Syllabus Psy 275; Geher; Fall 2014

Syllabus for Statistics FALL 2014

Psychological Statistics

SUNY New Paltz

Fall 2014

Professor:  Glenn Geher

• Office: JFT 314A

FALL OFFICE HOURS (beginning Thursday, 8/21; ending Friday, 12/19)
Tuesdays (11:30-1:30)*
Wednesdays (12:30-2:30)
Thursdays (11:30-1:30)*
Fridays (1:00-3:00)
*for these hours, an appointment via Psych secretary Jane Lehman (lehmanj@newpaltz.edu; 257.3470) is needed;
 
for non-asterisked hours, no appointment is needed or taken – these are “open” or “walk-in” hours.

• Office phone number: 257-3091

• E-mail:  geherg@newpaltz.edu

• Web address: http://www.glenngeher.com

Required Materials

• Geher, G., & Hall, S. (2014). Statistics: A No-Frills Approach. New York: Oxford University Press.

Other required materials:  a calculator with a square root function (not your cell phone, please!!!). NO – NOT YOUR CELL PHONE!

Course Description:

Welcome to Psychology 80275, Psychological Statistics.  Prepare for a fun time! Believe it or not, understanding statistics is important for lots of reasons. Primarily, understanding statistical concepts and specific formulas will provide you with a very useful and interesting way of understanding the world — what could be more important than that? In addition, having a solid understanding of statistics is necessary for many careers in psychology, as well as for careers in several other fields such as economics, sociology, insurance, forestry, etc.

Statistics is different from all of the other courses offered in the psychology department in that there are right answers. Statistics can be challenging, but, as you will see, statistics can also be enjoyable. In this course, you will learn several different statistical methods – in terms of both conceptual frameworks and specific formulas. In addition, you will learn how to perform several statistical analyses using some awesome statistical software.  I told you this was going to be fun!

 Course Requirements:

 1.  Four Exams (64% of total course grade); There will be four examinations consisting of both problems and short answers.  Exams 1-3 will each count toward 15% of your course grade.  The final exam will count toward 19% of the final grade.

2.  Homework problems(24% of final grade):  Twelve homework assignments will be assigned throughout the semester.  Each will count toward 2% of the final grade.  Home work assignments will be handed in during lab.  Each assignment will be due at the beginning of the subsequent week’s lab (as noted in the lab manual for this course).

3.  Computer assignments(12% of final grade):  During 4 labs, in addition to going over homework, you will be given relevant computer assignments that will each count for 3% of your final grade.  These assignments will be due at the beginning of the subsequent week’s lab.

4.  Extra Credit for Research Participation in Psychology Department Human Subject Pool (up to 12 points added to final examination grade).

 You can earn up to 12 extra-credit points added to your final examination grade in this class by participating in research conducted through the Psychology Department Human Subject Pool.  Each study counts for a certain number of credits.  For every credit you receive, a point will be added to your final exam grade.  You may obtain up to 12 credits total.

To sign up for extra-credit opportunities, go to:

http://newpaltz.sona-systems.com/

See the Subject Pool Coordinator (in JFT 302) for details on the process.

Or email: psychsubjectpool@newpaltz.edu

Grading:  Grades for all examinations and assignments will be converted to percentages. The following equation will be used to determine your final grade:

 (Exam 1 * .15) + (Exam 2 * .15) + (Exam 3 * .15) +

(Final exam * .19) +

(Homework assignment 1 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 2 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 3 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 4 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 5 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 6 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 7 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 8 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 9 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 10 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 11 * .02) +

(Homework assignment 12 * .02) +

(Computer assignment 1 * .03) +

(Computer assignment 2 * .03) +

(Computer assignment 3 * .03) +

(Computer assignment 4 * .03)

= Final grade.

Your final grade will be on a scale from 0 to 100.  Final grades will be converted to letter grades using the following criteria:

94 – 100 = A

90 – 93  = A-

87 – 89  = B+

84 – 86  = B

80 – 83  = B-

77 – 79  = C+

74 – 76  = C

70 – 73  = C-

67 – 69  = D+

64 – 66  = D

60 – 63  = D-

Below 60 = F

 


Calendar(Week of):
Topic/Chapter
8/25 Welcome to class. Read syllabus in full
9/1 Chapter 1: Inferential vs. Descriptive Statistics
9/8 Chapter 2: Basic Descriptive Statistics and Graphical representations of frequency
 
9/15 Chapter 3: Z-Scores – Standardized Units
9/22  Chapter 4: Correlation
.
9/29 
EXAM 1; 9.29; (on Chapters 1-4); Chapter 5: Start Bivariate Regression
10/6 Chapter 5: More regression; start Chapter 6 (ingredients of inferential stats)
10/13 (NO CLASS)
10/15 Chapter 6: Ingredients of Inferential Stats
 10/20  EXAM 2 (on Chapters 5, 6); 10/23; Start Chapter 7 this week
10/27 Continue Chapter 7: Hypothesis testing with N = 1; Start Chapter 8
11.3 Chapter 8: Hypothesis Testing with N > 1; Start Chapter 9
 11.10 Chapter 9: Power and Effect Size; EXAM 3 (on Chapters 7, 8, 9) 11.13
11.17 Chapter 10: One-Sample t-test; Dependent-Means t-test
11.24 Chapter 11: Independent-Means t-test
12/1 Chapter 12; ANOVA
 
  12/8
Chapter12; ANOVA
FINAL EXAM Chapters 10, 11, 12; 12/18 (Th); 12:30-2:30

Course policies:

1.  Cheating.  DO NOT CHEAT.  Any student caught cheating on an exam will automatically fail that exam and, perhaps, the course. In addition, his or her name will be reported to the administration. BIG FAT TROUBLE – I’m totally serious.

 2.  Plagiarism.  Plagiarism occurs when material is taken from a source without proper citation.  If you quote something directly (i.e., if you use another authors EXACT WORDS), you must use quotation marks.  If you borrow an idea and reword it, you must report your source.  Any student caught plagiarizing will automatically fail the assignment and, perhaps, the course.  In addition, his or her name will be reported to the administration. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.

Note that some of the lab assignments for this course require you to collect data in groups. Importantly, for each such assignment, each individual person is required to hand in his or her own unique paper. In other words, the writing of the paper is to be done by you alone. See me if you need help. Instances in which multiple students submit assignments with identical wording of at least one entire sentence will result in punitive outcomes for said students. Again, BIG FAT TROUBLE – totally serious.

3.  Missing exams.  A make-up exam may be given if there are extenuating circumstances AND it (the make-up exam) is officially scheduled before the scheduled examination. If such circumstances are shown to exist, you may be able to take a make-up exam. Special arrangements will be made as to the time and place of any make-up exams. If a student requests a make-up exam after the scheduled examination, and especially extenuating circumstances (e.g., a serious illness) are demonstrated to exist, scheduling of a make-up exam might be considered.

4.  Late assignments.  All homework and lab assignments will be due at the beginning of lab on the week after the assignments are given out. None of these assignments will be accepted late. Any assignment that is not handed in on time will be assigned a grade of 0.

5.  A note on “Lab Switching”

To reduce confusion and keep the lab instructors’ responsibilities organized, it is most important that students attend only their assigned laboratory sections. To ensure such behavior on the part of students, please note that your homework and computer assignments will only be accepted under the following conditions:

A.  They are handed in by you personally (i.e., not by a friend).

B.  They are handed in at the meeting of the laboratory section in which you are officially enrolled. Exceptions to this rule will not be made unless extreme extenuating circumstances are shown to exist and students seeking exceptions obtain Glenn’s approval beforehand.

6. Electronic Devices. All electronic devices must be turned completely off during examinations. “Electronic devices” in this context refer to Blackberries, i-phones, i-pods, cell phones, beepers, Sony Playstations, etc. Any student caught with an electronic device operating during an examination may automatically fail the course and have his or her name reported to the administration. Further, such items are NOT to be USED during class. Texting and surfing the web during lecture make it difficult for me to concentrate as I teach. Please, have a heart!

 7.  Attendance policy.  You are encouraged to attend this class.  Doing so can only help your grade. Attendance is not mandatory.

8.  SUNY New Paltz’s ADA Policy Statement

 Students with documented physical, learning, psychological and other disabilities are entitled to receive reasonable accommodations.  If you need classroom or testing accommodations, please contact the Disability Resource Center (Student Union Building, Room 205, 257-3020).  The DRC will provide forms verifying the need for accommodation.  As soon as the instructor receives the form, you will be provided with the appropriate accommodations. Students are encouraged to request accommodations as close to the beginning of the semester as possible. See the following link for my official statement on ADA issues:

http://www.newpaltz.edu/~geherg/undergrad/disability.htm

9. Additional issues

When creating course guidelines, I make every effort to come up with policies that are fair and comprehensive. At times, situations arise that are not fully covered vis a vis these policies. Note that exceptions and alterations to the policies and content of this syllabus are highly unlikely – but they may be possible under certain conditions.

As a teacher I feel that my role is to help you learn, not to grade you, so please feel free to come see me or call me throughout the term if you have any concerns or questions. I mean it. Have a great semester.