Course Description

An introductory statistics course is a required in most graduate programs.  The course generally deals with problems involving decision making in the face of uncertainty.  In this introductory statistics course students will learn about the elementary tools that are commonly used in making statistical decisions.  A major emphasis of the class is on explanation and understanding of the important concepts involved.  The basic theme of the course is the understanding of data and the methods used to analyze such data. 

A working knowledge of statistics is critical for conducting research in most fields as well as for understanding and evaluating research reported by others.  Even if one does not aspire to a research career, knowledge of general statistical principles and methods is important to be an intelligent consumer of the vast amounts of information that we deal with on a daily basis. Click on the link that follows to hear a greeting from the instructor of the class. A recent version of QuickTime is required to hear the message. A link is found for downloading QuickTime later in this syllabus. Greeting from Instructor. 

Objectives

By the conclusion of this course students should be able to do the following:

• Organize large collections of data by constructing frequency distributions.
• Summarize large collections of data by calculating measures of central tendency and measures of variability.
• Compute percentiles and percentile ranks from grouped and ungrouped data.
• Calculate measures of relationship between variables.
• Interpret measures of relationship between variables.
• Understand the various characteristics of the normal distribution.
• Calculate various forms of standard scores.
• Perform the steps of hypothesis testing for hypotheses involving means.
• Use computer mainframe programs to analyze data.

Required Textbook

Gravetter, F.J., Wallnau, L.B. (2000). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. 5th ed., Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

UNIT I -- Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

• Introduction to Statistics 1, 2, 3, 4
• Frequency Distributions
• Central Tendency
• Variability

Unit II -- Chapters 16, 5, 6, 7

• Correlation
• Simple Regression
• Normal Distributions and Standard Scores
• Probability
• Probability and Samples: Distribution of Sample Means

UNIT III -- Chapters 8, 9,10, 11

• Hypothesis Testing
• Introduction to the t statistic
• Hypothesis Testing With Two Independent Samples
• Hypothesis Testing With Related Samples

Technology Information

Each of the classes for Statistical Methods that was taught during a previous term was videotaped, digitized, and then made available on CDs for viewing by students.  These CDs will be sent to all students enrolled in the class prior to the start of each unit.  To view the approximately 28 hours of lecture material students must own or have access to a fairly fast computer with a CD drive.  Weekly messages will be sent to students during the course that will contain information regarding the class videos that should be viewed for a particular week as well as other activities that are recommended for that particular week.  To view the videos there is a need to have a recent version of QuickTime installed on the computer that will be used for viewing the updates.  Information is found on the Website for the class regarding how this free software may be downloaded.  Or, alternatively, refer to the technology requirements later in this document for a link to the Website where this application may be downloaded.  Finally, the CD for Unit #1 also contains information regarding how to download QuickTime. 

The computer to be used with this class must also have access to the Internet, preferable via a fast modem (56K or faster).  This access may also be a direct connection at a school or office.  The access is necessary to send and receive e-mail, to visit the class Website, and to view and listen to the weekly updates that will be made available each Monday morning during the semester the class is taught.  A listing of the general technical requirements for the class appears below. 

A Web site has been created for this course that is available on Blackboard, the course management system used at the University of Nebraska.  All students will access the site using a personal login and password that is assigned by the University Registrar.  Students will be expected to access the site on a regular basis to review numerous documents that have been posted, to read messages that have been placed on discussion forums, to complete quizzes, to "chat"with classmates (if interested), to access weekly updates for the class, to check progress, and to send e-mail messages to others who may be enrolled.  Students are strongly advised to explore the course Web site after enrolling in the class to learn how the site is organized, what resources are available, and where these resources are located. 

A variety of discussion forums will be periodically posted on Blackboard that will permit students to discuss topics that are relevant to the class.  All students are expected to post their thoughts regarding the topics, and read and react to the comments of others.  Further information regarding the communications area of Blackboard will be shared with students as part of the introduction to the course. 

Course Requirements

Students must complete three multiple-choice examinations and three quizzes for this class at the specified times.  Students enrolled in the class must contact the instructor before the scheduled time of an assessment if they have a very good reason for not completing it at its scheduled time.

Final course grades will be computed as follows:  Unit Exam #1, #2, and #3 = 30% each; composite score for the three scheduled quizzes that precede the unit exams = 10%.  After raw scores are determined for each of the assessments these scores will be transformed into T-scores and made available for review along with an estimated grade for the T-scores.  All of the assessments used in this class will be multiple choice. 

Each of the quizzes will precede the unit exams by five days.  Quizzes are to be completed on Blackboard and are "open book" and "open notes"with no time limit.  They are scheduled to be completed during a 24-hour period.  The unit exams are each proctored and are also completed online but using an eGrade system that will be discussed later in the course.  Unit exams must be completed between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM Central Time on designated days during the semester.  The unit exams normally contain 25-30 multiple-choice items, and a time limit of 150 minutes is normally set for completion of the exams.  These exams are also "open book"and "open notes." Questions are challenging and are written to determine student understanding, comprehension, and ability to apply, synthesize and evaluate statistical concepts. 

Teachers College Scholar-Practitioner Model

The Scholar-Practitioner Model that has been adopted by Teachers College has as one of its components the mentoring of graduate students to investigate important practical problems and to provide information that will enable these students to disseminate research results to varied audiences, and to test research findings in educational settings. This advanced level statistics class is one piece of the collection of courses designed to assist students in accomplishing this important objective.