Sociology 390 ——— Social Statistics I
Fall 2012 ——— Cowden
Building, Room 124 ——— Wednesdays
4:30-7:15
Instructor/T.A. |
Office |
Office
Hours |
Phone |
E-mail |
Stephen Kulis |
UC 720 (ASU Downtown) |
By appointment |
602-496-0700 |
kulis@asu.edu |
Megan O’Donnell |
CFS 101 (ASU Tempe) |
Wednesday: 3:20-4:20 Thursday: 2:45-3:45 |
704-968-2324 |
Megan.A.ODonnell@asu.edu |
This three credit-hour course is an introduction to
descriptive and inferential statistics that satisfies the General Studies ‘CS’
(computer/statistics/quantitative applications) requirement. The course
prepares you to perform and interpret fundamental statistical analysis in
social science research: data description, cross-tabulation, t-tests, correlation
and regression, and analysis of variance. Students learn to conduct these
analyses by hand and by using a statistical software package. Classes combine
lectures, demonstrations, and problem solving exercises.
Pre-Requisites |
Introductory Sociology (SOC101 or SOC301). Students unfamiliar with basic algebra (see
the self-diagnostic quiz below) should complete college algebra before
attempting this class. |
Required Text: |
Frankfort-Nachmias &
Leon-Guerrero, Social Statistics for a Diverse Society 6th edition |
Requirements: |
·
Regular
homework based on computer and pencil/ paper exercises. ·
Three
non-cumulative exams: September 26, October 31, & December 14 ·
Note: the last exam
is during the Final Exam period, on a Friday (Dec. 14th) from
4:30-6:20 ·
Bring your
textbook to every class session. |
Exams: |
·
Exams test your
understanding of key terms and methods, their application to solving social
science problems, and your ability to complete and interpret statistical
calculations ·
You may bring
one 8.5" by 11" sheet of notes and a calculator to these exams. |
Grading: |
·
Each exam will
be scored on 100 possible points: the first exam contributes 20% toward the
final grade; the second exam contributes 25%; the final exam contributes 30% ·
Homework (90
assigned problems, 10 points each) contributes 25% toward the final
grade. The 10 problems with the lowest
scores will be dropped before calculating the total homework score (800 possible
points) ·
Grades will be
assigned based on the final percentage of total points earned: 90-100%=A,
80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, less than 60%=E. Plus/minus additions to final letter grades
in the course will not be assigned. |
Attendance: |
Attendance at all class sessions is strongly
advised. If absent, you remain responsible for all assignments, hand-outs or announcements
made in class. We recommend that you swap phone numbers or email addresses
with a member of the class to be able to consult one another if you miss
class unexpectedly or have problems completing homework assignments. |
Missed Exams: |
Students who miss exams for medical or grave
emergencies must present official documentation (e.g., physician's note)
verifying their inability to attend on the scheduled test day and time. |
Blackboard |
Important class information, including the syllabus,
practice tests, homework tips, homework answers, and SPSS resources, are on
the class Blackboard site, which enrolled students can access through http://my.asu.edu. |
Getting Help: |
A key to success in the course is not to let yourself
fall behind. For help, see the
instructor or teaching assistant during office hours. The University Learning
Resource Center provides free tutoring (see http://studentsuccess.asu.edu/frontpage
for locations and hours). Study with another student in the class. Check the textbook website with review
material and quizzes on each chapter (http://pineforge.com/ssds6e). We can also help you find a private tutor. |
Accommo dations: |
If you need disability accommodations or will miss
class or an exam on a religious holiday, see the instructor at the start of
the semester. Such information will be
treated confidentially. |
Academic Integrity: |
Students are expected to abide by ASU’s Academic Integrity policy and code of conduct (http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity/policy ), which defines academic dishonesty to include cheating, plagiarism,
academic deceit, falsifying records, and inappropriate collaboration. It specifies a range of sanctions that
faculty can choose from when violations occur. Cheating
on tests or homework will be treated as serious offenses in this course. Penalties
may include a course grade of XE (failure for academic dishonesty),
suspension, or university expulsion. |
Classroom Conduct: |
To prevent disturbances to other students, cell
phones and pagers may not be used during class sessions, including texting. These
devices must be turned off or silenced.
|
Calendar of Topics (Textbook chapter covered)
August 29: Introduction to statistics in the social
sciences; frequency distributions (Ch. 1, 2)
September 5: Graphical presentations of distributions
(Ch. 3)
September 12: Descriptive statistics: measures of
central tendency (Ch. 4)
September 19: Descriptive statistics: measures of
variability (Ch. 5)
September 26: First exam on Chapters 1-5;
Introduction to normal distributions (Ch. 6)
October 3: Sampling distributions and the Central
Limit Theorem (Ch. 7)
October 10: Estimation of confidence intervals (Ch. 8)
October 17: Logic of classical hypothesis testing
involving means (Ch. 9)
October 24: Hypothesis testing involving proportions
(Ch. 9)
October 31: Second exam on Chapters 7-9;
Constructing and analyzing crosstabs (Ch. 10)
November 7: Chi-square tests of relationships in
crosstabs (Ch. 11)
November 14: Measures of association for crosstabs
(Ch. 12)
November 21: Regression (Ch. 13)
November 28: Correlation (Ch. 13)
December 5: Analysis of variance (Ch. 14)
December 14: Third exam on Chapters 10-14
Homework:
· Required homework exercises are listed below, with due
dates.
· Homework is collected at the beginning of class on due
dates. Homework CANNOT be accepted for credit after answer keys have been
distributed or posted to Blackboard.
· Homework can be turned in before it is due in class
to the receptionist in the School of Social and Family Dynamics (Social
Sciences building, 1st floor).
Clearly address it to Professor Stephen Kulis
and ask to have it time stamped.
· Homework will not be accepted as attachments to email.
· Turn in the original copies of your pencil and
paper answers and your SPSS printouts.
Guidelines and hints for assigned homework problems:
· Make it easy to follow the sequence of problems and
logic of your solutions.
· Read the prior problems for hints about how to do the
problems that follow.
· Print neatly; don’t write in cursive.
· Do only assigned problems; turn in only SPSS printouts
for problems marked above with an asterisk.
· Clearly label each attached printout with a problem
number.
· Staple pages in proper ascending order.
· Don’t scribble all over. Neatly transfer calculations
you know are correct.
· Don’t wait until the night before: you may have
computer/printer problems.
· Retain a zerox copy of the
homework that you turn in, especially close to test dates.
Grading of each problem:
Perfectly executed=10;
Minor mistake(s)=9; Major
mistake(s)=8; Complete attempt, wrong approach=7;
Incomplete attempt, wrong approach=6; No attempt=0
Assigned Homework Problems:
Chapter |
SPSS Problems* |
Chapter Exercises (paper & pencil). |
Due in Class on: |
1 |
Top of p. 25* |
from p. 25: #2, 4, 6, 8 |
September 12 |
2 |
1*, 3* |
4, 6, 8, 12, 14 |
September 12 |
3 |
1*, 2*, 4 (for
#4 produce the graphics & explain why you chose them) |
2, 4, 10, 12 |
September 12 |
4 |
3*, 4*(explain each choice), 5* |
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 |
September 19 |
5 |
1*, 2*, 3*, 4* |
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 |
September 26 |
6 |
1*, 2* |
4, 8, 10, 14 |
October 10 |
7 |
first |
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 |
October 10 |
8 |
1*, 2* |
4, 6, 8, 12 |
October 17 |
9 |
1*, 2*, 4* |
2, 6, 8, 12, 14 |
October 24 |
9 |
|
10 |
October 31 |
10 |
1*, 3* |
2, 4, 8, 10, 12 |
November 14 |
11 |
1*, 3* |
4, 6, 8, 10 |
November 14 |
12 |
1*, 4* |
2, 4, 6, 8, 12 (defend the measure you selected in 8
& 12) |
November 21 |
13 |
1*, 4* |
2, 4, 6, 10, 12 |
December 5 |
*Note: asterisked homework problems require that you
attach your original SPSS printouts, not copies. Before attempting SPSS homework problems,
read the immediately prior section of your text labeled “SPSS Demonstrations,” which
provide vital hints and reminders of how to operate the SPSS software.
Using SPSS:
Your text contains information, demonstrations, and
homework problems using SPSS, a statistical software package that will allow
you to analyze social science data sets.
All ASU students may access SPSS through the ASU computer network from
any ASU computing site or via the internet.
How to Use SPSS at ASU Computing Sites
How to Use the ASU Network Version of SPSS Remotely (from
any computer connected to the internet)
How to Download the SPSS Program to Your PC or Mac
Computer
How to Find, Download, and Copy the SPSS Datasets for
Your Homework
·
The datasets you
will use with SPSS for assigned homework problems are available on the class
Blackboard site under the “SPSS” tab.
·
You can copy them
by clicking on the file, select “Click here if the file does not open,” select
“Save,” and then save the file to a folder on the computer you are using. We
will also email all students with these datasets as attachments. Download and save these files to your own
computer if you plan to use that computer to complete your SPSS homework.
May We Suggest Strongly...
·
If using ASU
computing sites, do your work well in advance of due dates, and anticipate a wait
at busy times (e.g., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
·
Shortcut: Save the SPSS homework datasets on a USB flash drive
if you will use SPSS at an ASU Computing Site. After plugging in the flash drive to the
site computer, you can just double click the SPSS homework dataset on the flash
drive to start up SPSS.
·
If you are
stumped on homework problems, study the adjacent odd-numbered problems for
which there are answers in the book.
·
Visit the
Teaching Assistant during office hours if you have any problems. No question or problem is too simple, or “too
dumb” to ask about.
·
We are using a well
proofed text, but errors in formulas, answer keys, or typos sometimes escape
notice. If you encounter anything you strongly suspect
is wrong, please email the instructor (kulis@asu.edu)
so we can inform the whole class.
Thanks.