Psychology 2810-002 (Online for 2020-21)
Statistics for Psychology
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
Introduction to data analysis with particular reference to statistical procedures commonly used in Psychological research.
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol 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.
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.
2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours; 1.0 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: J Bruce Morton
Office: WIRB 5178
Email: bmorton3@uwo.ca
Office Hours: By appointment. I work from home, so contact me via email and we can arrange to meet over Zoom.
Teaching Assistants: Nathan Lau, Joe Nidel
Offices: 5th floor, WIRB
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: Nathan tlau97@uwo.ca, Joe jnidel@uwo.ca
Time of Lectures: 12:30 PM, Tuesdays, presented synchronously over Zoom.
To join the lecture, please use the following url:
https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/95464286449
You will receive an invitation to join the class 10-15 minutes before the start of class and you will be admitted after entering a waiting room. Note that each lecture will be recorded and posted on the course OWL website soon afterwards along with PDFs of any overheads and the whiteboard material shown during the lecture.
Time of Tutorials: Schedule listed below. These will also take place synchronously. Please note which tutorial you have enrolled in. You will receive an invitation to join the class 10-15 minutes before the start of class and you will be admitted after entering a waiting room.
Tutorial 04: 10:30 – 12:20, Wednesday. Zoom link: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/99232274831?pwd=aEU5Qm1rRGZjT2dVcndTRnhGZVJJUT09 (passcode is 023243 if prompted)
Tutorial 05: 12:30 – 2:20, Wednesday. Zoom link: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/91451872092?pwd=QUxEbm1Ia1B1SGk5bXB3K3d6anZBUT09 (passcode is 741753 if prompted)
Tutorial 06: 9:30-11:20, Thursday. Zoom link: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/99954844204?pwd=bVE0OVI4aXc4djZEdzdXY1hvNlpuQT09 (passcode is 567319 if prompted)
Tutorial 07: 12:30-2:20, Thursday. Zoom link: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/97180063571?pwd=S09hQ2l2UmxHWFFaMmpTc1pkdVF4UT09 (passcode is 056701 if prompted)
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
McClave, J. T. & Sincich, T. (2017). Statistics (13th edition). Pearson.
Student who are interested in the e-version of the textbook, you can purchase the textbook directly from the publisher. The course code you will need for that is:
lupker66915
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
My goal as your instructor is to teach you how to think statistically. My hope is that when you have successfully completed the course, you will be able to analyze any situation in which statistical reasoning is called for and then accurately apply any of the techniques you have learned in the course. What the course is not is a course in which you will be taught cookbook techniques for solving exam problems.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The goal of this course is to enable students to demonstrate:
- that they know how to use a number of mathematical and statistical formulas to compute different statistics and related values
- that they know how to perform a variety of statistical and data analytic procedures "by hand" (not on a computer)
- that they can correctly calculate probabilities, evaluate probability distributions and carry out hypothesis testing/estimation procedures.
- that they are able to recognize when it is appropriate to perform and then to successfully perform a number of statistical analyses including Z-tests, t-tests, F-tests (all varieties), chi-square tests, and regression/correlation analyses.
- that they know how to analyze data and draw correct interpretations from the analyses in a variety of experimental and non-experimental contexts
The ways in which students will be assessed in order to evaluate the extent to which they have achieved these skills will include assignments, quizzes, and exams, and these will need to be completed within the times specified.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge. |
Lectures, assignments & reading |
Quizzes and Exams |
|
Knowledge of Methodologies. |
Lectures, assignments & reading |
Quizzes and Exams |
|
Application of Knowledge. |
Lectures, assignments & reading |
Quizzes and Exams |
5.0 EVALUATION
There will be 2 mid-term examinations, the first on November 10, 2020 (on topics 1-5), the second on March 9, 2021 (topics 7-13), a Christmas Exam (topics 1-10), nearly weekly quizzes in the tutorials based almost entirely on the material presented that week in lecture (18 of them), a comprehensive Final Exam and weekly assignments. Exams and quizzes will be closed book. Relevant tables and formulas will be available during the test periods. Also, students should obtain calculators for use during the test periods. For individuals who are not available during their particular tutorial time in a given week, it may be possible to make arrangements to attend another tutorial in order to take that week’s quiz. In more extreme circumstances, arrangements may even be made to take the quiz at some other time Thursday or Friday of that same week. No quizzes will be given after 4:30 Friday afternoon under any circumstances. Note, however, that only the top 15 quiz scores for each student will be used when calculating the quiz average, therefore, there is no real penalty for missing a quiz. Note also that there will be no makeup or early exams for the mid-term or Christmas exams, however, students can be excused from those exams if they have a legitimate, documented excuse issued by the Academic Counselling Office in their Faculty. Finally, the Christmas and Final Exams will be given during the assigned exam times regardless of when those times are. Final exam makeups will only be given in extreme circumstances and, as with other exams, students will be required to have a legitimate, documented excuse for their absence issued by the Academic Counselling Office in their Faculty. Thus, students are encouraged not to make travel arrangements before finding out when their exams are or risk receiving a 0 on the missed exam. Please note that other than calculators, no electronic devices (including smart watches) will be allowed during exams or quizzes that occur in person. Students who opt to take the exams online will need a desktop or laptop computer with a strong, stable Internet connection and a working webcam. No additional electronic devices other than calculators will be allowed
Final marks will be assigned according to the following guidelines.
Quizzes 15%
Assignments 5%
Midterm Exams 30%
Xmas Exam 20%
Final Exam 30%
______
100%
As noted above, the goal of this course is to teach you how to think statistically. Thus, the goal of the evaluations (exams and quizzes) is to measure how well you have learned to think statistically. Thinking statistically involves many subskills, including (among others) the ability to reason both logically and numerically, the ability to retrieve numerical facts and relationships, the ability to recognize what concept needs to be applied in a particular situation to solve a certain problem and, of course, the ability to correctly carry out the relevant statistical procedures.
The quizzes will give you the opportunity to demonstrate these abilities in a forum that is not time-constrained. The exams, on the other hand, measure your ability to demonstrate these skills in a speeded situation. It is quite possible that in some cases many of you may not feel that you have had sufficient time to show how much you know by “finishing” your exam. That is to be expected. How much you can accurately do in the allowed time period is, nonetheless, a good measure of how well you have mastered the material relative to the other students in the class. The point to keep in mind here is that the goal of giving marks is to rate students relative to their peers. As long as everyone is being evaluated in the same way, your mark on a speeded exam gives a very good gauge of your ability relative to other students. In that sense, it is similar to how measuring running times in races gives the race judges the opportunity to judge the runners relative to one another. What should also be noted, however, is that the mark you receive on these exams must always be looked at as a relative mark and not as an absolute mark. At the end of the course, your relative marks will be scaled to produce a final absolute mark that I believe to be indicative of your ability to think statistically. Often, this scaling procedure involves adding some number of points to your final mark. We have been instructed to inform students that grades will NOT be rounded (i.e., if, after scaling, your mark is an 88.8, you will receive an 89).
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 Western's 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 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
We will be attempting to stick to the dates noted above in terms of when the exams will be administered. However, the current situation may necessitate some, hopefully minor, alterations in the mid-term exam dates. More specifically, we expect to be able to give all the exams in both online and in-person formats. In order to create the in-person format, a room (or rooms, depending on how many students wish to have in-person exams) has been requested from the Registrar for the dates outlined above during the scheduled class time. We have been told that the Registrar will attempt to give us a room (or rooms) close to those times. However, we have no control over the room booking process. Therefore, for example, instead of the initial exam being offered on October 27 at 7:00, it may be held the following day. In any case, it will be at the same time for both the in-person and online sittings.
Those of you who want to and are able to come to the in-person sitting will be informed as to what room to go to as soon as room assignments are official. While I would prefer that as many of you as possible choose the in-person option for a number of reasons (e.g., I will personally be there to answer your questions, we can avoid some of the complications in marking online administered exams), I DO WANT TO STRESS THAT NO ONE IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE IN-PERSON SITTING. It is entirely your choice and, of course, if you are not in London, it may be impossible for you to attend. Social distancing measures will be in place. However, what I do need each of you to do soon is to tell me whether, for the November 10 exam, you will be attending the in-person sitting or will be taking it online. We need to have a reading on the numbers so that we can get have an optimal room to have the exam.
Those of you who will be taking your exams remotely will be monitored over Zoom (as will happen for all the quizzes which will be administered during your tutorials). For the exams, you each will be assigned to a proctor who will check your identification prior to letting you start the session and watch you over the course of the exam. During the exams, that proctor, who might be one of the TAs, will be in e-mail contact with me in case a problem arises.Once the exam (or the quiz during the tutorial) commences, a copy of the exam will become available for you to download as a Word file from the course OWL website. For both exams and quizzes, I would suggest that you print your exam/quiz out and fill in your answers on the printed copy. If you don’t have a printer, you can write your answers on separate sheets of paper. Once you are done, you will then need to take pictures of your work, creating a file or set of files, and submit that file or files through the course OWL website. As noted above, for all students, no electronic devices other than calculators will be allowed during the exam session, including cell phones and smart watches. We will also require you to remove all earphones prior to starting the quiz/exam and, of course, you are not permitted to communicate with anyone else during the quiz/exam.
During Zoom-monitored exams you will be required to keep your camera on for the entire session, hold up your student card for identification purposes, and share your screen with the invigilator if asked to do so at any time during the exam. The exam session will not be recorded. More information about the use of Zoom for exam invigilation is available in the Online Proctoring Guidelines at the following link:
https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/onlineproctorguidelines.pdf
Completion of quizzes/exams will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the system requirements for Zoom. Information about the system requirements is available at the following link: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us
* Please note that Zoom servers are located outside Canada. If you would prefer to use only your first name or a nickname to login to Zoom, please provide this information to the instructor in advance of the test or examination.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Sept 15 - Introduction Chapter 1, Appendix A
Sept 22 - Descriptive stats Sections 2.3 - 2.6
Sept 29 - Probability basics Chapter 3
October 6 - Probability calculations Chapter 3
October 13 – Binomials Sections 4.1 - 4.4
October 20 - Normal distributions Sections 5.1, 5.3, 5.5
October 27 - MIDTERM EXAM
November 3 - Fall reading week
November 10 – Sampling distributions Sections 6.1, 6.3
November 17 - Estimation (Exam review) Sections 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, p.344-47
November 24 - Hypothesis testing basics Sections 8.1, 8.2, 8.4
December 1 - Beta Section 8.7
December 8 - Single sample hypothesis testing (mu and p) Sections 7.3, 7.4, 8.5, 8.6, 7.6, 8.8
January 5 - Large sample z test and sampling distribution of X-bar1
minus X-bar2* Sections 9.1, 9.2, 9.6, 9.3, 14.3 (on-line)
January 12 - Variance F test and small sample t
January 19 - Wilcoxen and dependent groups t
January 26 - Independent groups ANOVA Sections 10.1, 10.2, 10.4, 10.5
February 2 - Planned comparisons and post-hoc tests
February 9 - Blocks ANOVA
February 16 - week off
February 23 - Two-way ANOVA
March 2 - Chi-square Chapter 13
March 9 – MIDTERM exam
March 16 - Intro to regression/correlation (exam review)
March 23 - Core material on regression/correlation Chapter 11
March 30 - Any remaining material and review
Note that there are no classes during Fall Reading Week (Nov 2-6) or Spring Reading Week (Feb 15-18)
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence 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 offences. 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).
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
- For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
- must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
10.0 CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RETURN TO LOCKDOWN
In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course, the grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will all be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.
11.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE
Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the system requirements for Zoom. Information about the system requirements are available at the following link:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us
All of the lectures for this course will be recorded and posted on the course OWL website to help you study for quizzes and exams. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen), particularly if you ask questions of the instructor. If you wish to ask a question without your action being recorded, feel free to use the Chat function. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings.
Participants in this course are not permitted to record the sessions themselves (nor should they need to as the recording will be posted on OWL), unless recording is an approved accommodation or the participant has the prior written permission of the instructor.
Part of my teaching process will involve online interactions (i.e., I will, at some points, ask the class questions). To ensure the best experience for both you and your classmates, please honour the following rules of etiquette:
- please “arrive” to class on time
- please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material (which seems highly unlikely)
- to minimize background noise during lectures, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you choose to speak, unless directed otherwise
- In order to give us optimum bandwidth and web quality during lectures, please turn off your video camera for the entire class until you choose to speak, unless directed otherwise
- please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
- unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen during class
The course instructor and/or TA will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:
- If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor and/or TA to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
- Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
- Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).
General considerations of “netiquette”:
- Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
- Be courteous toward the instructor and colleagues.
Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses will be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.
As noted above, the plan is that for all students who would like to do so to be able to write the exams in person on campus. Whenever Zoom is being used for quiz/exam invigilation, you will be required to keep your camera on for the entire session, hold up your student card for identification purposes when asked, and share your screen with the proctor if asked to do so at any time during the quiz/exam. The quiz/exam session using Zoom will not be recorded. As mentioned above, no electronic devices, including cell phones, smart watches or earphones, will be allowed during the quiz/exam session and you are not permitted to communicate with anyone else during the quiz/exam. The proctor will be monitoring your behaviour in order to make sure that these rules are followed. If you need to go to the washroom, please notify the proctor prior to leaving your computer.
12.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services: 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
- 2020-2021 Calendar References
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
