Study Guide for COM 304 Test 1 The test will cover the contents of required textbook chapters Chapters 1 2 4 10 11 and 12 along with associated lecture content and other materials and resources shared in Brightspace associated with the lectures PowerPoint slides Excel simulations and associated video The test will be online in Brightspace during normal class time It is open book and open notes however it is expected that students will do their own work So collaboration with others during the test is prohibited Evidence of collaboration is grounds for automatic failure on the test Here are key concepts and terms from the text you should review carefully Items with asterisks are considered key concepts that have been heavily emphasized in this class You should expect questions associated with them to be prominently featured in the exam Chapter 1 Science and Research The characteristics of the scientific method Constitutive and operational definitions The research process aka scientific method Chapter 2 Elements of Research Concepts and Constructs Independent and dependent variables Levels of measurement both the four level scheme nominal ordinal interval and ratio and the two level scheme categorical and continuous as taught in class Types of rating scales Reliability and validity Chapter 4 Sampling Populations and Samples Probability and nonprobability sampling Sample size Sampling error The normal curve and its features Confidence intervals what they mean and what impacts them Chapter 10 Introduction to Statistics Data distributions Frequency distributions bar charts histograms Skewness and kurtosis Measures of central tendency means medians modes Measures of dispersion variance standard deviation standard error range etc The normal curve Z scores Chapter 11 Hypothesis Testing RQ s and hypotheses Null and alternative hypotheses Significance testing alpha levels and p values Type I and Type II error Effect size Chapter 12 Basic Statistical Procedures Degrees of freedom Chi square tests goodness of fit and tests of independence o Observed and expected values t Tests one sample paired samples independent samples Correlations and the coefficient of determination Levels of measurement associated with different types of tests DO NOT REVIEW the sections on F tests ANVOA Linear Regression Multiple Regression we will discuss these later in the class Study and Testing Tips Tips for Preparation note won t be covered Read each chapter carefully aside from information that I specifically Examine the PowerPoints to determine what concepts from lecture where most emphasized as they related to the chapters Review the chapter information emphasized in lecture again to ensure comprehension Review the Excel simulations to remind yourself of the concepts illustrated in those If you are still confused about a heavily emphasized or difficult concept please make an appointment with Dr Collins or JP before exam day Taking the Test Find a comfortable place to log into the exam by 12 30 that has a good internet connection If you have a technical issues immediately email me bcollins purdue edu and JP jloaizar purdue edu Monitor your time carefully You will have about 35 questions to work through in 50 minutes This is plenty of time per question if you are well prepared Answer each question very carefully before you proceed to the next question You will not be able to go back If you have no idea about what the right answer is you should probably guess and move on to gain time for other questions Don t collaborate with others It is prohibited Beyond that it will radically slow you down and make completion of the test very difficult Questions will be randomized and you will not be in alignment with other students