful study—regardless of your major.
Course Organization
This course will combine classroom lectures and discussion with take-home assignments and lab
exercises. The lectures will be presented using power point slides that should be accessed prior to
lecture, printed out and brought to each class. The rationale for providing the lecture slides is to allow
you to concentrate on the class lecture without the burden of having to take lengthy notes.
This course will not only acquaint you with the statistical techniques commonly used in the social
sciences, but it will also enable you to interpret statistical data and reports. The following broad areas
will be discussed: (1) Levels of Measurement, (2) Measures of Central Tendency, (3) Measures of
Variability, (4) The Normal Distribution, (5) Bivariate Association, (6) Linear Regression.
Required Materials:
1) A USB flash drive.
2) Calculator with basic functions.
Required Text:
Frankfort-Nachmias and Leon-Guerrero. Social Statistics for a Diverse
Society, 6th Edition. Pine Forge, 2011.
ISBN: 9781412992534
Spring 2014
Course Policies
Cell phones: Students cannot answer calls or text during class and phones must be turned off. If your
phone rings in class, I reserve the right to answer it.
Changes to syllabus: Students are responsible for any changes in this syllabus that are announced in
class or sent to your email account associated with Blackboard.
Misconduct: Any student found guilty of academic misconduct (e.g. cheating, plagiarism) will be
given a grade of “0” on the relevant assignment and disciplined according to UIC procedures.
Accommodations: I am more than willing to accommodate students with special needs—whatever
they may be. If this applies to you, please see me as soon as possible.
Course Requirements
Quizzes 20%
Quizzes will be given every for each chapter that we cover. They will be short and take about 10-15
minutes. All of the quizzes will be open-note and open-book. However, it is impossible for you to
complete the quiz in the time allotted without being familiar with the assigned reading. Therefore,
being prepared for class each week is mandatory if you wish to do well in the course. The quizzes will
allow you to assess your performance in the course throughout the semester. At the same time, it will
allow me to see how the class is doing as a whole. Unless you miss class because of religious
observation or with a documented medical emergency, you will not be allowed to make up a missed
quiz.
Homework Assignments 20%
Homework will consist mainly of generating and interpreting SPSS output. Homework is due at the
beginning of class. Late homework assignments will not be accepted. Each homework assignment
will build upon previous assignments, so it is very important to complete all of them. Note that I do not
accept homework over email.
Examinations 60%
Three exams and a final will be given during the semester. Other than for religious observation and
documented medical emergencies, there are no make up exams for any reason. If the day of a
scheduled exam class is cancelled for snow or any other reason, the exam will be given during the next
regularly scheduled class session.
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all classes. Please plan to come to class on time and attend the full class
period. Leaving class early will not be allowed unless you come to see me before class begins.
Spring 2014
GRADES
Grading is based on the following components:
Homework Assignments
Quizzes
Exams
Final
Total
20%
20%
45%
15%____
100%
The Grade Distribution is as follows:
90% or more
89%-80%
79%-70%
69%-60%
59% or less
A
B
C
D
F
Class & Assignment Schedule
(Tentative and Subject to Change)
NOTE: CE= Chapter Exercises
Date
SP=SPSS Problems
Topic and Assigned Reading
Week One
Monday
Jan 13
Welcome to Sociology 201!
Classes begin
Wednesday
Jan 15
The What and Why of Statistics
Chapter 1
Week Two
Monday
Jan 20
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
(no class)
Assignment Due
Spring 2014
Wednesday
Jan 22
Frequency Distributions/Percentages
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
CE 2, 3
Week Three
Monday
Jan 27
Frequency Distributions/Percentages
Chapter 2
Wednesday
Jan 29
Graphs and Charts
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
SP 2, CE 12
Monday
Feb 3
Measures of Central Tendency
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
SP 2, 3
Wednesday
Feb 5
Measures of Central Tendency
Chapter 4
Week Four
Week Five
Monday
Feb 10
Measures of Variability
Chapter 5
Wednesday
Feb 12
Measures of Variability
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
SP 1, CE 15
Week Six
Monday
Feb 17
Exam Review
Wednesday
Feb 19
Exam I
Chapters 1-5
**NO LAB FRIDAY**
Week Seven
Monday
Feb 24
The Normal Distribution
Chapter 6
Wednesday
Feb 26
The Normal Distribution
Chapter 6
Chapter 5
SP 1, CE 16
Spring 2014
Week Eight
Monday
March 3
Estimation
Chapter 8
Wednesday
March 5
Estimation
Chapter 8
Chapter 6
CE 4, 10
Week Nine
Monday
March 10
Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 9
Wednesday
March 12
Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 9
Chapter 8
CE 2, 4
Week Ten
Monday
March 17
Exam Review
Wednesday
March 19
Exam II
Chapters 6, 8, and 9
Chapter 9
CE 6, 8
**NO LAB FRIDAY**
Week Eleven
Spring Break (March 24-30)
Week Twelve
Monday
March 31
Cross Tabulations
Chapter 10
Wednesday
April 2
No Class – Review Chapter 10
Week Thirteen
Monday
April 7
Chi Square
Chapter 11
Wednesday
April 9
Chi Square
Chapter 11
Chapter 10
SP 1a-c, CE 2
Spring 2014
Week Fourteen
Monday
April 14
Exam Review
Wednesday
April 16
Exam III
Chapters 10 and 11
Chapter 11
SP 2, 4
**NO LAB FRIDAY**
Week Fifteen
Monday
April 21
Measures of Association
Chapter 12
Wednesday
April 23
Measures of Association
Chapter 12
Week Sixteen
Monday
April 28
Linear Regression
Chapter 13
Wednesday
April 30
Linear Regression
Chapter 13
Friday
May 2
Final Lab
Chapter 13 and Exam Review
Final Exam, TBA
Chapters 12 and 13
Chapter 12
SP 4*, 5**
* replace CLASS with RACECEN1
** focus on gamma and lambda
Chapter 13
SP 1a-d, 2