Psychology 2810-001 (Summer Evening)
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.
Prerequisite: One full course in mathematics plus at least 60% in a 1000-level Psychology course. To fulfill the mathematics requirement you must complete a full course equivalent by taking 1.0 course from among the following courses: Applied Mathematics 1201A/B or the former Calculus 1201A/B, Mathematics 0110A/B, 1120A/B, 1225A/B, 1228A/B, 1229A/B, 1600A/B, Calculus 1000A/B, 1100A/B, 1301A/B, 1500A/B, 1501A/B, the former Linear Algebra 1600A/B, Statistical Sciences 1024A/B, the former Mathematics 030 and 031.
If Mathematics 0110A/B is selected, then either Statistical Sciences 1024A/B or Mathematics 1228A/B must be taken. The combination of Mathematics 1228A/B and Statistical Sciences 1024A/B is strongly recommended.
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.
Antirequisite: Biology 2244A/B, Economics 2122A/B, 2222A/B, Geography 2210A/B, Health Sciences 3801A/B, MOS 2242A/B, Psychology 2820E, 2830A/B, 2850A/B, 2851A/B, the former 2885, Social Work 2207A/B, the former 2205, Sociology 2205A/B, Statistical Sciences 2035, 2141A/B, 2143A/B, 2244A/B, 2858A/B and the former 2122A/B (and Statistical Sciences 2037A/B if taken before Fall 2010)
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.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Krista Macpherson
Email: kmacphe6@uwo.ca
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
MyLab Statistics with Pearson eText -- 18 Week -- for Statistics, 13/e
James T. McClave, Terry T. Sincich,
ISBN: 9780135834435
This text is required for the course
NOTE: You will also need a scientific calculator with a “stats mode” function in order to complete the calculations required in this course.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing this course you will have been exposed to a wide variety of statistical methods for analyzing data obtained from different types of experiments. This will enhance your ability to critically read and evaluate research reports and to conduct your own research.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Learning Outcome |
Learning Activities
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Assessment |
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Knowledge and Understanding |
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Be able to analyze a situation in which statistical reasoning is called for, and accurately apply techniques learned in the course (including Z-tests, t-tests, F-tests (all varieties), chi-square tests, and regression/correlation analyses).
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Online lectures Practice questions (given at the end of lecture, and taken up during “virtual office hours” the following week. |
Quizzes and exams, which need to be completed within the time period specified. |
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Critical Thinking |
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Know what it is to think statistically (and how to do it!).
Understand statistics conceptually, rather than just applying a formula.
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Online lectures Practice questions (given at the end of lecture, and taken up during “virtual office hours” the following week. |
Quizzes and exams, which need to be completed within the time period specified.
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Communication |
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Be able to interpret statistics correctly and draw conclusions about a given hypothesis. |
Online lectures Practice questions (given at the end of lecture, and taken up during “virtual office hours” the following week. |
Quizzes and exams, which need to be completed within the time period specified. |
5.0 EVALUATION
10% Quizzes (Best 10 out of 12)
25% Midterm 1 (Saturday June 13th)
30 % Midterm 2 (Saturday July 11th)
35% Final (TBA: Scheduled by Registrar during exam period, August 4th-7th)
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
Quizzes will be completed online weekly, using the “MyLab” component of the text. There are a total of 12 quizzes, and your final grade will be based on your 10 best scores. There will be no makeups under any circumstances for missed quizzes. Quizzes are due at 11:59pm on the Wednesday following the associated lecture, unless otherwise noted by the instructor.
Exam 1 (June 13th, 2020), Exam 2 (July 11th, 2020) and the Final Exam (TBA) will be written, timed exams. Exams will be conducted remotely (exam procedure details are forthcoming and will be announced on OWL as soon as possible).
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE (Tentative and subject to change)
Unit 1: Introduction and descriptive statistics (Week of May 4th)
Chapters 1 & 2 of text
-thinking statistically and statistical terminology
-measures of central tendency (the mean, the median, the mode, and the grand mean)
-measures of variability (the range, the standard deviation, and the variance);
-scale and the translation theorems
-mound-shaped symmetrical distributions (MSSDs),
-percentiles
-Z scores
Unit 2: Probability (Week of May 11th)
Chapter 3 of text
-basic formulas and procedures that allow us to estimate the probability of different types of events.
-random sampling
-sampling with and without replacement
-simple events
-complementary events
-a-priori probability
-conditional events
-independent and dependant events
Unit 3: Probability II (Week of May 18th)
Chapter 3 of text
-counting rules, which will assist you in computing the probability of different events.
-permutations
-partitions
-combinations
-hypergeometric formula.
Unit 4: Discrete random variables (Week of May 25th)
Chapter 4 of text
-generate probability distributions and compute their mean and standard deviation.
-binomial variables
-introduction to hypothesis testing
-Type I and Type II errors
Unit 5: Continuous random variables (Week of June 1)
Chapter 5 of text
-normal distribution and Z scores
-use of Z tables to find percentiles and p-values
-normal approximation to the binomial distribution.
Unit 6: Intro to Inferential Stats: Sampling distributions (Week of June 8th)
Chapter 6 of text
-creating sampling distributions
-using sampling distribution to form confidence intervals to estimate an unknown population mean from sample data.
Unit 7: Confidence Intervals (Week of June 15th)
Chapter 7 of text
-identifying and estimating target parameter
-confidence interval for population mean: Normal (z) statistic and Student’s t-statistic
-determining sample size
Unit 8: Hypothesis testing I (Week of June 22nd)
Chapter 8 of text
-elements of a test of hypothesis
-rejection regions
-p-values
-test of hypothesis about a population mean: Normal (z) statistic and Student’s t-statistic
-calculating Type II error
Unit 9: Hypothesis testing II (Week of June 29th)
Chapter 9 of text
-Wilcoxon test of the difference between two population means
-matched pair/dependent samples t test
-1-sample chi-square test of a variance.
Unit 10: Hypothesis testing III (Week of July 6th AND July 13th)
Chapter 10 of text
-ANOVA
-post hoc and planned comparisons
-repeated measures/within subjects
Unit 11: Hypothesis testing IV (Week of July 20th)
Chapter 11 & 12 of text
-correlation
-Simple linear regression
-Multiple Regression
Unit 12: Hypothesis testing V (Week of July 27th)
Chapter 13 of text
-chi-square tests of proportions and contingency tables.
-any remaining material
-exam review
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
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
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
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
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
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 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 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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, 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 lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
