SOC 3112-010: INTRO TO SOCIAL STATISTICS SUMMER 2009 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH THURSDAY 6-9 PM BEH S 102 Jessie Winitzky, M.S. Office hours: Before class and by appointment Email: [email protected] Lab: H 5-6 pm in BEH S 101 Course website: http://www.soc.utah.edu/courses/soc3112 COURSE SUMMARY This class introduces you to empirical methods of social science research. Statistics is a set of tools and techniques researchers use to describe and draw conclusions about the world. We begin by studying descriptive statistics including frequency distributions and measures of central tendency and variability. We next study ways to describe relationships between variables, including measures of association and bivariate regression. Finally, we study basic inferential statistics and learn how to use sample data to draw conclusions about the population. COURSE MATERIALS Frankfort-Nachmias, C. and A. Leon-Guerrero. 2005. Statistics for a Diverse Society, 4th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge. Kentor, J. 2004. Exploring Social Inequality with Statistics. Thomson Custom Publishing. Calculator with square-root function COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING Class and lab attendance are important components to success in this course. Much of the material encountered can be challenging for many students, and it is crucial to tackle issues before they overwhelm you! Please attend office hours, labs and review sessions at the merest hint of difficulty. Your grade will be based on the following requirements: Exams (3)…………….... 30% Homework………………15% Group quizzes………….. 15% Labs……………………..10% Project………………….. 25% Project plan…………….....5% 100%1) There will be three exams, each worth 10% of your grade. They will cover material encountered in class, in the text and in lab sessions. They will be a mix of short-answer questions and problems. 2) Homework can be found on the class website. Assignments are due at the beginning of class in the week following the session in which the chapter was discussed (e.g. if we talk about Chapter 7 on June 5th, Chapter 7 homework is due June 12 at the start of class). Homework will not be graded, but will be included in the calculation of your final grade on a credit/no credit basis. It is intended as a way for you to practice your statistics skills. 3) According to recent educational research, learning is most effective when it occurs in groups. You will take a total of nine quizzes during the course of the semester in small groups, turning in just one per group. This will also function as an exam review. 4) Labs will help you conceptualize the abstract ideas you will encounter in a more hands-on way. You will learn how to use the statistical computer program SPSS so that you can handle larger datasets and perform more complex analyses. Attending lab, completing lab assignments and understanding how to use SPSS are crucial for the completion of your final project. 5) The final project is the capstone of this class. You will use the General Social Survey or World Bank dataset to discover and map relationships between two variables. You will write a 3-5 page paper (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-pt. font, Times New Roman or something similar; length does not include tables/charts) outlining why you chose to study these two variables and going through the five steps of hypothesis testing. We will discuss this in greater detail as the end of the semester approaches. 6) The project plan is a 1-page outline of which variables you plan to study, why, and which statistical methods you plan to use.CLASS SCHEDULE It should be noted that the following schedule is merely tentative, and may be subject to change. DATE TOPIC/ACTIVITY LAB DUE 21 May Syllabus, etc. What and Why of Statistics (Ch 1) Organization of Information (Ch 2) Central Tendency (Ch 4) No lab Lab sign-up 28 May Variability (Ch 5) Group Quiz and Exam Review Ex 1: Freq Tables Ex 2: Graphs Ch 1, 2, 4 4 June Exam #1: Descriptive Statistics Cross-Tabs (Ch 6) Review Ch 5 11 June Measures of Association (Ch 7) Group Quiz Ex 3: CT & Var Ch 6 25 June Regression and Correlation (Ch 8) Group Quiz and Exam Review Ex 4: Biv Tables Ch 7 2 July Exam #2: Relationships btwn Var Normal Distribution (Ch 9) Review Ch 8 9 July Sampling (Ch 10) Estimation (Ch 11) Group Quiz Ex 5: Corr & Reg Ex 6: Norm Dist Ch 9 16 July Testing Hypotheses (Ch 12) Project Work Ex 7: Conf Int Ch 10, 11 23 July Chi-Square (Ch 13) Group Quiz Ex 8: T-Test Ch 12, Project plan 30 July ANOVA (Ch 14) Group Quiz Ex 10: ANOVA Ex 9: Chi-Square Ch 13 6 Aug Exam #3: Inferential Statistics Review Ch 14,