To create (together) a
challenging and stimulating
course that motivates you to
own your own learning, we will
be guided by two principles:
The student and teacher
share responsibility for
the quality of a process
-- the process of the
student's learning.
The core motivation,
for both student and
teacher, should be the
satisfaction that derives
from improving the quality
of the student's learning.
The concepts of empowerment,
feedback, and teamwork will
serve as the foundations on
which this course is built,
the threads that unify the
topics we explore, and the
skills we will strive to
develop throughout the
semester. Empowerment enables
you to take personal
responsibility and ownership
of the tasks you perform.
Discerning feedback (from and
to both you and me) is the
primary means we will use to
determine how well we perform
our assigned tasks. Teamwork
is the primary means we will
use to empower you and to
obtain feedback.
Course
Description
Students develop skills both in
statistical reasoning and statistical
method by actively engaging in the
practice of statistics as science.
Students will study important current,
psychological issues whose
understanding requires a fundamental
knowledge of statistical concepts, in
particular, hypothesis testing and
regression. Controversial topics will
be chosen that are currently in the
news and likely to remain so. Such
psychological controversies are
regularly found in journals and
magazines such as American
Psychologist and Current
Directions in Psychological Science.
Social Science Reasoning Using
Statistics uses a
classroom/laboratory approach for
analysis of data, for hands-on
production of data, and for
simulation-based learning. According
to Cobb (1993, p.4), "the lab
approach accords with the movement
of statistics back towards its roots
in science, and with research in
education that demonstrates the
importance of active learning."
Additionally, the classroom/lab
setting allows students to access
the vast array of data available
through the Internet.
Social Science Reasoning Using
Statistics follows the
guidelines developed by the American
Statistical Association (ASA) and
the Mathematical Association of
America (MAA) which suggest that
teachers should:
Motivate students by showing
them statistics at work in real
applications, problems, cases, and
projects.
Use real data and statistical
computing (SPSS).
Downplay formal training in
probability in favor of intuitive
concepts of probability.
Foster active learning
Course
Objectives
The student will:
Understand basic
statistical reasoning.
Statistical methods
provide powerful analytic
tools for almost every
human enterprise that can
state its observations in
numbers. A critical
understanding of
statistics -- its
limitations as well as its
potentials -- is almost as
essential for living as is
the ability to read and
write.
Gain access to existing
knowledge by:
locating published
research in psychology
and statistics and
related fields
locating information
on particular topics and
issues in psychology
searching out
psychological data as
well as information
about the meaning of the
data and how they are
derived
Display command of
existing knowledge by
summarizing current
controversies in the
psychological literature
stating succinctly the
dimensions of current
psychological issues
explaining key
psychological and
statistical concepts and
describe how they can be
used
Display ability to draw
out existing knowledge by:
writing a precise
summary of a published
journal article
reading and
interpreting a
quantitative analysis,
including regression
results, reported in a
psychology journal
article
showing what
psychological and
statistical concepts and
principles are used in
psychological analyses
published in journal
articles
Learn by doing, i.e.,
manipulate real data using
SPSS (a statistical
computing program) and
explicate a number
economic controversies
that are currently in the
news, in a team setting.
PSY 138 is included
within ISU's Quantitative
Reasoning courses of the
General Education Program
and addresses the
following program
objectives:
I.
knowledge
of diverse human
cultures and the
physical and natural
world, allowing students
to
a. use theories and principal concepts,
both contemporary and
enduring, to understand
technologies, diverse
cultures, and the physical
and natural world
b. explain how the combination of the
humanities, fine arts,
natural and social
sciences, and technology
contribute to the quality
of life for individuals
and communities
II.
intellectual
and practical skills,
allowing students to
a. make
informed judgments
b. analyze data to examine research
questions and test
hypotheses
c.
report information
effectively and
responsibly
III.
personal
and social
responsibility, allowing
students to
a.
demonstrate ethical
decision making
b.
demonstrate the ability to
think reflectively
IV.
integrative
and applied learning,
allowing students to
Required There
is not a required
published textbook for
the course. Instead I
have put together a
required Reading
Packet that you
should download
the pdf here.
If you
would like to
supplement the PIP
packet there are lots
of good books about
statistics. Here are a
few that I recommend:
How to
Think About
Statistics,
by John Phillips
The Tao of
Statistics: A
Path to
Understanding
(with no math),
by Dana Keller
Everyday
Statistical
Reasoning,
by Timothy Lawson
Statistics
for the
Terrified,
by John Kranlzer
There are also many
free statistics
resources on the web.
Here are a just a
couple:
SPSS
(Release 22.0). - this
software will be available on
the classroom computers and on
most other campus lab
computers. You do NOT have to
purchase it for the class,
however if you want a copy for
your home computer, student
versions are available at the
student bookstores.
We may also use Microsoft
Office Programs: Word,
Excel, and Powerpoint
Meeting
Times
This class employs both
lecture and laboratory formats
(note: lab attendance is NOT
optional). The lab sections
are in DeGarmo Hall room 13
(in the basement). The large
lectures are in CVA
151.
Participation
Because this is an active
learning class, daily
attendance and active
participation with your
classmates in discussions,
problem solving, and computer
work is absolutely essential
if you are to master the key
statistical concepts taught in
this course. As a result,
participation is NOT
optional. You are expected to
attend and participate in
every class and lab. Because
you can't participate if you
do not attend, An official
university excused absence
will be considered.
Additional
Notes
The course contract is considered
final. The work necessary to obtain
the grade you desire has been
outlined here. No additional work
will be accepted to increase your
grade, outside of the extra credit
option listed below. Do not come to
me at semester's end asking if there
is some additional work you can do
to increase your grade. At
semester's end, there is none.
Some
Good Advice
Keep up with your reading
assignments. Do the homework.
Use class presentations as a
guide to the most important
material. Use your team as a
study group to work on
assignments outside of class.
Note: A major finding of
the Harvard Assessment
Seminars concerns the value
of small groups to enhance
students' learning:
"in every
comparison of how much
students learn when they
work in small groups with
how much they learn in large
groups or when they work
alone, small groups show the
best outcomes. Students who
study in small [study]
groups do better than
students studying alone. The
payoff comes is a modest way
for student achievement, as
measured by test scores. It
comes in a far bigger way on
measures of students'
involvement in courses,
their enthusiasm, and their
pursuit of topics to a more
advanced level. And students
overwhelmingly report one
additional benefit of small
group work. They point out
that the process of working
in a group, in a supervised
setting, teaches them
crucial skills. The skills
they learn include how to
move a group forward, how to
disagree without being
destructive or stifling new
ideas, and how to include
all members in a discussion.
Students should think twice
if they find themselves
spending all their time
working alone."
If You
Need Help...
Please visit me during my
office hours with any
questions you have. My job is
to help you learn. If you need
help, get it early; don't wait
until you are "so lost I don't
know what to ask!" If you
cannot make it to my regular
office hours then, please,
make an appointment with me.
Talk to me after class, call
me (438-2999), or e-mail me
at: jccutti@ilstu.edu.
Extra assistance
Any student needing to
arrange a reasonable
accommodation for a
documented disability should
contact Student Access and
Accommodation Services at
350 Fell Hall, 438-5853
(voice), 438-8620 (TDD).
Your grade will be determined
by weighting your performance
on a variety of different
sources:
In class labs:
Every class (except lab
exam days) will include a
lab. These labs will be
include both group and
individual exercises. Each
of the labs will be
described in a web page.
Included on each lab
webpage will be a "lab
worksheet." These
worksheets are MS Word
files into which you will
need to type (or in some
cases "copy" and "paste")
your answers into. At the
end of each lab period,
you should save your
worksheets to disk, and
upload it to
ReggieNet. Lab
instructors will take
attendance and 1 point of
each lab is linked to
attendance and
participation.
ReggieNet
Homework/Quizzes:
There will be a total of
10 on-line quizzes. The
ReggieNet system will then
record your grade in the
on-line gradebook module.
However, within the time
period allotted for a
homework quiz, you may
repeat a homework/quiz up
to three times. You should
know, however, that when
you retake the quiz all of
the questions may be
different than the last
time that you took the
quiz (testing the same
material but different
questions).
Exams: There
will be 8 exams: four in
the lab sections and four
in the lecture sections.
They are cumulative to the
extent that the material
from later parts of the
class build upon material
from the early parts. The
final in-class exam
(during finals week)
covers material from the
entire course. These exams
may include both
conceptual and
compuational questions.
The format will typically
be both multiple choice
and short answer. The
lecture exams will be
closed book exams. The
exams in labs will
typically be open
book/note exams, which
will often require the use
of the lab computers. More
information about each
exam will be given in
class.
Projects: There
will be one final project
for the course. The
project is designed to
apply the principles of
the course to a realistic
research project data
set. For the Final
Projects you will be
given a brief description
of a research project with
a set of data. Your task
will be to analyze the
data set and to write a
written summary of the
results of your analyses.
Project descriptions and
data sets will be posted
on the course web pages.
Ask me or your TA for help
on the projects if you
need it.
Grading Scheme
The grading scheme is not a
curve.
Each of the four lab
exams is worth a maximum
of 75 points (300 total)
In-class Exams 1, 2
& 3 are worth a
maximum of 75 points (225
total)
The cumulative final
(during finals week) is
worth a maximum of 150
points.
Your 10 homework/quizzes
are worth 10 points each
(100 total).
Your 25 labs are worth 5
points each (125 total). 1
point is linked to lab
participation.
The final project is
worth 100 points.
Therefore, there is a total
of 1000 possible points.
Your final semester grade is
determined as follows:
Performance
Grade
900-1000
A
800-899
B
700-799
C
600-699
D
0-599
F
You may gain up to 20
points of extra-credit.
Click
here for details
