PSYC B5– Elementary Statistics for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

Fall 2009

Professor: Dr. Ginger M. LeBlanc
Office: LA 215c; Phone: 395-4513 Office Hours:MW 1:30-2:30 pm; TR 7:00 -8:00 am
Email: Website: www2.bakersfieldcollege.edu/gleblanc

Course Description: (as it appears in the 2009-2010 catalog): Statistics as applied to the behavioral and social sciences. Emphasizes research design, the organization of data, measures of central tendency and variability, the normal curve, correlation and regression, hypothesis testing, parametric and nonparametric techniques, and one-way and two-way analysis of variance. Prerequisites: Math BD, Introductory course in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, or Political Science (May be currently enrolled). Recommended: Reading Level 5 or 6, English Level 5.

Required Course Materials:

  1. Textbook: Heiman, Gary W. (2006). Basic Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (5th edition). Houghton-Mifflin. ISBN: 978-0-618-73329-3
  2. Required Study Guide: Hendricks, D.J., Walls, R. T., & Heiman, G. W. (2005). Basic Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences: Student Workbook and Study Guide (5th edition). Houghton-Mifflin. ISBN: 0-618-52814-8
  3. Scientific Calculator. Please bring (or invest in, if you do not currently have one) a simple scientific hand calculator for doing your class assignments. You do not need to have an overly fancy calculator. The calculator should have a square root and squaring function keys.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course you should:

  1. Identify and describe the four levels of data measurement.
  2. Describe the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics.
  3. Identify and apply the appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics for each level of data.
  4. Effectively employ and interpret parametric and nonparametric statistics.

Professor’s Message: Those of you who plan to continue on in psychology, sociology and/or research need this course as it contributes to the foundations of your scientific career. The information and skills you learn in this course will help you in every step of the research process. In addition, the skills you acquire in this course will be essential as you move into more advanced courses where you will read scientific journal articles and be required to think critically about their findings and the interpretation of their results. Most of you however,will not end up pursuing a research-oriented career. Regardless of your career goal,you should be educated consumers of information. The knowledge you acquire in this course will allow you to think critically about information that you are exposed to on a daily basis.

Students with disabilitieswho believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disabled Student Programs and Services (Supportive Services) in FACE 16, 395-4334, as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Responsibilities:

  1. “Early is on-time, on-time is late.” Questions?
  2. It is your responsibility to attend every class. The information in this class builds directly upon previous topics. Thus, you will not be able to do well in this course if you miss lectures.
  3. Be actively involved in the class. This means listening to lectures, asking questions, participating in discussions, and thinking about how the information applies to examples in the real-world.
  4. Test yourself regularly. Do not wait until the end of the chapter or the end of the week to check your knowledge. After each class work some of the end-of-chapter problems,paying particular attention to lecture concepts and learning exercises. Be sure you can define and explain key concepts discussed in class. If you are having trouble, get your questions answered immediately or schedule an appointment with the instructor.
  5. Form small study groups to discuss and practice information covered in class.
  6. Apply the information discussed in class to real world examples (e.g. newspapers, news).
  7. Take notes on information that is unclear or not well understood. Bring these questions to class for explanations.

Assessment (Grading) Tools:

ComponentsPoints Grade Scale

Final Exam 100A = 90 - 100 %

Exams (5 @100 pts. ea.) 400 B = 89 - 80 %

Quizzes (10 @5 pts. ea.) 50 C = 79 – 70 %

Homework assignments 70 D = 69 – 60 %

Cooperative learning exercises 50 F = 59 – 0 %

Total 670

Specific Course Components:

  • Exams: There will be five unit exams throughout the semester and one comprehensive final at the end.Your lowest unit exam score will be dropped prior to final grade calculation. The exams will be based on information covered in class and in the text. You will be allowed to use a calculator during the exams. You must, however, show all your work for credit. Unless there is a certifiable emergency there will be no late or make-up exams, so please do not ask.
  • Quizzes. There will be random quizzes administered at the beginning of class throughout the semester. Each quiz is worth five points and will be based on any information covered in class or assigned the day prior. Only the top 10quiz scores count towards your final course grade, so that your lowest quiz score will automatically be dropped. The format of the quizzes will be similar to the format of the homework assignments, with short answer type questions and problems. Unless you understand the concepts covered in class and in the text before each quiz, you will not be able to do well on the quizzes. If you arrive late or miss class you will receive a zero and that score will count as your lowest score. There will be no late or make-up quizzes given, so please do not ask.
  • HomeworkAssignments. All assignments will be based on information covered in lecture and in the textbook. More details will be given at a later date. I strongly encourage you to form study groupswhen completing the assignments. Working with others can help to relieve stress and boredom and facilitate learning. In addition, study groups are a good way to encourage you to keep up with the assignments and fill in missing gaps in your knowledge. CAUTION: If you study in a group, you must make sure that you have double-checked your work yourself and that you know the statistical concepts behind your work, as well. Do not rely solely on others’ approaches to solving statistical problems without fully understanding the solution process yourself! Remember, you and only you will be taking the exams and quizzes.
  • Cooperative Learning Exercises. Throughout the course you will be assigned to work within a small group of your peers. Each group will be required to solve a problem using the information acquired in class. Each individual within the group will then be assigned to accomplish a particular learning objective that will help the group solve the larger problem. More details will be given at a later date.

Academic Honesty: Cheating and plagiarism on any exam or paper will result in a failing grade. Plagiarism is defined as any case where one person tries to take credit for the ideas or work of another. Cheating also includes copying answers from someone else’s exam. Please see the instructor if you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism.

Tentative Schedule (The professor reserves the right to make changes in the schedule)

Date / Topic / Reading
Week 1 / Introduction to Statistics Frequency Distributions / Chap. 1
Chap. 2
Week 2 / Central Tendency / Chap. 3
Week 3 / Exam 1
Variability / Chap. 4
Week 4 / Z-scores
Probability / Chap. 5
Chap. 6
Week 5 / Probability / Chap. 6
Week 6 / Exam 2
Probability and Samples / Chap. 9
Week 7 / Hypothesis Testing
Introduction to the t-Test / Chap. 10
Chap. 11
Week 8 / Introduction to the t-Test
Exam 3 / Chap. 11
Week 9 / t-Test Two Independent Samples
t-Test Two Related Samples / Chap.12
Chap. 12
Week 10 / ANOVA / Chap. 13
Week 11 / ANOVA / Chap. 13
Week 12 / Exam 4
Correlation / Chap. 7
Week 13 / Correlation and Regression / Chap. 8
Week 14 / Chi Square & Nonparametrics / Chap. 15
Week 15 / Exam 5
Review for Final Exam
Week 16 / Final Exams / All Material