Backwards Design Course Template

Instructor Name: Tien Ung

Overarching understandings
what should students understand by the end of this course? 1) The purpose of a study determines the statistical analysis plan 2) Research data are organized and manipulated in matrix format and the way that data are measured determines what type of question can be asked 3) The assumptions underlying multivariate analyses determine the strength, reliability, and validity of the findings 4) Power determines how strong the results of a study are 5) Statistical software programs only compute statistical analyses, users must interpret the outcomes and examine the quality of the evidence 6) - Research in social work is a practice endeavor and must therefore be guided by standards of ethics.

Learning goals
what should students be able to do by the end of this course? Pose a research question; transform the question into a hypothesis; identify and justify a reliable and valid research design using multivariate analysis Test assumptions across bivariate and multivariate analyses Evaluate the quality of ones data (e.g., match it to the type of question/inquiry and determine what best statistical analysis is indicated)

Evidence
what evidence will show that students have met the course goals? Bi-weekly low cost graded reviews of pertinent content Homework assignments relevant to the statistical test being reviewed (e.g., create a flowchart or outline detailing student decision making process as it pertains to an analytic plan for a specified research question, manipulating data, and computing analysis) Critical analysis of one empirical study

Summarizing notes posted in the Execute the analysis in SPSS, discussion boards extract the relevant information from 2009 Academic Technology, Simmons College SPSS output, interpret the relevant Responding to help questions posed by \Blended Learning\Blended ID Consult\Redesign documents\course design template.doc information numerically and other students on the help discussion graphically board Draw conclusions about the posed

hypothesis and determine how to summarize and share the findings of the analysis using a combination of tables, graphs, and narrative descriptions Critically analyze the empirical literature on a specified topic of students choice

Course Topic: Introduction to Multivariate Statistics

2009 Academic Technology, Simmons College \Blended Learning\Blended ID Consult\Redesign documents\course design template.doc