Elizabeth L. Haines, Ph.D.

Experimental Psychology I: Applied Statistics

Psychology 2020-08
Science Hall East3054G
Fridays 9:30 A.M. - 1:45 P.M.

Required Texts

American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition). Washington, DC.

Required Materials

• Dropbox account to back up data and files

• Thumb drive to save data and files.

Highly Recommended Materials

• SPSS Grad Pack Version 19 or higher for home SPSS home use.

• Prerequisites: PSY 110. Math 110 or Math 130. Perseverance and Grit.

Also Recommended

Kirkpatrick, L.A. & Feeney, B.C. (2010) A. simple guide to SPSS for Windows version 17.0, 10th Edition. Wadsworth Publishing: New York. ISBN 0840031882

George, D. & Mallery, P. (2010). SPSS for Windows step by step, 10th Edition. Allyn & Bacon: New York ISBN-10 0-8400-3188-2

Course Description

Experimental Psychology I Applied Statistics is an introduction to basic statistical procedures for the behavioral sciences including: descriptive and inferential statistics, probability, correlation analysis, hypothesis testing, analysis of of variance, and factorial design and interactions. Laboratory sessions enable you to apply concepts from the classes using computer and other computational approaches. APA style write ups will enhance students' understanding and interpretation of statistics. The course will follow a lecture/discussion format and will include in-class activities and labs to do computer analysis using SPSS.

Course Objectives

My goal and responsibility is to provide you with the skills and knowledge to become a practitioner of statistics in psychology. Skills gained in this course include:

• enhancing critical thinking skills

• providing the tools for discovery

• developing conceptual as well as practical knowledge of statistics

• interpreting and critically analyzing the "Method" "Results" and "Discussion" sections of research reports

• becoming a better consumer and interpreter of statistics by fostering analytical and abstract reasoning skills

• learning SPSS

• reducing "math anxiety" and preparing students for Experimental Psychology II.

• graphing and visually representing data using excel and powerpoint

• writing up results in correct APA mathematical and statistical copy.

• selecting appropriate statistical tests given a research design

Equipped with these skills you will be (a) a clearer thinker, (b) more marketable in the job market, (c) able to discover the relationship between observation, statistical analysis, and interpretation (to name a few). These skills will also assist in your understanding of psychological research in your future psychology courses.

Evaluation

Evaluation is based on the course objectives. These objectives will be met by completing assignments, quizzes, exams as well as active participation and class attendance.

Assignments (40%)

Six 7-10 page APA style assignments will be given throughout the semester. These assignments will require you to compute statistics and interpret statistical outputs. Assignments will often be started in the labs and finished at home. Assignments will be graded on accuracy of computation, interpretation of data, and clarity of presentation. Written portions of assignments must be typed, stapled together, spell-checked, and proofread. Assignments must be handed in electronically on blackboard as well as on paper. All assignments are due at the beginning of class and late assignments will not be accepted.

Quizzes/Exams (50%)

Quizzes. Twelve quizzes will evaluate your comprehension of statistics (one every week). Quizzes will be conceptual as well as computational. Thus, you will have to understand the concepts behind the statistical procedures as well as show proficiency in your ability to compute statistics and interpret statistical output. Quizzes are worth 30% of the grade. All quizzes are cumulative.

There will be one final exam at the end of the semester. The exam will draw on lecture, reading, and assignment material and will assess your ability to integrate your knowledge and perform statistics. The Final Exam is cumulative and is worth 20% of the grade.

THERE WILL BE NO MAKE UP TESTS OR QUIZZES;
QUIZZES CAN NOT BE TAKEN EARLY.

Class participation/
In-class Assignments/
Attendance/
Homework (10%)

Involvement in class is essential for understanding and learning. Questions are encouraged. Working on other assignments during class, texting, checking email, facebooking, tweeting, and surfing the web are not acceptable.

Approximately 15 graded homework assignments will be given to practice your mathematical and statistical concepts. Assignments are due at the beginning of class and late assignments can not be accepted.

Handing in Assignments. All assignments will be due at the beginning of class to be handed in both 1) on paper and 2) on blackboard (see All files must be in microsoft word. PAY ATTENTION TO HOW TO NAME YOUR FILES. All assignments should be labeled as your lastname_assignmentX_date such as haines_a1_092015.doc Late assignments will not be accepted. Assignments handed in at the end of class will not be accepted. Printout failures, documents not in .docx not uploading an assignment attachment (bb), uploading the wrong version of an assignment (bb), inability to get on blackboard (barring a system disruption that lasts for more than 24 hours), or other computer mishaps will result in a zero for that assignment.

Grading will be on a traditional grading scale where 88-89.9 is a B+, 90-92 is an A-, 93 or above is an A and so on.

Attendance

Attendance is required for all classes. No exceptions.

Advice

This course is intense. We will progress quickly through the course material and it will be easy to fall behind. The following four points are essential for success in this course.

Important Withdrawal Dates: Please be sure to consult the academic calendar. Important withdrawal dates are as follows. Tuesday 9/12 last day for 100% refund for withdrawal from a course and last day to register for a course; Wednesday 10/11 for 50% refund withdrawal date; Wednesday 11/8 last day to academically withdraw from the course (no refund) .

Academic Honesty. It is expected that all work handed in for this class is based upon your learning and personal effort. Violations of academic integrity, including cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and lying, can not be tolerated. Please familiarize yourself with the University's Academic Honest Policy.

Plagiarism. While most plagiarism is unintentional, it will result in an F in his course and expulsion from the University. The most common type of plagiarism is a student’s "overusing" the author’s words in a research article because s/he does not understand the article’s content. To avoid plagiarism in this course, 1) read over the research article thoroughly before writing 2) keep notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS about the article rather than the author’s 3) do not use a thesaurus to replace words to make it appear as if the words are yours.

Collusion. Collusion is working together in preparing separate course assignments in ways not authorized by the instructor. Academic work produced through a cooperative (collaborative effort) of two or more students is permissible only upon the explicit consent of the professor. The collaboration must also be acknowledged in stating the authorship of the report. All of your data entry, write up, and statistical analyses must be your own -- no sharing -- even if you lose your data.