Basic Statistics for Psychology (Psyc 2317-202)
 
Spring 2010

Course Description:
Introduces practical knowledge of statistical reasoning, from descriptive statistics such as histograms, measures of central tendency, variability, and correlation, to inferential statistics including, probability theory, hypothesis testing, effect size, t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression, and chi square, which are essential for understanding scientific reports in psychology and cognitive science. Students enrolled in this class must obtain a "C" or better to enroll in PSYC 3302. Prerequisite: PSYC 2301 or permission of instructor.

In this Course You Should Gain the Following:
1. Ability to understand and explain to others the statistical analysis in reports of social and behavioral science research journals.
2. The ability to identify the appropriate statistical procedures for basic quantitative research, and to carry out the necessary computations.
3. The ability to apply and utilize statistical concepts in designing, executing, and interpreting psychological experimental research.
4. Further development of your quantitative and analytic thinking skills.
5. A preparation for more advanced courses in statistical and research methods (or experimental psychology).

Methods of Learning:
1. Reading the assigned material, which includes following the numeric examples closely and writing down questions about anything not entirely clear to you.
2. Reading statistics requires close study and rereading, not just reading through once as you might an ordinary book.
3. Testing your knowledge and reviewing each lecture using your Student's Study Guide and Workbook, and visiting the book's Official Web Page for learning aids (e.g., Exams Questions).
4. Completing the assigned practice problems. Statistics is a skill--it is necessary to DO statistics, not just read and understand!
5. Attending lectures, listening closely, asking questions. DO NOT fall behind!
6. Studying for, taking, and reviewing answers for exams.
7. Improving your understanding of statistics by using statistical software such as SPSS (available at the computer labs), and MyStat (a free of charge stats program for students). Better yet, use PSPP, OpenStat, or Gnumeric which are Free GNU/Open Source applications. Take advantage of your FREEDOM and choose among other statistical programs available here.

Required Texts and Statistical Computer Program:
Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Coups, E. J. (2008). Statistics for the behavioral and social sciences: A brief course (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Aron, A., & Aron, E. N. (2008). Study guide and computer workbook for statistics for the behavioral sciences  (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Huff, D. (1993). How to lie with statistics. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company Inc.
PSPP a program for statistical analysis (a Free replacement for the proprietary program SPSS) which can be downloaded from here for Windows users, or here for Mac users.

Calculator: Inexpensive Calculator with X² (2² = 4) and SQR-Root Number Capabilities. You must have your own calculator!

Policies of the College of Arts and Sciences:

Classroom Behavior:
The College of Arts and Sciences  encourages classroom discussion and academic debate as an essential intellectual activity. It is essential that students learn to express and defend their beliefs, but it is also essential that they learn to listen and respond respectfully to others whose beliefs they may not share. The College will always tolerate diverse, unorthodox, and unpopular points of view, but it will not tolerate condescending or insulting remarks. When students verbally abuse or ridicule and intimidate others whose views they do not agree with, they subvert the free exchange of ideas that should characterize a university classroom. If their actions are deemed by the professor to be disruptive, they will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, which may include being involuntarily withdrawn from the class. 

Warning Concerning Copyright Restrictions:
The Copyright Act of 1976 grants to copyright owners the exclusive right to reproduce their works and distribute copies of their work. Works that receive copyright protection include published works such as a textbook. Copying a textbook without permission from the owner of the copyright may constitute copyright infringement. Civil and criminal penalties may be assessed for copyright infringement. Civil penalties include damages up to $100,000; criminal penalties include a fine up to $250,000 and imprisonment.

Copyright laws do allow students and professors to make photocopies of copyrighted materials under strict conditions.  You may not copy most, much less all, of a work, but you may copy a limited portion of a work, such an article from a journal or a chapter from a book.  These copies must be for your own personal academic use or, in the case of a professor, for personal, limited classroom use.  In general, the extent of your copying should not suggest that the purpose or the effect of your copying is to avoid paying for the materials.  And, of course, you may not sell these copies for a profit.  Thus, students who copy textbooks to avoid buying them or professors who provide photocopies of textbooks to enable students to save money are both violating the law.

Plagiarism and Cheating:
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work as your own. 1) When you borrow someone else’s facts, ideas, or opinions and put them entirely in your own words, you must acknowledge that these thoughts are not your own by immediately citing the source in your paper.  Failure to do this is plagiarism. 2) When you also borrow someone else’s words (short phrases, clauses, or sentences), you must enclose the copied words in quotation marks as well as citing the source.  Failure to do this is plagiarism. 3) When you present someone else’s paper or exam (stolen, borrowed, or bought) as your own, you have committed a clearly intentional form of intellectual theft and have put your academic future in jeopardy. This is the worst form of plagiarism. 

Plagiarism, as defined by the Manual of The American Psychological Association (2010, 6th ed.): Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotations marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you need to credit the source in the text. The key element of this principle is that authors do not present the work of another as if it were their own words. This can extend to ideas as well as written words. If authors model a study after one done by someone else, the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a study was suggested in the Discussion section of someone else's article, the person should be given credit. Given the free exchange of ideas, which is very important for the health of intellectual discourse, authors may not know where an idea for a study originated. If authors do know, however, they should  acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications (pp. 15-16).

Consult the Writing Center or a recommended guide to documentation and research such as the Manual of the APA or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for guidance on proper documentation.  If you still have doubts concerning proper documentation, seek advice from your instructor prior to submitting a final draft.

Penalties for Plagiarism:  Should a faculty member discover that a student has committed plagiarism, the student will receive a grade of 'F' in that course and the matter will be referred to the Honor Council for possible disciplinary action.  The faculty member, however, has the right to give freshmen and sophomore students a “zero” for the assignment and to allow them to revise the assignment up to a grade of “F” (50%) if they believe that the student plagiarized out of ignorance or carelessness and not out of an attempt to deceive in order to earn an unmerited grade.  This option is not available to juniors, seniors, or graduate students, who cannot reasonably claim ignorance of documentation rules as an excuse.

Penalties for Cheating:  Should a faculty member discover a student cheating on an exam or quiz or other class project, the student will receive a “zero” for the assignment and not be allowed to make the assignment up.  The incident must be reported to the chair of the department and to the Honor Council.  If the cheating is extensive, however, or if the assignment constitutes a major grade for the course (e.g., a final exam), or if the student has cheated in the past, the student should receive an “F” in the course, and the matter should be referred to the Honor Council.  Under no circumstances should a student who deserves  an “F” in the course be allowed to withdraw from the course with a “W.” A new grade to denote academic dishonesty is now available, a “M” for “Academic Misconduct.” It has the same effect as an “F” but will indicate on the transcript that the failure was due to academic misconduct.

Student Right of Appeal:  Faculty will notify students immediately via the student’s TAMIU e-mail account that they have submitted plagiarized work.  Students have the right to appeal a faculty member’s charge of academic dishonesty by notifying the TAMIU Honor Council of their intent to appeal as long as the notification of appeal comes within 3 business days of the faculty member’s e-mail message to the student.  The Student Handbook provides details.

Students with Disabilities:
Texas A&M International University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal education opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Director of Student Counseling and to contact the faculty member in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations.

Incompletes:
The College policy for Incompletes discourages them.  They are appropriate, however, when the following requirements are met: The student cannot complete the class because of a severe illness to self or immediate family member at the very end of the semester (after the date for withdrawal from class) or because of a traumatic event in the student’s life (e.g., death of or serious injury or illness to an immediate family member) at the end of the semester, AND The student is passing the class at the time he or she cannot complete the semester, AND The student has completed either 85-90% of the course requirements or is missing only major assignments due after the final date for withdrawal from class and after the onset of the illness or traumatic event (e.g., assignments such as the final exam for the course or a research paper), AND, finally, The faculty member must have the approval of the department chair before giving an Incomplete.

Independent Study Courses:
Independent Study (IS) courses are offered only under exceptional circumstances. The chair of the department is to determine whether the IS will be offered on the basis of the student's and the University's needs, as certified by the University Registrar. No student will take more than one IS course per semester. Moreover, IS courses are limited to seniors and graduate students. Summer IS course must continue through both summer sessions.

Student Responsibility for Dropping a Course:
It is the responsibility of the STUDENT to drop the course before the final date for withdrawal from a course. Faculty members, in fact, may not drop a student from a course.

Grade Changes & Appeals:
Faculty are authorized to change final grades only when they have committed a computational error, and they must receive the approval of their department chairs and the dean to change the grade. As part of that approval, they must attach a detailed explanation of the reason for the mistake. Only in rare cases would another reason be entertained as legitimate for a grade change. A student who is unhappy with his or her grade on an assignment must discuss the situation with the faculty member teaching the course. If students believe that they have been graded unfairly, they have the right to appeal the grade using a grade appeal process in the Student Handbook and the Faculty Handbook.

UConnect, TAMIU E-Mail & Dusty Alert:
Personal Announcements sent to students through TAMIU’s UConnect Portal and TAMIU E-mail. is the official means of communicating course and university business with students and faculty – not the U.S. Mail and not other e-mail addresses. Students and faculty must check their TAMIU e-mail accounts regularly, if not daily. Not having seen an important TAMIU e-mail message from a faculty member, chair, or dean is not accepted as an excuse for failure to take important action. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to sign-up for Dusty Alert.  Dusty Alert is an instant cell phone text-messaging system allowing the university to communicate immediately with you if there is an on-campus emergency, something of immediate danger to you, or a campus closing.

About exams:
1. Each of the four exams will cover only the material since the last exam (except to the extent that the previous material is necessary for understanding the new).
2. Exams will be multiple choice and short answer essays requiring conceptual understanding of statistical principles necessary in experimental research.
3. The final Examination will be comprehensive and will contain a written component. The written component will comprise 20% of the final exam grade. Exceptions to this policy must receive the approval of the department chair and the dean at the beginning of the semester.

Make-ups:
Since the lowest exam grade will be dropped, no Make-ups will be allowed (Note: The Final Exam cannot be dropped).

About important issues related to class, and assignments:
1. Class starts on time.
2. Cellular phones should be turned off and put away. Students will be asked to leave classroom if phones ring during lecture or student is activaly using/checking phone.
3. All assignments and requirements must be completed by the start of the final exam to pass the course.
4. To better appreciate and learn the methods of psychology, you are required to participate in 1 on-going psychological experiment. Students with learning, visual, or hearing disabilities are exempt from this requirement. This exemption also applies to participants that may not meet the specific requirements of the particular experiment or study. As an alternative, if you do not wish to participate in psychological experiments, you can write two 4-5 paged review of a journal article. Please discuss this possibility with your professor.

Extra-Credit:
You can earn extra points by participating in ongoing research projects, provided that you meet the requirements of the particular experiment. These requirements are determined by the investigator of the particular study. After you complete the required experiment (1 hour), you will earn 2 extra points for every additional hour (up to 3 hours) that you participate.

Summary:
Points will accumulate over the semester such that there will be:

Total possible points: 215 pts.

A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, F =59% and below

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

NOTE: The above schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

Related websites of interest to the student:
Tips on how to take Multiple Choice Exams: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~haw4/test.html

Computer Statistical Programs that are Completely Free (as in Freedom):
|STAT; OpenStat; InStat; Gnumeric, PSPP

Important sites for Free Statistical Software Programs:
Free Statistics; Freee.Statistics; Free Software; Peanut Software; StatSci.org; Statistics.com; StatLib; Spreadsheets, Graphics

Lectures, Articles, & Books on Statistics:
On-Line Books, Software; On-Line Lecture: Linear Models; On-Line Multivariate Statistics; On-Line Lecture: Logistic Regression; On-Line book on Maximum Likelihood; On-line: Life Data Analysis; On-line Text: Visual Statistics; Articles on Statistics; Test/Scale Construction; Lectures: Statistics Concepts; Evaluation Personnel; Assessment, Research & Evaluation; Statistical Services Centre.

Other Related Topics:
Statistics & Research I & II; Statistics for Psychology & Research;  Statistics Explained I, II, & III;  An Excellent Statistics Book; Package for GPS Deformation; Nonparametric Statistics; T-test, Factorial Designs; Statistical Significance; Social Research Methods

Practice, Do & Learn:
Vista Program: Visual Statistics; Learning Statistics; Statistical Data; Java Statistics

More Statistics:
Statistics on the web: http://www.crestcapital.com/tax/business_statistics.html
http://www.psychologie.uni-trier.de:8000/projects/gpower.html

WANT TO PRACTICE AND READ MORE ABOUT STATISTICS? TRY THE FOLLOWING SITES:
http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/glossary/
http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/glossary/alphabet.html
http://www.uvm.edu/%7Edhowell/StatPages/Fundamentals/Glossary.html
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/statglos/statglos.htm
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/ascodesc/statdesc.htm
http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html

FOR FREE (OPEN SOURCE) SOFTWARE (Linux, Macintosh, & Windows) VISIT MY WEB PAGE
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