INTRODUCTION
TO SOCIAL STATISTICS
Sociology 275: T/R 10:00-11:15
A.M.
Room Sullivan 219
Dr. Leontina (LT) Hormel
Office: Sullivan
218-E
Office Hours:
Tuesdays 4-5 p.m., Wednesdays 7:30-8:30 a.m., & by appointment
Telephone:
508-929-8768
**No correspondence will be accepted via
email except to arrange office appointments. Be sure to write “office
appointment” in the subject header. I will not address emails without this
subject heading.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course introduces
students to one of the ways social scientists analyze data: statistical data
analysis. It develops the topic so that students can understand concretely how
data sets are organized for statistical analysis, and students will learn the
fundamental concepts to statistical analysis. Despite the best intentions of
researchers, it is possible to spoil research results. Thus, we will consider
ways in which scientists can “lie with statistics”. Two texts are required for
this course. The additional text is recommended because of its aim to demystify
social statistics. By the end of this course, students should have basic skills
that enable them to turn raw data into statistical analyses that a general
audience can understand.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Healey, Joseph F. 2005. Statistics: A Tool for Social Research, Seventh Edition.
Internet
support: http://hed.thomsonlearning.co.uk/resources/result.aspx
RECOMMENDED TEXT:
Kranzler, John H. 2002. Statistics for the Terrified,
Third Edition. Prentice Hall.
Both texts are on reserve
at the library.
REQUIRED TOOLS: We will be learning
“statistics from scratch”. Students should be armed with a basic calculator
that has a square root √ function, a protractor for
measuring angles, and a compass for drawing perfect circles. I also recommend
obtaining grid paper for course work.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
3 Course Examinations (15%
each): The
goal of course examinations is to test students’ ability to recognize key terms
and to solve essential mathematical formulae in statistical analyses. These
will be multiple choice and short answer exams that will be administered at the
conclusion of each major thematic section (descriptive statistics, inferential
statistics, and measures of association).
Students who average at least a B in the course (the average
score of exam 1, exam 2, and the practice assignments) will be offered the
option not to take exam 3. Students averaging less than a B are required to
take exam 3. Exam 3 will test students on measures of association and will be
comprehensive, testing students on descriptive and inferential statistics.
Practice Assignments (8 %
each): Practice
makes perfect, right? Well, the goal to learn statistics offers no exception to
this rule. Practice assignments will generally be due
every-other Monday during the term: February 9, February 21, March 14, March
30, April 25. No late practice assignments will be
accepted since I wish to return your graded work promptly. Practice assignments (altogether) are worth 40% of the entire course
grade – each assignment is worth 8% of the entire course grade.
Survey Project (15%): Students will learn how to
generate statistical analysis from raw data derived from a survey. We will construct
a survey, discuss sampling possibilities, code responses, and conduct
statistical analysis of the data. Students will need to submit a project by
Thursday, April 27, employing all techniques of statistical analysis and
testing on the survey data. Specific criteria and organization of project will
be discussed in class.
ATTENDANCE
POLICY FOR THIS COURSE
This is a junior-level
course (and a notoriously difficult topic for many), so it is assumed that
students will handle attendance maturely and responsibly. Attendance is not
recorded. However, if I notice patterns of absenteeism among particular
individuals, I will likely confer privately with such students. As a general
rule, continual absence from class sessions will inhibit a student’s ability to
master course material and to complete this course successfully. Please discuss
schedule conflicts in advance with me.
WISH TO
ATTEND A CLASS SESSION LATE, OR TO LEAVE EARLY?
To ensure a sound learning
environment for all students taking this course, the door will be closed 10
minutes after the class session begins. If you are more than 10 minutes late
and the door to the room is closed, you have officially missed class for the
day. If you anticipate being late for class (conflicting doctor’s appointment,
childcare arrangements, work arrangements, and so on), let me know as soon as
you are aware that you might be late one day. Also, if you need to leave early
from class on a particular day, please let me know BEFORE class session begins.
Otherwise, students are expected to attend the full class session - no early
exits. Those who need to use the restroom are excused (I can tell since you
will not put all of your books away and take off with your book bag to do
this). Please acknowledge that these measures are taken to reduce interruptions
in the class and to maintain respect in our classroom. Thanks, in advance, for
cooperating.
CODE OF
CONDUCT AND RESPECT
You are probably quite
familiar already with the controversial topics that sociology explores. Believe
it or not, statistics in the social sciences is not devoid of its own
controversies, and we are bound to discuss topics throughout the term that may
be emotionally-charged for some students (even if it, perhaps, doesn’t seem
like a big deal to you). In light of this potential for conflict in the
classroom, I ask that we follow a code of conduct. The code of conduct includes
the simple idea that “you do unto others what you would like done unto
yourself”. How this translates into our own conduct in class comprises the
following: listen attentively to individuals who present ideas in class; do not
hold conversations with peers in the background of class
presentations/discussions; and put away all materials that are not related to
the course during class sessions (newspapers, magazines, cell phones - turn the
ringer off, portable video games, CD players, and so on). In addition, when you
pose your own position before the class, please recognize that others’ ideas
may vastly differ from your own. Be sure you don’t make fun of, or degrade,
others who hold different perspectives. How we wish to do this will be
discussed collectively in our class; consequently, more will be added to our
code of conduct as we develop it together. Again, thanks, in advance, for your
cooperation!!
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is not accepted
in any student’s work in this course. I will discuss more specifically in class
what is considered plagiarism. Briefly, I consider plagiarism to be the
duplication of someone’s ideas (a famous writer/researcher’s ideas and even a
fellow student’s ideas) without proper reference of WHO made these ideas, as
well as WHEN and WHERE these ideas were made. A bibliography alone is not
sufficient for avoiding plagiarism. Please discuss with me individually if you
are not sure what constitutes plagiarism. The safest rule to follow is to
acknowledge the source of an idea whenever you are in doubt. I will fail an
assignment if I identify any plagiarized ideas in it. If a student plagiarizes
a second time in the same course, that student will fail the entire course.
Please refer to the section on plagiarism in the student handbook.
COURSE
SCHEDULE
Week One: Introductory
Discussion
Tuesday,
January 17: Introduction to course and to survey method
Thursday,
January 19: Students bring in Likert scale questions
for survey, complete survey for distribution, and discuss sampling techniques
I. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Week Two: Descriptive
Statistics
Tuesday,
January 24: Basics of Statistics
READ: Healey, Chapter 1
RECOMMENDED
Thursday,
January 26: Basic Descriptive Statistics
READ: Healey, Chapter 2
RECOMMENDED
Humor for
Statisticians… “The
problem in --Manuel Lujan, Jr.
, then congressman from New Mexico
and later secretary of the interior for George Bush senior, 1989-1993 .
Week Three
Tuesday,
January 31: Basics continued/Survey data coding
Thursday,
February 2: Measures of Central Tendency
READ: Healey, Chapter 3
RECOMMENDED
Week Four: Measures of
Dispersion
Tuesday,
February 7: Measures of Dispersion
READ: Healey, Chapter 4
RECOMMENDED
Thursday,
February 9
PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE TODAY
Week Five: The
Tuesday,
February 14: PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT 1
RETURNED/DISCUSSION
READ: Healey, Chapter 5
Thursday,
February 16: The
Week Six: Conclude Descriptive
Statistics
Tuesday,
February 21: Continue
PRACTICE
ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE TODAY
Thursday,
February 23: Review for Exam 1
II. INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
Week Seven: Exam 1 and
Survey Project Review
Tuesday,
February 28: COURSE EXAMINATION 1
Thursday,
March 2: Survey Work Day
Week Eight: Sampling and
Sampling Distribution
Tuesday,
March 7: Sampling and Sampling Distribution
READ: Healey, Chapter 6
Thursday,
March 9: Estimation Procedures
READ: Healey, Chapter 7
Week Nine: Hypothesis Testing
I & II
Tuesday,
March 14: Hypothesis Testing I: The One-Sample Case
READ: Healey, Chapter 8
PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT 3 DUE TODAY
Thursday,
March 16: Hypothesis Testing II: The Two-Sample Case
READ: Healey, Chapter 9
**NOTE: We will
NOT read Chapter 10 about ANOVA -- SKIP THIS CHAPTER
*************
SPRING BREAK MARCH 20-24 NO SCHOOL ************
Week Ten: Hypothesis
Testing IV
Tuesday,
March 28: Hypothesis Testing IV:
READ: Healey, Chapter 11
Thursday,
March 30:
PRACTICE
ASSIGNMENT 4 DUE TODAY
Week Eleven: Conclude
Inferential Statistics
Tuesday,
April 4: REVIEW
Thursday,
April 6: COURSE EXAMINATION 2
Week Twelve: Bivariate Association
Tuesday,
April 11: Introduction
READ: Healey, Chapter 12 &
13
Thursday,
April 13: Bivariate Association Nominal Level
III. MEASURES OF
ASSOCIATION
Week Thirteen: Association
between Ordinal Level Variables & Interval-Ratio Level Variables
Tuesday,
April 18: Ordinal Level
READ: Healey, Chapter 14
Thursday,
April 20: Ordinal Level & Interval-Ratio
READ: Healey, Chapter 15
Week Fourteen: Association
between Interval-Ratio Level Variables and REVIEW
Tuesday,
April 25: Conclude Interval-Ratio
PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT 5 (LAST PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT) DUE TODAY
Thursday,
April 27: REVIEW FOR EXAM 3
**All students who wish to
skip examination 3 must receive my approval by today.
Week Fifteen: COURSE
EXAMINATION 3
Tuesday,
May 2: COURSE EXAMINATION 3