DepartmentofPsychology
Psych292
BasicDataAnalysis
Tuesdays,Thursdays10:00am–11:20am,AL116
InstructorandT.A.Information
Instructor:Dr.PaulWehr
Office:PAS4037
OfficePhone:519-888-4567,x35333
OfficeHours:Tuesdays,Thursdays:11:30am-12:30pm
Email:[email protected]
TA: MichaelKlein
[email protected]
HanskySantos
PaulineSummers
CanaanLegault
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
AlexandrMilovanov
McLennonWilson
[email protected] [email protected]
ReemTawfik
[email protected]
CourseDescription
PSYC292willintroducestudentstothefundamentalsofdescriptiveandinferentialstatisticsusedin
psychologicalscience.Wewillemphasizeadeepunderstandingofstatisticalprinciplesratherthanthe
applicationof“cookbook”statisticalformulas.
COURSEGOALSANDLEARNINGOUTCOMES
Uponcompletionofthiscourse,studentsshould:
A. Possessafundamental,deepunderstandingofdescriptiveandinferentialstatistics,andbepreparedto
augmentthisunderstandinginupper-yearstatisticalcourses.
B. Beabletoselectandconductbasicstatisticalanalyses.
C. Refinetheirabilitytoreadandinterpretresearchresultsreportedintheliterature.
D. Becomeamorecritical“consumer”ofreportedresearchfindingsintheliteratureandthemedia.
InformationAvailableonLEARN
ThecoursewebpagecanbefoundonLEARN(https://learn.uwaterloo.ca/).Here,youwillfindlinkstothe
syllabus,lectureslides,andimportantannouncements.Iwilldomybesttohaveslidesfortheupcoming
lectureavailableatleast24hoursinadvanceofclasstime.
1
Textbook
Inlieuofatraditionaltextbook,studentswillbeaskedtosubscribetoanonline“course”calledStatistical
Reasoning,whichispartoftheOpenLearningInitiative(OLI)atCarnegieMellonUniversity.Toregister,please
followthefollowinginstructions:
1. GotoOLI’swebsite(http://oli.cmu.edu/),and“signup”(toprightcorner)
2. Enteryourfullfirstnameandlastname,astheyappearonLEARN
3. IMPORTANT:EnteryouruWaterlooemailaddressasyour“AccountID”.Ifyoudonot,wewillnotbe
abletomatchyourrecordsacrosstheOLIandLEARNsystems,andyouwillnotreceivegradesfor
yourassignments.
4. ThereisNOfeetousetheOLIresourcethisterm.
5. Onceyouhavefinishedsigningup,apagecalled“MyCourses”willappear.Undermyacademic
courses,enterthefollowingcoursekey:psy292uw2017
Tutorials
Tutorialsbeginduringthesecondweekofthesemester.YourTAwillguidethegroupthroughsolutionstoa
setoftargetexercises.Thesetargetexercisesaredrawnfrommidtermsgiveninpreviousyears.Thetarget
exercisestobecoveredeachweekwillbepostedonLEARNinadvance.Youwilllikelyfindthetutorialstobe
morehelpfulifyouhaveattemptedtosolvetheproblemsforyourselfpriortoeachmeeting.Although
attendingtutorialsisoptional,manystudentsfindthetutorialstobethemosthelpfulfeatureofthecourse.
Calculators
Forthetutorialexercises,midterms,andfinalexam,youwillfindithelpfultohaveacalculator,ideallywith
basicstatisticalfunctions(e.g.,standarddeviation).Pleasebringyourcalculatortoeveryclassmeetingand
everytutorial.Forexams,studentsarenotpermittedtousesmartphonesorotherinternet-enableddevices
insteadofacalculator.
CourseAssessment
Assessmentforthiscourseisprimarilybasedonaseriesofthreemidterms,eachworth20%,andacumulative
finalexamthatisworth30%.Therewillalsobeaseriesofcheckpoints,whicharemini-assignmentsdelivered
throughtheonlinetextbook.
Assessment
Checkpoints(14total)
MidtermExams(3total)
FinalExam
Total
Weight
10%
60%
30%
100%
2
Checkpoints
Studentsarerequiredtocomplete14relativelybrief,onlineassessmentsthroughOLI’swebsite
(http://oli.cmu.edu).Thesecheckpointsareintendedtohelpyoucheckyourcomprehensionofmaterialandto
keepyouontrackwiththeassignedreading.Yourgradewillreflectthebest12outof14checkpointscores.
Youarealloweduptotwoattemptsforeachcheckpointandwillreceivefeedbackoneachattempt.Yourfinal
scoreforeachcheckpointwillbedeterminedbythepercentageofcorrectlyanswereditemsfromyourbestscoringattempt.Onlinecheckpointsaredueby23:59(11:59PM)ontheirdesignatedduedates.Studentswill
notbeabletosubmitcheckpointsafterthistime.Missedcheckpointswillreceiveagradeofzero(no
exceptions).
CheckpointTopic
DueDate
ExaminingDistributions1
Jan13
ExaminingDistributions2
Jan20
RandomVariables
Feb03
SamplingDistributions1&2
Feb10*
Estimation
Feb17
HypothesisTestingforPopulationProportionsandMeans
Mar03*
TwoIndependentSamplesandMatchedPairs
Mar10*
ExaminingRelationships1&2
Mar24*
CaseCàCandQàQandInferencesforRelationships
Mar31*
*notethattherearetwocheckpointsdueonthesedates!
Examinations
MIDTERMS:Therewillbethree60-minutemidtermstakingplaceduringclasstimeonthedatethey
arescheduled.Technically,theseexamsarenon-cumulative,buttopicscoveredinthiscoursenaturally
buildononeanother.Forexample,tocarryoutat-test(coveredonMidterm3),youneedtoknow
howtocalculateastandarddeviation(coveredonMidterm1).Allexamsareclosed-book,butformula
sheetsandstatisticaltableswillbeprovidedattheexam.Youcanpreviewtheformulasheetson
LEARN.
Togetherthethreemidtermswillaccountfor60%ofyourfinalgrade.Yourhighesttestscorewill
countfor25%andyourlowestforonly15%,withtheintermediatescorecountingfor20%.Outof
fairnesstootherstudents,pleasenotethattheinstructorcannotofferanyfurtherchangesinthe
weightingoftheunittestsandfinalexam,oradditionalworkforextracredit.
Ifyouhaveaconcernabouthowanitemonanexaminationwasmarked,pleasefirstconsultthe
answerkey(postedonLEARN).Iftheanswerkeydoesnotaddressyourconcern,pleasearrangeto
discussthematterfurtherwiththeTAwhomarkedtheitem;theanswerkeywillindicatewhomarked
eachitem.Ifyoustillfeelthatyourconcernhasnotbeenaddressed,pleaseputitinwritingandsubmit
ittotheinstructor,whowillthendiscussitwiththeTAandmakeafinaldecision.
3
FINALEXAM:Thefinalexamiscumulativeandwilltakeplaceduringthefinalexamperiod.Theexact
datewillbeannouncedlaterinthetermaftertheuniversitypublishesthefinalexamschedule.Once
again,relevantstatisticalformulasandtableswillbeprovided.Studentsmayalsobringoneadditional
(double-sided)pageoftheirownnotes.Thissinglesheetmaybehand-writtenortyped.
POLICYONMISSEDEXAMINATIONS:Ifanexamismissedforalegitimatereason(e.g.,illnessorkidnapping),
validdocumentation(e.g.,averificationofillnessformorransomnote)isrequiredinordertoavoidreceivinga
zeroforthatexam.Make-upexamswillONLYbeprovidedforstudentswithvalidabsences.Pleasesubmit
yourdocumentationtotheinstructorassoonaspossible.Absenceduetoreligiousholidayisavalidexcuse,
butnotifyyourinstructoratthebeginningofthecourseintheeventofaconflict.Absencesforvarsity
athletics,familyobligations,co-opinterviewsorothersimilarengagementsareNOTpartofUniversitypolicy
andstudentsshouldnotassumethattheywillbeaccommodated.Ifyouhaveapressingissuethatconflicts
withanexam,youshoulddiscussthiswithyourinstructorassoonaspossible.
Correspondence
PSYC292hashighenrolment.Typically,wereceiveanoverwhelmingnumberofe-mailmessagesfrom
studentswithquestionsaboutcoursecontent,assignments,midterms,etc.Severaldiscussionforumshave
beencreatedonLEARNforstudentstocommunicatewitheachotherandwiththeInstructorandTAs.Posting
queriesandcommentsonthediscussionforumispreferabletoe-mailbecause,chancesarehigh,thatother
stuentshavethesamequestionasyou.Italsohelpstofacilitateinteractionbetweenstudentsinlargeclasses.
Beforepostingonthediscussionforums,however,pleasebesuretocheckexistingpostings,announcements
onLEARNandthesyllabustoavoidredundancies.YoushouldcontacttheinstructorIfyouhavequestions
aboutthelecturematerial.PleasecontactYOURTAifyouhavequestionsaboutthetutorialcontent.Also,
rememberthattheinstructorhasofficehoursfollowingeachclassandwelcomesstudentstoattendasoften
asyouwish.Forsensitiveorpersonalissuesunrelatedtocorsecontent,pleasee-mailtheinstructordirectlyor
visitduringofficehours.
SucceedinginPSYC292
MANYstudentsstrugglewithstatistics.Ifyoufindthisisyourexperience,don’tpanicbutyoumightfindit
necessarytoworkharder,collaboratemorewithclassmates,andseekoutmorehelp.Herearesomethings
youcandotomoreeffectivelylearnthematerialandenjoythecourse:
•
Carefullycompleteassignedreadingseachweekbeforethelecture
•
Completethe“LearnbyDoing”and“DidIGetThis?”activitiesasyouencounterthemwhiledoingthe
assignedreadingintheonlinetextbook
•
Testyourunderstandingbycompletingtheproblemsets,whichareexamplesofquestionsfrom
previousmidtermandfinalexaminations(alldownloadablefromLEARN)
•
Don’tbeafraidtoaskquestionsinlectureandintutorialsifyoudon’tunderstandsomething.All
studentshavegapsintheirknowledge.Goodstudentsidentifythosegapsandfillthembyasking
questions.
•
Visittheinstructorand/oryourTAsduringofficehoursifyouneedadditionalhelp.
•
ConsultthePsychologyUndergraduatewebsite“StudentSuccess”section“Psych292orPsych391tips
forsuccess”(https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/current-undergraduate-students/studentsuccess#Psych292-391-Success)
4
AccommodationforStudentswithDisabilities
TheAccessAbilityServicesoffice,locatedonthefirstflooroftheNeedlesHallextension,collaborateswithall
academicdepartmentstoarrangeappropriateaccommodationsforstudentswithdisabilitieswithout
compromisingtheacademicintegrityofthecurriculum.Ifyourequireacademicaccommodationstolessenthe
impactofyourdisability,pleaseregisterwiththeASofficeatthebeginningofeachacademicterm.
https://uwaterloo.ca/disability-services/
Counselling&PsychologicalServices
TheCounselling&PsychologicalServicesofficeattheUniversityofWaterloo,locatedonthesecondfloorof
theNeedlesHallextension,offersavarietyofresourcesforthosestrugglingwiththechallengesofuniversity
life,includingcopingskillsseminarsandworkshops,peersupport,grouptherapy,andclinicalreferalls.Their
homepageis:
https://uwaterloo.ca/counselling-services/
StudentSuccessOffice
TheStudentSuccessOfficeattheUniversityofWaterloo,locatedonthesecondfloorofSouthCampusHall,
offerstutoring,workshops,successcoaching,andavarietyofotherresourcesforstudentslookingforguidance
tobesuccessfulinuniversity.Theirhomepageis:
https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success/
WritingCentre
TheWritingCentre,locatedonthesecondfloorofSouthCampusHall,worksacrossallfacultiestohelp
studentsclarifytheirideas,developtheirvoices,andcommunicateinthestyleappropriatetotheirdisciplines.
WritingCentrestaffofferone-on-onesupportinplanningassignments,usinganddocumentingresearch,
organizaingpapersandreports,designingpresentationsande-portfolios,andrevisingforclarityand
coherence.
Youcanmakemultipleappointmentsthroughouttheterm,ordropinateithertheDanaPorterorDavisCentre
librariesforquickquestionsorfeedback.Groupappointmentsforteam-basedprojects,presentations,and
papersarealsoavailable.Tobooka50-minuteappointmentandtoseedrop-inhousrs,visit:
https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-centre/
ConcernsAbouttheCourseorInstructor(InformalStage)
WeinthePsychologyDepartmenttakegreatprideinthehighqualityofourprogramandour
instructors.Thoughinfrequent,weknowthatstudentsoccasionallyfindthemselvesinsituationsofconflict
withtheirinstructorsovercoursepoliciesorgradeassessments.Ifsuchaconflictarises,theAssociateChairfor
UndergraduateAffairs(Dr.MyraFernandes)isavailableforconsultationandtomediatearesolutionbetween
thestudentandinstructor.Dr.Fernandes’contactinformationisasfollows:Email:[email protected],
Phone:519-888-4567,x32142.Astudentwhobelievesthatadecisionaffectingsomeaspectofhis/her
universitylifehasbeenunfairorunreasonablemayhavegroundsforinitiatingagrievance.SeePolicy70and
71belowforfurtherdetails. 5
AcademicIntegrity
AcademicIntegrity:Inordertomaintainacultureofacademicintegrity,membersoftheUniversityofWaterloo
areexpectedtopromotehonesty,trust,fairness,respectandresponsibility.
Discipline:Astudentisexpectedtoknowwhatconstitutesacademicintegrity,toavoidcommittingacademic
offences,andtotakeresponsibilityforhis/heractions.Astudentwhoisunsurewhetheranactionconstitutes
anoffence,orwhoneedshelpinlearninghowtoavoidoffences(e.g.,plagiarism,cheating)orabout“rules”for
groupwork/collaborationshouldseekguidancefromthecourseprofessor,academicadvisor,orthe
UndergraduateAssociateDean.Whenmisconducthasbeenfoundtohaveoccurred,disciplinarypenaltieswill
beimposedunderPolicy71–StudentDiscipline.Forinformationoncategoriesofoffensesandtypesof
penalties,studentsshouldrefertoPolicy71–StudentDiscipline.
https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71
Grievance:Astudentwhobelievesthatadecisionaffectingsomeaspectofhis/heruniversitylifehasbeen
unfairorunreasonablemayhavegroundsforinitiatingagrievance.ReadPolic70–StudentPetitionsand
Grievances,Section4.
https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-70
Appeals:Astudentmayappealthefindingand/orpenaltyinadecisionmadeunderPolicy70-Student
PetitionsandGrievances(otherthanregardingapetition)orPolicy71-StudentDisciplineifagroundforan
appealcanbeestablished.ReadPolicy72–StudentAppeals.
https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-72
Othersourcesofinformationforstudents
AcademicIntegrity(Arts):https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/ethical-behavior
AcademicIntegrityOffice(uWaterloo):https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/
WithdrawalDates
Withdrawaldeadlineandreceivenopenalty:January23rd,2017
Withdrawaldeadlinetoreceive“WD”ontranscript:March17th,2017
Withdrawaldeadlinetoreceive“WF”ontranscript:April6th,2017
6
TermSchedule
Week
1
Dates
LectureTopics
ReadingAssignment
Assessment
Jan03&
05
DescriptiveStatistics CourseOutline
2
Jan10&
12
Probability
Module8
3
Jan17&
19
RandomVariables
Module9
4
Jan24&
26
NormalDistributions Module9
5
Jan31&
Feb02
Sampling
Distributions
Module10
6
Feb07–
09
ConfidenceIntervals
Module11&12
7
Feb14–
16
HypothesisTesting:
OneSampleTests
Module13(ExceptTypeIand
TypeIIerror)
Feb20-24 READINGBREAK
8
Feb28–
Mar02
HypothesisTesting:
Related&
Independent
Samples
Module14
9
Mar07–
09
EffectSize&Power
Module13TypeI&TypeII
ErrorandPowerModule
(http://wise.cgu.edu/portfolio/)
10
Mar14–
16
Correlation
Module5(pg42–51)
11
Mar21–
23
Regression
Module5(pg52–end)
Modules2,3&4.
Midterm1(Jan26th)
Midterm2(Feb28th)
Midterm3(Mar16th)
Module12(CaseQàQ)
Module15(CaseQàQ)
12
Mar28–
30
ChiSquare&Test
Selection
Module5(CaseCàC)
Module15(CaseCàC)
Module15(Wrapup:Inference
forRelationships)
Note:LecturetopicsBEGINduringtheweektheyarescheduled,butwilloftenspilloverintothefollowing
weekbeforecompleted.
7