CARROLL UNIVERSITY

PSY205B STATISTICS AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

FALL 2013

Lecture: Tuesdays, 6:00 - 9:35 (Rankin 207) Lab: Thursdays 6:00 8:50 (NH TC13)

PROFESSOR: Dr. Christopher May
OFFICE: Rankin 309B
EMAIL: cmay@carrollu.edu
PHONE: 262-524-7250
OFFICE HRS: M 2:30 - 3:50, W 1:30 - 3:00

Course Description:
This course teaches the data analysis procedures most widely used by researchers in the social and
behavioral sciences. Instructional emphasis will be on learning which statistic to use, how to perform the
data analyses and how best to communicate one's results. Students will gain extensive experience
collecting, analyzing, thinking about and using statistical data.

Prerequisites:
PSY 101

Texts:
Gravetter, F. J ., & Wallnau, L. B. (2013). Statistics for the behavioral sciences. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/Thomson CENGAGE Learning.

Best, J . (2004). More damned lies and statistics: How numbers confuse public issues. Berkeley, CA: University
of California Press. (available electronically through the library)

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the reasons for using statistics.
2. Articulate what statistics can and cannot do.
3. Describe the differences between inferential and descriptive statistics.
4. Create and read data graphs and tables.
5. Explain fundamental experimental design.
6. Evaluate quantitative claims in the popular press.
7. Better understand the results section of a journal article.
8. Analyze data using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and interpret SPSS output.

Statement on Liberal Learning from the AACU
A truly liberal education is one that prepares us to live responsible, productive, and creative lives in a
dramatically changing world. It is an education that fosters a well-grounded intellectual resilience, a disposition
toward lifelong learning, and an acceptance of responsibility for the ethical consequences of our ideas and
actions. Liberal education requires that we understand the foundations of knowledge and inquiry about nature,
culture and society; that we master core skills of perception, analysis, and expression; that we cultivate a respect
for truth; that we recognize the importance of historical and cultural context; and that we explore connections
among formal learning, citizenship, and service to our communities.

We experience the benefits of liberal learning by pursuing intellectual work that is honest, challenging, and
significant, and by preparing ourselves to use knowledge and power in responsible ways. Liberal learning is not
confined to particular fields of study. What matters in liberal education is substantial content, rigorous
methodology and an active engagement with the societal, ethical, and practical implications of our learning.
The spirit and value of liberal learning are equally relevant to all forms of higher education and to all students.

Because liberal learning aims to free us from the constraints of ignorance, sectarianism, and myopia, it prizes
curiosity and seeks to expand the boundaries of human knowledge. By its nature, therefore, liberal learning is
global and pluralistic. It embraces the diversity of ideas and experiences that characterize the social, natural,
and intellectual world. To acknowledge such diversity in all its forms is both an intellectual commitment and a
social responsibility, for nothing less will equip us to understand our world and to pursue fruitful lives.

The ability to think, to learn, and to express oneself both rigorously and creatively, the capacity to understand
ideas and issues in context, the commitment to live in society, and the yearning for truth are fundamental
features of our humanity. In centering education upon these qualities, liberal learning is society's best
investment in our shared future.

Assessment
I. Attendance & Assignments
This course will be taught as a flipped classroom. You will come into each class having some familiarity with
that days material and the majority of each class session will be dedicated to working through an assignment.
You will work through the assignment until you have arrived at both the correct solutions and the correct steps
to derive your solutions. Therefore, class attendance is absolutely essential. Attendance will be monitored by
the submission of assignments. If you miss a class, you may earn 33% of the credit for that day by submitting
the assignment within one week (note that it must be 100% correct to receive credit).

II. Daily Quizzes
You must read course material in advance. There will be a quiz each day assessing that you have come to class
prepared to fully participate in that days lesson and activities. Quizzes will also contain questions about
previous class material.

III. Exams
There will be five exams assessing your comprehension of course material and your ability to apply and
evaluate course material. After each exam, you will have the opportunity to gain up to 20% of your missed
points back by reworking problems.

IV. Final Exam
The Final Exam will be cumulative, and have the same format as regular exams.

V. Real World Statistics Blog
We will be reading J oel Bests More Damned Lies and Statistics. In preparation for discussion of a chapter in
the book, you are required to submit a blog post on the chapter in which you give an example of where youve
seen one of the issues mentioned in the chapter. You may have personally been fooled, seen somebody else
misinterpret or misuse statistics, or you can find a current example in the news. Grading is pass/fail. You either
clearly put in effort to find an appropriate example, or you did not. Blog posts for a chapter are due 24 hours
before the start of the class in which we will discuss it.






Assessment Weights Grading Scale
Attendance and Assignments 20% A 92.5 - 100
Reading Quizzes 15% AB 87.5 92.49
Exams 45% B 82.5 87.49
Final Exam 15% BC 77.5 82.49
Blog 5% C 69.5 77.49
D 59.5 69.49
F <59.5

Expectations of Students
A. I expect students to act in a professional and respectful manner in class at all times. This includes these
specific expectations:
1. You may only use your computer to take to notes in class. Doing otherwise pollutes and degrades
the class environment.
2. I do not have a cell phone policy, but please be considerate. I can see you. Be mindful of the
possible effects of cell phone use on both your neighbors and myself.
3. Please do not pack up before the class is over- it is disruptive to whomever is speaking and those
trying to listen.
B. In addition, I expect students to cultivate intellectually mature practices and habits of mind. These include:
1. Take ownership of your education.
2. If material in a book is difficult, re-read it. Ideas, arguments, or writings that are sophisticated and
worth grappling with are often hard to grasp on the first pass.
3. Confusion is not bad. Dont push away material simply because you find it confusing. Theres no
reason to expect that you should immediately get everything. Things that you can immediately
get dont stretch you. Come to see confusion as a signal that now some REAL learning can occur.
Build up confidence that with perseverance, confusion will yield to understanding.
4. Work to formulate questions to ask that will help resolve your difficulties.
5. I dont know is a starting point, not an ending point to inquiry.
6. If taking notes is preventing you from really listening to and reflecting on a lecture, stop. Notes
are meant to serve you; if you are a slave to your note-taking, then change or abandon that
practice. If you struggle with note taking, please see me. The library also offers helpful classes.
7. Look for the connections between material and your other interests. Computers hold facts better
than brains do. Brains see connections better than computers do. If anything about your future
career depended primarily on knowing facts, you would be replaced by a computer.
8. Be open-minded, yet skeptical. Be skeptical, but not cynical.
9. Aspire for constructive resolution of confusion or controversy, rather than simply negating or
dismissing ideas.
10. Ask questions.
11. Have fun- figure out ways to make material personally interesting and meaningful.

Additional Information
Accommodation for Disabilities Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, or
any student considering obtaining documentation should make an appointment with Ms. Marty Bledsoe,
Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, no later than the first week of class. She can be reached by
calling 524-7335 or contacting her via e-mail at mbledsoe@carrollu.edu.

Academic Support The Learning Commons, located in the bottom floor of the Library, offers tutoring,
writing assistance, and study skills assistance as well as group study rooms and places to study. For more
information, go to: www.carrollu.edu/Learningcommons/

Make-up Exams Make-up exams REQUIRE objective evidence/official documentation of the reason for
missing a regularly scheduled exam. I am happy to accommodate you when necessary, however missing an
exam should be a last resort. Make-ups are inconvenient both for instructors and for your classmates, who
would like their tests returned as soon as possible.

Modifications to the syllabus The instructor and Carroll University reserve the right to modify, amend, or
change the syllabus (course requirements, grading policy, etc.) as the curriculum and/or program require(s).

Statement on Academic Integrity The Carroll University Academic Integrity Policy is located in your
student handbook (pages 30-33). (http://www.carrollu.edu/studentlife/handbook.pdf). Please familiarize
yourself with it. If a student is found in violation of the Carroll University Academic Integrity Policy, the
instructor reserves the right to fail the student on the assignment/exam or even FAIL the student in the course.

Schedule
9/5 Course introduction; Surveys
9/10 Chapter 1 Introduction Surrounded by statistics
9/12 Chapter 2 Frequency Distributions
9/17 Chapter 3 Central Tendency Missing Numbers
9/19 Chapter 4 Variability
9/24 Review J ournal Article
9/26 EXAM 1 (Chs. 1 - 4); Corrections
10/1 Chapter 5 Z-scores Scary Numbers
10/3 Chapter 6 Probability
10/8 Chapter 7 Distribution of Sample Means Authoritative Numbers
10/10 Review
10/15 EXAM 2 (Chs. 5 7); Corrections
10/17 Chapter 8 Introduction to Hypothesis Testing
10/22 FALL BREAK
10/24 Chapter 9 Introduction to the t Statistic
10/29 Chapter 10 The t-test for Two Independent Samples Magical Numbers
10/31 Chapter 11 The t-test for Two Related Samples
11/5 Chapter 12 Introduction to Analysis of Variance; Review J ournal Article
11/7 EXAM 3 (Chs. 8 - 11); Corrections
11/12 Chapter 13 Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance Contentious Numbers
11/14 Chapter 14 Two Factor Analysis of Variance
11/19 Review J ournal Article
11/21 EXAM 4 (Chs. 12 - 14); Corrections
11/26 Chapter 15 Correlation
11/28 THANKSGIVING BREAK
12/3 Chapter 16 Introduction to Regression
12/5 Continuing Ch. 15 16 J ournal Article
12/10 EXAM 5 (Chs. 15-16); Corrections; Review for Final
12/17 FINAL EXAM