Psychology 3800G-001

Psychological Statistics Using Computers

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

This course covers most statistical procedures used in psychological research, and the use and interpretation of SPSS for Windows. Topics covered include the t test, various forms of analysis of variance, chi-square, bivariate and multiple regression and correlation, factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and Monte Carlo methods.

Antirequisite: Psychology 3830F/G

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

Prerequisites: Psychology 2810, plus registration in third or fourth year of Honours Specialization in Psychology or Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Psychology Majors and Psychology Special Students who earn 70% or higher in Psychology 2820E or 60% or higher in Psychology 2810 may enrol in this course.
2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course

Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Livia Veselka
Office: SSC 9336

Office Hours: by appointment 

Phone: 519-661-2111 x84050

Email: lveselka@uwo.ca

Website: https://owl.uwo.ca/portal/site/8d9df587-c46b-4ddb-9321-a166f543e74c    

Lab Section 002: Thursdays, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM (SSC 3133)
TA: Harrison Ritz
Office: SSC 7306

Office Hours: Mondays, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Email: hritz@uwo.ca

Lab Section 003: Fridays, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM (SSC 3133)
TA: Aaron Gibbings
Office: SSC 7245

Office Hours: Thursdays, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Email: agibbing@uwo.ca

Lab Section 004: Wednesdays, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM (SSC 3133)
TA: Sarah Ouellette
Office: SSC 9242A

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Email: souell5@uwo.ca
    
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM; Health Sciences Building, room 9    

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.


Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.  You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Gardner, R. C. & Tremblay, P. F. (2007). Essentials of data analysis: Statistics and computer applications.
The textbook is required and can be purchased from the Book Store at Western. There is no need to bring the textbook to lectures, unless you would like to have it there as an additional reference. Instead, please bring a copy of the lecture slides to each lecture, either in hard-copy form or on your computer. The lecture slides will be made available to you through the course site on OWL at the beginning of each lecture week.    

You will also need a computer account, which gives you access to the UWO network.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course introduces students to the use of computers in psychology. Emphasis will be placed on the use of SPSS for Windows on microcomputers connected to the SSNDS network, but other applications of computers may be surveyed briefly.

The major portion of the lectures will be concerned with the rationale, interpretation, and application of various statistical procedures. Lectures will focus on selected univariate and multivariate analytic methods, and students will be shown how to make use of SPSS for Windows to perform those procedures to answer empirical questions.

The laboratories will provide students with the opportunity to use SPSS for Windows and other computer packages that will be required for completing the laboratory assignments. The laboratories will be conducted in the Department of Psychology Computer Laboratory (SSC 3133), where students will be able to work on their assignments with consultation with the course Teaching Assistant. Students are allowed to use the Laboratory at other times, when available, and also have access to the SSNDS Computer Instructional Laboratory (SSC 1032) to do their assignments for this course.

5.0     EVALUATION

Laboratory Assignments: 50%. There will be 10 laboratory assignments, each requiring a written report. These assignments will be graded by the Teaching Assistants. All assignments must be handed in at the beginning of the laboratory session following the session in which it was assigned. Late assignments will not be accepted and will be given a grade of 0. Students are responsible for their own assignments--copying assignments constitutes plagiarism. The laboratory assignment grade is the mean grade obtained in the 10 assignments. These 10 assignments together constitute the written component of 2,500 words required for a half-year essay course.

Final Examination: 50%. The final examination will be based on all material presented in lectures, laboratories, and the assigned text chapters. All assigned text material, regardless of whether or not it was discussed in class, is eligible exam material. The final will be set by the Registrar's office during the official examination period and will be 3 hours long. The exam will be a mixture of multiple-choice, short-answer, and longer-answer questions. A sample exam will be provided during the final few weeks of the course.

Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:


70%    1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):

A+    90-100    One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail

6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

All assignments must be handed in at the beginning of the laboratory session following the session in which it was assigned. Late assignments will not be accepted and will be given a grade of 0.

The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office during the final examination period. The only electronic aid allowed during the exam is a basic non-programmable calculator.

Exam marks will be made available to students on OWL. Exam papers will not be returned to students but may be reviewed in the instructor’s office. The weight (i.e., % of course grade) of each assignment and exam will not be adjusted. Extra assignments to improve grades will not be available. Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need.

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

The schedule for the lecture topics and readings are listed at the end of this outline. Also included is a page that lists the textbook sections that you are not required to read.

8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.

9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences

- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.

LECTURE SCHEDULE

The following schedule is a guideline only and may be subject to change.

Lecture

 

Date

Lecture Topics (and Textbook Chapters)

Assignments

 

Jan. 5

no lecture

 

no labs, no assignments

 

1

Jan. 12

Introduction to statistics and the course

(Chapter 1)

 

no labs, no assignments

2

Jan. 19

t-test

(Chapter 2)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#1

none

3

Jan. 26

Monte Carlo methods

(Chapter 3)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#2

#1

4

Feb. 2

Single factor independent groups analysis of variance

(Chapter 4)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#3

#2

5

Feb. 9

Single factor repeated measures analysis of variance

(Chapter 6)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#4

#3

 

Feb. 15-19

Reading Week (no lecture)

 

no labs, no assignments

 

6

Feb. 23

Completely randomized factorial analysis of variance

(Chapter 5)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#5

#4

7

March 1

Split plot analysis of variance

(Chapter 7)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#6

#5

8

March 8

Chi-square analysis of frequency data

(Chapter 8)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#7

#6

9

March 15

Bivariate correlation and regression 
(Chapter 9)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#8

#7

10

March 22

Multiple correlation and regression

(Chapter 10)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#9

#8

11

March 29

Factor analysis

(Chapter 11)

 

Assigned:

Due:

#10

#9

12

April 5

Review

 

Assigned:

Due:

 

none

#10

 

April 9-30

Final exam- 3 hours

(scheduled by the Registrar’s Office)

no labs, no assignments

 

The final lab (Factor Analysis) is due by 5:00 PM on Friday, April 8, 2016.