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The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work Course Number: SW 388R6 Faculty: Jim Schwab Unique Number: 66375 Office Number: SSW 2.228 Semester: Fall 2007 Office Phone: 471-9816 Time: Wednesday: 8:30 to 11:30am Email: [email protected] Place: SSW 1.214 Instructional Technology Classroom Office Hours: Wednesdays, 7:30 to 8:30am, or by appointment Data Analysis and Computers I I. Course Description This course is designed to introduce students to fundamental concepts and statistical procedures used in social work research. It also introduces students to computer applications for data analysis and helps them develop basic skills in data file construction and manipulation, data definition, and statistical analysis. The primary focus of the course is on developing a conceptual and mathematical understanding of statistics needed for advanced work in research design, model development, model fitting and estimation, hypothesis testing, multivariate techniques, and interpretation of data. The course will begin with basic statistical concepts such as central tendency, variability, sampling distributions, statistical significance, probability, normal curve, standardized scores, hypothesis testing, statistical inference, effect size, and statistical power. By the end of the semester, specific parametric and non-parametric statistical procedures will be introduced including t-tests, ANOVA (one-way, two-way), correlation and regression, chi-square and other non-parametric statistics. II. Course Objectives The stated mission of the doctoral program of the School of Social Work is " to prepare its graduates for successful academic careers as social work educators whose excellence as teachers and scholars will provide intellectual leadership for the profession." Pursuit of this mission will be the overall objective of this course. By the end of the semester students will: 1. Develop basic proficiency with computer data analysis including construction of data files, SPSS for data analysis, and development of an analysis plan; 2. Understand fundamental concepts of statistical analysis; 3. Develop basic skills necessary to organize, present, and interpret data; 4. Develop the ability to evaluate and interpret the results of statistical analysis; 5. Understand the relationship between research design and statistical methods. SW388R6 – Fall, 2007 page 1II. Teaching Methods Course content will be covered using class lecture, focused discussions, computer demonstrations, and weekly homework assignments. Students are expected to ask questions, share experiences, and actively participate in class discussions. While most statistical calculation will be done on the compute, some hand calculation is inherent in statistical analysis. Pocket calculators or Microsoft Excel can be used for to compute these calculations. IV. Required and Recommended Texts, and Materials De Veaux, Richard D., Velleman, Paul F., and Bock, David E.. (2007). Stats: Data and Models, Second Edition. Boston: Addison Wesley. In addition, you will need access to version 15.0 of SPSS on a PC computer and access to the Internet using either Internet Explorer, Firefox, or a comparable web browser. Your options for access to SPSS include: • purchase the SPSS 15 Graduate Pack at the Campus Computer Store in the Flawn Academic Center ($196) • license SPSS 15.0 from Software Distribution & Sales ($125 annual license, subject to change) located in the Student Microcomputer Facility in Flawn Academic Center • using SPSS in the Social Work Computer Lab in the Learning Resource Center All data sets used in this course will be available as SPSS system data files (".SAV") for downloading via the course web page in BlackBoard. V. Course Requirements Course requirements will consist of weekly homework assignments and two exams. In addition, regular class attendance is expected and students should come to class prepared to actively participate in the class. Course requirements, due dates, and their contribution to the final grade are summarized below. Homework 30% Midterm Exam 35% Final Exam 35% SW388R6 – Fall, 2007 page 2Final grades for this course will be assigned using the following +/- scale. 100 - 94 = A 76 - 74 = C 93 - 90 = A- 73 - 70 = C- 89 - 87 = B+ 69 - 67 = D+ 86 - 84 = B 66 - 64 = D 83 - 80 = B- 63 - 60 = D- 79 - 77 = C+ 59 and below = F Homework assignments requiring students to use SPSS to analyze data will be made available on the course web site after every class. Homework problems will be objective style questions on the datasets provided for the course. Each homework assignment draws from a large test bank from which a subset of problems are randomly selected. The homework assignment may be redone as many times as you wish until the exam on that content. You will be given a different selection of questions each time you redo the assignment. Your grade for the assignment will be the highest grade on any attempt. Grades for homework assignments will be the highest grade for each problem set at the time of the exam. While you may continue to do homework problems after the exam date, the grade for the assignment will not be updated. VI. Class Policies Class Attendance and Participation. Attendance and participation are important for effective learning. This means that students should not only attend class but should be prepared to actively participate in class discussions. At the same time, there may be occasions when students will not be able to attend class because of illness or other personal problems. In such cases, it would be appropriate for the student to notify the professor before class that they will not be in class. In the case of excessive absences, the professor reserves the right to deduct points from a student’s final course grade. Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules. If you miss an examination, work assignment, or other project due to the observance of a religious holy day you will be given an opportunity to complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence. It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that you must notify each of your instructors at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates you will be absent to observe a religious holy day. Scholastic Dishonesty. The University of Texas at


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UT SW 388R - COURSE DESCRIPTION

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