Psychology 3800F 001
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
WESTERN UNIVERSITY
LONDON CANADA
Department of Psychology
2021
Psychology 3800F Section 001
Psychological Statistics Using Computers
Intersession (May 10 – June 18, 2021)
- 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. 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 Honors Specialization in Psychology or Honors Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, or Honors Specialization in Animal Behaviour. Psychology Majors students and Psychology Special Students who earn 70% or higher in Psychology 2820E or 60% or higher in or Psychology 2810 may enrol in this course.
2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours
Course Weight: 0.5
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.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Krista Macpherson, PhD
Office Hours: By Appointment via Zoom
Email: kmacphe6@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30am-1:30pm
This course is ONLINE and SYNCHRONOUS -Lectures will be held online via Zoom
-Lab assignments will be completed using myvlab: https://myvlab.uwo.ca
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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
Gardner, R. C. & Tremblay, P. F. (2007). Essentials of data analysis: Statistics and Computer Applications
Available at the UWO Bookstore.
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, 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. Laboratories will be completed online via myvlab: https://myvlab.uwo.ca
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course, successful students should be able to:
- Recommend and justify an appropriate research design and statistical procedure for a given research question or hypothesis.
- Differentiate between the statistical procedures in terms of their permissible applications and the scale properties of the data.
- Generate hypotheses to address specific research questions.
- Analyze data using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical procedures.
- Apply 10 different statistical procedures by analyzing data sets.
- Demonstrate their understanding of Type I and Type II errors by conducting simulated demonstration of such errors.
- Write research reports clearly and effectively in a way that a reader would have the necessary information to replicate the study. The quality of methods and result sections will match the level in good empirical journals.
- Describe, critique and justify their research methodology and generate ways to improve upon it.
- Demonstrate their capacity to work independently and in an ethical manner by producing their own written work and meeting the timelines for the 10 assignments.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge. Recommend and justify an appropriate statistical procedure to use for a given research question or hypothesis.
Differentiate between the statistical procedures in terms of their permissible applications based on the scale properties of the data.
|
Ten weekly labs are designed to develop applied knowledge of the statistical procedures. In each lab, a problem is presented with a data set or with a request to generate simulated data with specific properties. The labs are described in tutorials led by the instructor. Students develop the research hypotheses, analyze the data, and write a research report.
|
The ten labs assess (in part) knowledge of the uses and applications of each statistical technique.
The final exam assesses the ability to select the correct procedure for specific problems.
|
|
Knowledge of Methodologies. Generate hypotheses to address specific research questions and analyze data using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical procedures.
|
For each of the ten procedures presented in class, students have the opportunity in the weekly labs to apply the procedure to a real research problem that addresses real challenges such as violations of assumptions or lack of statistical power.
|
The labs assess the ability to use a specific procedure correctly in terms of addressing the assumptions, and reporting and interpreting results.
The final exam does the same but presents research problems in which students must justify using a specific procedure.
|
|
Application of Knowledge. Apply 10 different statistical procedures by analyzing data sets.
Demonstrate their understanding of Type I and Type II errors by conducting simulated demonstration of such errors.
|
In each lab, students learn to apply a statistical procedure in SPSS, including preparation of the data file, syntax statement, selection of specific secondary tests of assumptions, interpretation of the output, and how to synthesize the extracted information into a report.
|
Students need to master the correct way to interpret and report results from software output. This is assessed in the lab reports and in the exam.
|
|
Communication Skills. Write research reports clearly and effectively in a way that a reader would have the necessary instructions to replicate their study and the necessary information to interpret their results.
Write method and result sections that match the level in good empirical journals.
|
Students have the opportunity to develop their research writing skills through weekly reports and receive weekly written feedback from their instructor. This structure helps address timely correction of problems or fine tuning of writing format in specific areas of the report.
|
The labs assess students’ ability to think and write clearly.
The section of long answers on the exam also assesses the ability to communicate an idea clearly.
|
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge. Describe, critique, and justify their research methodology especially in the discussion section of their research reports.
Generate ways to improve upon their research methodology.
|
Feedback from the instructor on the lab reports highlights any needed correction in the interpretation of results and limitations. The lab assignments include questions that specifically address the limits of what can be concluded from the results.
|
The lab reports also assess the ability to present justified conclusions along with their limitations.
|
|
Autonomy and Professional Capacity. Demonstrate their capacity to work independently and in an ethical manner by producing their own written work and meeting the timelines for the 10 reports.
|
Students are responsible for 10 weekly lab reports, and must produce their own original reports.
|
Late reports receive a deduction and originality of work is assessed in adherence to the institutional policies for plagiarism.
|
5.0 EVALUATION
PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
Laboratory Assignments: 50%
Weekly Quizzes (Best 5 of 6): 10%
Final Exam: 40%
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
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 to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
Grades will not be rounded up.
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
Laboratory Assignments: 50% of course grade. There will be 10 laboratory assignments, each requiring a written report. 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 last assignment is due one week after the last laboratory session. 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: 40% of course grade. 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. More information about the exam’s content and format will be provided during the last week of classes. The final exam will be completed using OWL, and will not be proctored. If a student misses the exam, they will need to go through the appropriate steps for accommodation (see section 9.0), and a makeup exam will be scheduled.
Weekly Quiz: 10% of course grade (Best 5 of 6) A weekly quiz will be completed every Thursday at the end of lecture. These quizzes are each worth 2% of your final mark, and your lowest score will be dropped. The quizzes will be conceptual in nature and will primarily be based on lecture material and course readings. Content will cover both topics discussed that week. The quizzes are designed to take approximately 10 minutes to complete, however you will be provided with a minimum of 20 minutes to complete them. A quiz that is not completed will receive a grade of 0, and there are no makeups for a missed quiz.
The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office at some date and time during the final examination period (June 21st and June 22nd).
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Schedule is tentative and subject to change
|
Week: |
Date: |
Topic: |
Assignment: |
|
1 |
May 11th May 13th
|
Introduction t-tests |
None Written Assignment & Quiz |
|
2 |
May 18th May 20th
|
Monte Carlo Single Factor ANOVA
|
Written Assignment Written Assignment & Quiz |
|
3 |
May 25th May 27th
|
Factorial Designs & Post Hoc Single factor Repeated Measures
|
Written Assignment Written Assignment & Quiz
|
|
4 |
June 1st June 3rd
|
Split-Plot Factorial Design Chi-Square
|
Written Assignment Written Assignment & Quiz
|
|
5 |
June 8th June 10th
|
Correlation/Regression Multiple Correlation/Regression
|
Written Assignment Written Assignment & Quiz
|
|
6 |
June 15th June 17th
|
Factor Analysis Review |
Written Assignment Quiz
|
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
Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.
10.0 CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RETURN TO LOCKDOWN: IN-PERSON & BLENDED CLASSES
In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the term that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online, as determined by the course instructor.
11.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE
In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to 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
- to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
- In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
- In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, 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 in the meeting
The course instructor 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 to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
- Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
- Self-identify when 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, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
- Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
- Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.
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 may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.
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
- 2021-2022 Calendar References
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf
Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
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.
