CRJ/SOC/SWK 3600 Social Statistics Syllabus, Fall 2016 ONLINE

COURSE OUTLINE AND COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course will come from the material in Chapters 1 - 24 of the text. In addition, we will be watching some of the films from the series Against All Odds: Inside Statistics (you may use the hot link to obtain the library call number for the films)    The course outline follows the sequence of material addressed in the course objectives.  The course objectives are building blocks.   Thus, competence for each course objective is dependent on the students understanding of the previous objective.   Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to think critically about data, to select and use graphical and numerical summaries, to apply standard statistical procedures, and to draw conclusions from such analysis.

Readings	Course Objectives	Modules on Blackboard
See hot links Powerpoints	1. To understand basic statistical symbols. (for the projector)  To understand what type of chart (line, pie or bar) to employ in relationship to the data.	Module 1
Chap 1	2. To be able to picture and understand the shape of a distribution (central tendency and spread) by using a histogram , a stemplot, and a box plot.	Module 2,  Homework Quiz
Chap 2 & 3	3. To understand and calculate measures of central tendency including median, mean, mode, harmonic mean, and geometric mean, and related concepts of quartiles, range, z-score and standard deviation.	Module 3, Homework Quiz
See hot link >	4. To understand the notion of level of measurement including concepts as nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio, quasi interval, discrete, and continuous data	Module 4, Homework
Chap 3	5. To understand the concept of "distribution" which includes density curves, normal curves, the 69-95-99.7 rule and the standardization rule.	Module 5,
Chap 3	6. To understand and calculate relative frequencies, percentiles and quartiles.	Module 5, Homework Quiz
No Chapter	7. To appreciate the use of time series analysis by understanding seasonal variations and the process of smoothing data (especially, Moving Averages and Running Medians/Median Trace).	Module 6. Quiz
Chap 4	8. To understand growth patterns particularly linear and exponential growth.	Module 7.
Chap 4 & 5	9. To be able to analyze the relationship between two variables using a scatterplot and by adding an addition variable.	Module 8,  Homework
Chap 5	10. To be able to interpret and calculate correlation and appreciation its relationship to regression.	Module 9, Homework Quiz
Chap 6	11. To understand and apply the rules for establishing a causal relationship by analyzing associations and using Simpson's Paradox.	Module 10, Homework Quiz
Chap 8, 9	12. To be able to use and understand experimental designs by comparing them to observational studies, appreciating confounding factors, and accepting the importance of randomization.	Module 11, Homework
Chap 9	13. To understand how complex surveys are designed and how sampling effect distributions.	Module 12, Homework Quiz
Chap 10, 11, 12	14. To understand and apply probability rules (including the addition and multiplication rules).   For further information see Diaconis .	Module 13/4, Homework Quiz
Chap 13	15. To understand the use of binomial distributions and the law of large numbers.	Module 15, Homework Quiz
Chap 11	16. To understand the central limit theorem.	Module 16, Homework Quiz
Chap 15	17. To understand and calculate confidence intervals for samples.	Module 17, Homework Quiz
Chap 15, 16, 17	18. To understand the purpose of a significance test, type I/type II errors, P-values, and statistical significance.	Module 18, Homework Quiz
Chap 18	19. To understand and apply t-procedures for single and paired comparisons.	Module 19. Homework Quiz
Chap 19	20. To compare two means, two samples by using the t-test.	Module 20, Homework Quiz
Chap 20-21	21. To be able to produce an inference for proportions and two-way tables.	Module 21, Homework Quiz
Chap 23	22. To understand and apply c2 test and distribution.	Module 22, Homework Quiz
Chap 24	23. To have the basis for understanding and producing an inference for linear regression. 24. To understand the difference between statistical and practical significance.	Module 23, Homework
		Module 24, Quiz (final)

Required Text:  Moore, D. (2013).  The Basic Practice of Statistics

Handouts and Homework:

• Examples on Powerpoint and Handouts <-- These handouts will help you with the quizzes.  You may use them when take your quiz.

• Simpson Paradox Homework (Dealth Penalty) (doc) Simpson Paradox Homework (Hospital) (pdf)

• Z-score (MS-Excel -- use Explorer for best results)

• Home work for autocorrelation and 2SD approach (MS-Excel -- use Explorer for best results)

• Additional chapters to read (must use Adobe Acrobat Reader)

  • Chapter 26 -- Nonparametric Statistics
  • Chapter 27 -- Statistical Process Control (Key importance for nurses, CRJ majors, social workers)
  • Chapter 28 -- Multiple Regression
  • Chapter 29 -- More About ANOVA

*Although we have starting dates, students may begin the module before the starting date!

Key Issues: Videos can be found onYouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCki088a25OgP6k8wvmLPDQw

 Technical Support
This is the first time I have taught this course on Blackboard.  If you need to talk to me on the phone or Skype, please do so.  However, I cannot change the deadlines.
Problems with online material, connection with the Internet contact the DoIT Help Desk at 910 521-6260  or  helpdesk@uncp.edu or you may go to their webpage at http://www.uncp.edu/student-life/student-services/information-technology/students/doit-student-welcome-packet/doit-helpdesk

If you have problems with the videos, read the following:Visit YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCki088a25OgP6k8wvmLPDQw  If you have any problems please call the UNCP HelpDesk at 910-521-6260.

Attendance Policy:  Attendance will be addressed by the deadlines for the quizzes.   Students who do not complete the quiz prior to the deadline will have a 0 averaged into their quiz grades.  However, students will have an opportunity to catch up as outlined on Blackboard

Homework: Practice problems are outlined in each module.  The practice/homework problems will help prepare students for the quizzes.  The homework is a pass/fail grade. .

Notes (for online students)
The reason students must submit notes are twofold: 1) Students must have notes for the quizzes.  Yes, quizzes are open book and open notes!  The better your notes, the better your grades.  2) Students should keep these notes after graduation.   After graduation, it is NOT uncommon to be faced with a statistical problem.  Good notes will help you.  The rubric for notes can be found at http://www.marson-and-associates.com/syllabi/Notes.html

Some students ask the question, “How do I take notes?”   Note-taking was addressed in the Freshmen Seminar class.   Some students were able to waive this course.  If you need a refresher for note-taking, this video can help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvsf591rYWE .  Another question asked is: “What is expected from my notes?”  Your professor expects you to take comprehensive notes that address topics on the exam and issues that you are likely to face after graduation.  The rubric for how you will graded for your notes can be found at: http://www.marson-and-associates.com/syllabi/Notes.html

Notes must include two characteristics: 1) Students must submit typed notes that capture the essence of the topic being presented.   2) Students must use “Snipping Tool” to capture key points from the video.   If you are a Windows user and have no experience with “Snipping Tool,” watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLbCQkiqr-w . If you are a Mac user and have no experience with “Snipping Tool,” watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvflOcNjYps .

If your computer skills are weak, the fastest way to take notes is to create a table with two columns.  In the left column, write your notes.    In the right column, paste the material you captured from the video.

Office of Academic Excellence
Tutoring is available by subject with peer tutors who show proficiency in courses and have been trained in effective tutoring strategies.  The tutoring sessions can host up to five students per session.  To get the most effective results students should sign up for tutoring as soon as possible.  Students should also come to tutoring sessions with specific questions prepared regarding course material.  The more consistent the attendance to tutoring sessions, the better students will understand the material and perform at a higher level in class.  Sign up for tutoring in the Center for Academic Excellence office.  I will be available for tutoring.
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is available to assigned classes that present historically difficult material.  An SI Leader is an upperclassman, model student who has taken the course and shown proficiency, and has been trained in effective Supplemental Instruction leadership strategies.  An SI Leader is assigned to the course to attend all lecture sessions and host at least three study sessions per week for students to attend voluntarily.  SI sessions will provide supplemental material for students to use to improve their understanding of the course material.  SI sessions also provide an opportunity for students to ask questions, and gain insight from their classmates.  Students are encouraged to attend as frequently as possible to review the class material consistently.  The more frequent the attendance at SI Sessions, the better students will understand the material and perform in class.
The Resource Learning Lab offers computer based, self-paced tutoring in basic writing skills from composing sentences, paragraphs, and essays, to addressing common writing problems, basic reading comprehension, and word problem dissection.  These programs are 4 – 8 weeks long and offer non-credit, collectable test performance data on each student during their progression through our programs. The Resource Learning Lab also offers tutoring that improves academic study skills through self-help DVD’s, such as Values and Goals, Time Management, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, Active Listening and Note-Taking, Researching, Reading and Writing, and Studying and Test-Taking.  These programs are designed to enhance college-level reading comprehension and writing skills, and to improve the areas where students find they have deficiencies.  The Resource Learning Lab is available to all students, whether right out of high school or non-traditional students needing a refresher.

 Grading: All exams including final will receive an equal weight which will equal a total of 80% of the final grade.   Notes from the videos are worth 20%.  Grades are not negotiated. A grade will not be changed after the grade is given to the student.  In addition, since UNCP adopted pluses and minuses within the grading protocol, grades are NOT rounded.  Thus, if a student earns a grade of 73.999, that is valued as a C-.  On the other hand, if the professor makes a calculation error, students are expected to immediately report the error to the professor.   A 93-100; A- 90-92;  B+ 87-89;  B 83-86;  B- 80-82;  C+ 77-79;  C 73-76;   C- 70-72;  D+ 67-69;  D 63-66;  D- 60-62; F 0-59

 

Calculator Recommentation: In my experience, I found that the Sharp Corporation offers the best Scientific Calculators.   One way of testing a calculator is by finding the square of -5.   If your answer is -25, don't purchase the calculator.  

 

Students with Disabilities: 

Any student with a documented learning, physical, chronic health, psychological, visual or hearing disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak directly to Disability Support Services and the instructor, as early in the semester (preferably within the first week) as possible.  All discussions will remain confidential.  Please contact Disability Support Services, DF Lowry Building, Room 103 or call 910-521-6695910-521-6695. This publication is available in alternative formats upon request.  Please contact Disability Support Services, DF Lowry Building; phone is 910-521-6695910-521-6695.
Any student who intends to request, or has requested,  special consideration for a reasonable accommodation due to a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act is directed to notify the professor within the first day of scheduled classes that they intend to make, or have made, such a request.

 

If additional information is desired, this is the link to the university's office of disability support services: http://www.uncp.edu/student-services/accessibility-resource-center/about-accessibility-resource-center/students/accessing-academic-accommodations-current-students/accommodations-process-disability-support-services

 Religion Statement:
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has a legal and moral obligation to accommodate all students who must be absent from classes or miss scheduled exams in order to observe religious holidays; we must be careful not to inhibit or penalize these students for exercising their rights to religious observance.    To accommodate students’ religious holidays, each student will be allowed two excused absences each semester with the following conditions:
1. Students, who submit written notification to their instructors within two weeks of the beginning of the semester, shall be excused from class or other scheduled academic activity to observe a religious holy day of their faith.  Excused absences are limited to two class sessions (days) per semester. 
2. Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up tests or other work missed due to an excused absence for a religious observance.
3.Students  should not  be penalized due to absence from class or other scheduled academic activity because of religious observances.  
A student who is to be excused from class for a religious observance is not required to provide a second-party certification of the reason for the absence.   Furthermore, a student who believes that he or she has been unreasonably denied an education benefit due to religious beliefs or practices may seek redress through the student grievance procedure. 

 

Suggested References:
Napier, A., Judd, P. J. & Rand, B. (2002). Mastering and Using Microsoft Excel 2002. Boston, Thomson Learning.
Berk, K.N. & Cary, P. (1998). Data Analysis with Microsoft Excel. Pacific Grove, CA: Duxbury.
Middleton, M. R. (2003). Data Analysis Using Excel. Pacific Grove, CA: Duxbury.


Statistical Dictionaries:
http://www.uvm.edu/~dhowell/StatPages/Fundamentals/Glossary.html,
http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/glossary/alphabet.html,
http://linkage.rockefeller.edu/wli/glossary/stat.html,
http://www.oswego.edu/~kane/econometrics/glossaries.htm,
http://www.xrefer.com/search.jsp

BIBLIOGRAPHY
General References
• Bloom, M., Fischer, J. & Orme, J. G. (2009). Evaluation Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Chambers, J.M. (1983). Graphical methods for data analysis. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth. QA276.3 .G73 1985
• Charts, Graphs and Stats Index. (1988/1991). Fort Atkinson, Wis.: Highsmith Press, 1992. AI3 .C43 1988-91
• Gordon, S. & Gordon, F. (1992). Statistics For The Twenty-First Century. Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America. HA35 .S72 1992
• Hoaglin, D C. & Moore D. S. (1992). Perspectives On Contemporary Statistics. Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America. QA276.18 .P47 1992
• Jaisingh, L. R., (2000). Statistics for the Utterly Confused. New York: Graw-Hill.
• Kanji, G.K. (1993). Statistical Tests. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ref QA 277.K35 1995
• Kendall, M. G. (1986). A Dictionary of Statistical Terms. New York: the International Statistical QA276.14 .K46 1986
• Knapp, T. R. (1996).  Learning Statistics Through Playing Cards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. QA 276.12  .K597 1996.
• Kruskal W.H. and Tanur, J. M. (1978). International Encyclopedia Of Statistics. New York: Free Press, 1978. HA17 .I63 v. 1 HA17 .I63 v. 2
• Kurtz, A. K. (1967). Statistical dictionary of terms and symbols New York, Hafner Pub. Co. HA17 .K83 1967
• Madison, B. L. (1990). A Challenge Of Numbers. Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1990. QA13 .M14 1992
• Marriott, F. H. C. (1991). A Dictionary Of Statistical Terms. Burnt Mill, England: International Statistical Institute. HA17 .K4 1991
• Moore, D. (1997). Statistics: Concepts and Controversies. New York: Freeman.
• Owen, D. B. (1962). Handbook Of Statistical Tables. Reading, Mass., Addison-Wesley. HA48.O9
• Phillips, J. L., (1988). How to Think About Statistics New York : W.H. Freeman. HA29 .P517 1988
• Rowntree, D. (1981). Statistics Without Tears: A Primer for Non-mathematicians / New York : Scribner QA276.12 .R68 1981
• Ryan, J. M. (1991). Handbook Of Statistical Procedures And Their Computer Applications To Education And The Behavioral Sciences. New York: American Council on Education LB1028.R93 1991
• Schmid, C.F. (1983). Statistical Graphics: Design Principles And Practices New York : Wiley. QA276.3 .S35 1983
• Sen, P. K. (1989). Beyond The Traditional Frontiers Of Statistical Sciences. Chapel Hill, N.C. : Dept. of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. NC Documents-Fiche G68 3:1861
• Tufte, E. R. (1983). The Visual Display Of Quantitative Information. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press, 1983. QA276.3 .T83 1985
• Tufte, E. R. (1990). Envision Information. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press.
• Tufte, E. R. (1997). Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press.
• White, J. V. (1984). Using Charts and Graphs: 1000 Ideas for Visual Persuation. R.R. Bowker Company.


References that influence the direction of this course (books used while I was a student)

• Andrews, F. M. et al., (1981). A Guide for Selecting Statistical Techniques for Analyzing Social Science Data. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center.
• Blalock, H.M. (1997). Social Statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Bohnrnstedt, G.W. & Knoke D. (1982). Statistics for Social Data Analysis. Itasca, Il: F.E. Peacock.
• Glass, G.V. & Stanley, J. C. (1970). Statistical Methods in Education and Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Campbell, D.T. & Stanley, J.C. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
• Kluch, H. E. (1970). Statistics: The Essentials for Research. New York: John Wiley.
• Keppel, G. (1982). Design and Analysis: A Research Handbook. Englewood, Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Loether, H.J. & McTavish, D.G. (1980). Descriptive and Inferential Statistics: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Mendenhall, W., Ott, L., & Larson, R.F. (1974). Statistics: A Tool for the Social Sciences. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Siegal, S. & Castellan, N.J. (1988). Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (1983). Using Multivariate Statistics. New York: Harper & Row.
  

Proctoring Statement

 The University of North Carolina at Pembroke may require proctored exams for online courses. This means that an approved person or proctor will monitor a student during a test or exam.  Each instructor decides the use of proctored exams, and the course syllabus will specify the exams or tests that require proctoring.  UNC Pembroke online students, if required by their instructors, may arrange to have their tests or exams proctored by an approved proctor (individual or organization) located in close proximity to them.  For ease in identifying approved proctors, UNC Pembroke participates in the UNC Online Proctoring Network.  This Network has been established to enhance the academic integrity of online courses by providing students with an accessible pool of approved proctors located within as well as outside the state of North Carolina. The UNC Online Proctoring Network includes proctors who do not charge as well as proctors who do charge for their services. Students are responsible for payment of any proctoring fees if they choose to utilize a proctor who charges for this service.  Students are also responsible for any parking fees that may be associated with their use of a particular proctor. Since the quizzes for this course are opened-book and open notes, no proctors will be needed.