WATCH THIS SPACE FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS! GUIDE 1: INTRODUCTION
GUIDE 2: CONSTRUCTING A TABLE
GUIDE 3: UNIVARIATE STATISTICS AND DISPLAYS
GUIDE 4: BIVARIATE BASICS
GUIDE 5: BIVARIATE CORRELATIONS
GUIDE 6: MULTIVARIATE CROSSTABULATIONS
GUIDE 7: BASIC REGRESSION
GUIDE 8: REGRESSION SPECIFICS
GUIDE 9: SAMPLING		 TO OVERVIEW
 

SUCH AS: 
PLEASE TURN ALL CELL PHONES OFFDURING CLASS. THANKS!

 
EDF 5400-01       FALL 2004
106  Stone Building
Monday-Wednesday  5:15-7:00 PM
INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS:
BASIC DESCRIPTIVES, INFERENCE AND DATA ANALYSIS
Susan Carol Losh
Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
Florida State University

 
Welcome to EDF 5400-01! And, if you are new to Florida State University, welcome to FSU as well.

On this site are topics, readings, and dates for assignments and exams for EDF 5400-01 Fall 2004. Watch this website over the semester for more information about each assignment. Need more information? Contact me via email:

slosh@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

 
BOOKS
ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING
WE'RE ONLINE
READINGS & 
ASSIGNMENT DATES

 
BASIC COURSE INFORMATION
INSTRUCTOR: Professor Susan Carol Losh
307K Stone Building 
850-644-8778 Voice
850-644-8776 FAX

OFFICE HOURS: Exceptions to be announced
3:30-5:15 P.M. Monday & Wednesday 
& by appointment
slosh@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

 Assisted by: Maria Teresa Ferreira 
 

CLICK HERE  to find the Stone Building

OFFICE HOURS: to be announced
& by appointment
mtf03c@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

 


REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS & LECTURES

Our textbooks are:

Alan Agresti and Barbara Finlay, Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences (THIRD EDITION). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997. ISBN = 0-13-526526-6

Darrell Huff, How to Lie with Statistics. New York: W.W. Norton Company, new printing: 1993 (original printing 1954). ISBN = 0-393-31072-8

Our books ARE ordered and can be found at Bill's and the FSU Bookstore. However, another course also is using them. So please check with the store for our books.

ALL MY COURSE LECTURES will be placed on the Internet and linked in with each course topic.

Course guides will be keyed to the readings. See the top of each Guide as it is posted.

The lecture urls have the general form of:

http://edf5400-01.su04.fsu.edu/Guide1.html

Please type in course urls EXACTLY. There is no "www" in these urls.

Each Guide is linked to every other Guide so that it is easy to navigate from one to another.
Course Guides are also linked to course topics and will be placed on our class Blackboard site (please see below).

Although I may not cover all the material in each one during class time, you are responsible for ALL the material in each guide. That is why they are on the Internet.

I recommend that you read my online guides FIRST. They emphasize the portions of the material that I think are the most important for this course. I think it will be easier for you to understand the texts after you have read the associated guide.

Some of the material in the guides will be covered during class. However, class time will also be used for instruction related to each assignment, demonstrations, exam review, and assignment and exam feedback.
 

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Here is information about  assignments, exams, due dates, and course weights.

There will be three equally weighted exams, each about one hour.  Each exam counts 25 percent toward your final grade. While each exam will focus on the immediately prior units, please be advised that this material is cumulative in nature. In addition, if a concept or concepts appears to give considerable trouble in one exam, there will probably be questions addressing that concept on the next exam. Exams will mix short answer, short essay and multiple choice and have a strong problem-solving orientation. Exams are closed book, no notes.

Assignments are weighted so that if you make a mistake, it will not hurt your final grade to a large extent, and mistakes can then be corrected on the exams, which weight more heavily.

While each assignment focuses on unit readings and other course requirements, material on data analysis is cumulative by nature. For example, the level of measurement in your variables is considered throughout.

All five assignments put together will count a total of 25 percent toward your final grade.

Details on each assignment are posted to our course WEB site prior to the due date.

For example, this will be the site for Assignment 1.

As assignments, assignment feedback, exam guides, and exam feedback sites are created and posted, watch the space at the top of the Guides for information and links.

I use plus and minus grading, throughout and for final grades. Improvement over the course of the semester is considered in grading, and exams weight more heavily  toward your final grade than exercises.

If I think you are having trouble with the material, I will alert you immediately and I expect you will seek remedial help as quickly as possible. If you receive such an alert, please take it very seriously. Do not tell me that you "really understand the material" and fail to seek help. I issue such alerts because the work makes it obvious the student DOES NOT understand the material.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GRADING: CLICK HERE. 


 
ASSIGNMENT
DUE DATE
COURSE WEIGHT
1: Introduction and category properties September 15 5 percent
2. Central tendency and variation September 22 5 percent
EXAM ONE (STUDY GUIDE TO BE LINKED HERE) September 29 25 percent
3. Two way cross tabulation and correlation coefficients
    T-test Practice		 October 20 5 percent
EXAM TWO (STUDY GUIDE TO BE LINKED HERE) November 3 25 percent
4. Three way cross-tabulation and causal interpretations November 10 5 percent
5. Basic Multiple Regression November 22 5 percent
EXAM THREE (STUDY GUIDE TO BE LINKED HERE) December 8
5:30 PM		 25 percent

You will also be able to access all the assignments as they appear on the ASSIGNMENT PORTAL.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE!    IMPORTANT!

Our exams are closed-note, closed book and are expected to be your own work ONLY. Here are some of the things you can expect to see on exams:

identifying common symbols used in statistics, such as the symbols for the mean or for distinct correlation coefficients

identifying the measurement level of a variable, then selecting the most appropriate statistics to use with it

assessing the pitfalls in thinking causally about non-experimental data--and how statistics can help (or not)

being able to recognize when results are statistically significant at conventional levels of significance for several types of statistical tests

assessing the strength of a relationship among two or more variables
 
 
A NOTE ON ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES

 

 
We are on a tight schedule so assignments must reach me BY THE DUE DATE. Because of the intensive nature of this course, late assignments are not accepted.

 
 

IN GENERAL, I WILL NOT ACCEPT EMAIL ATTACHMENTS! PLEASE DO NOT SEND THEM. 

There have been too many problems with computer viruses. This is especially true for University computers, which have proven to be hotbeds of infection. Due to a virus, I had to do a total wipe and reload on my computer this summer. This was not fun.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND DOCUMENT OR HTML ATTACHMENTS TO MY E-MAIL BOX.

PLEASE DO NOT SLIDE PAPERS UNDER MY DOOR OR UNDER THE EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY SUITE DOOR!

PLEASE DO NOT BEGIN THE SEMESTER BY REQUESTING EXCEPTIONS TO THE ASSIGNMENT OR EXAM DATES. It is impossible to change the times to accomodate everyone. You can fax assignments from virtually anywhere, including most Kinkos or Target Copy centers.

If you slide papers under my door, they may or may not be placed on my desk--where I may not be able to find them. Anyone who has seen my desk will NEVER do anything so foolish. Similar problems occur with materials slid under the Educational Psychology and Learning Systems suite door.
 

BUT WE HAVE SOME ALTERNATIVES!
Here are some alternatives if you absolutely cannot hand assignments to me in person:
  • My office mailbox in 307 Stone Building
  • FAX to the Educational Psychology Office (850) 644-8776. Please be sure to put my name and EDF 5400 on the Cover Sheet and include the total number of pages
  • Mail (USE FIVE DAYS ADVANCE NOTICE!)  to Dr. Susan Carol Losh, Educational Psychology & Learning Systems, FSU, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453
You can fax from the road or turn assignments in a day or two early. Because of our schedule, I try to return assignments as rapidly as possible. If you are late, I just might hand them back before you turn yours in.

Sorry for the paranoia but I have been sent worms, bugs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (trust me: you DON'T want to know), and just about every common and uncommon virus around. If you have heard of it, I almost certainly have been sent it.

ONE MORE NOTE ON EMAIL: Widespread viruses spread through email are using subject lines such as "hi" "hello" "hi there" or "my test". PLEASE USE SOME OTHER SUBJECT LINE. I will delete without opening any emails that have subject lines such as "hi" or "my test."
 
 

WE’RE ONLINE!
Our course is WEB assisted through the CourseInfo/Blackboard 6.0 and WEB-MC  systems at FSU. You MUST be registered for edf5400-01 to access our statistics class Web site. To access our course, here is what to do. Go online to:

http://campus.fsu.edu

(You will be forwarded to the new, more complicated url. The above works and is easy to remember.) Enter your GARNET username (USERNAME ONLY!) and password to log in. For example, I would enter "slosh" ONLY and omit the "@garnet.acns.fsu.edu" part. Then click on “DES/INF STATSTCS APP” to enter our site. Browse the diverse categories that are available.

Each Guide (lecture) will have links posted at the top to the Course Overview, Syllabus, and all prior course Guides. This makes getting around the course material easy. Watch the top of each Guide for announcements about assignments, exams, generic feedback, and any schedule changes.

When sites are under construction, there will be a warning sign at the top. I recommend against copying sites until construction warnings are removed.
 

 

NOTES FOR NET NOVICES

If you haven't used the Internet much before, it may make you nervous at first. Bear with it. The 'Net is my right arm and it makes what the average student is able to achieve in this course possible. Here are a few tips:

The web address or "url" that you see above is VERY SPECIFIC.

The url is CASE SENSITIVE. That means you must copy the capital and small letters EXACTLY. Do not improvise.

There is NO "www" in the FSU WEB-MC system WEB addresses. DO NOT insert one. Copy the address exactly!

The number "0" is different from the letter "O". DO NOT confuse them.

.html and .htm are two totally different entities.

Be sure to place the dots and slashes or "." or "/" EXACTLY as shown. If you leave a dot out, you will not pull up the page.

A forward slash (/) is different from a backward slash (\). Don't confuse them!

Do not add any spaces to the web address. Keep spacing exactly as it is in the original.

If you decide to become creative with these aspects of the web address, there is an excellent chance that you will not be able to access our sites and you will become very, very frustrated.

Some 'Net novices find it easier to just go through Blackboard and this is definitely an option. All materials will be available both in WEB-MC and in Blackboard. It's your choice how to navigate.
 

 
BASIC COURSE TOPICS, READINGS, AND IMPORTANT DATES

There may be some variations from this syllabus. Please check back weekly and watch Blackboard for any announcements.
DATES
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS
August 23-30 Navigating our course WEB sites
What are the characteristics of a variable?
Causality 101
What are nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio variables?		 Losh, Guide 1
Huff, Introduction, pp. 7-9
Huff, Chapter 1, pp. 10-26
Agresti & Finlay, Preface (entire)
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 1, pp.1-9
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 2, pp.12-17
September 15 ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE Basic univariate frequencies, recoding data, and percentage table construction
SEPTEMBER 6 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY UNIVERSITY CLOSED
September 1-13 Everything you wanted to know about a single variable
How to construct a univariate table
Basics of the SDA online system
Percents, rates, change over time, ratios
Measures of central location & variation
Normal Curve 101
Confidence intervals
Charts, graphs, icons		 Losh, Guide 2
Losh, Guide 3
Huff, Chapters 2 & 3, pp. 27-52
Huff, Chapters 4, 5 & 6, pp. 53-73
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 3, pp. 45-67 THEN
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 3, pp. 35-44
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 4, SKIM entire
Focus on: pp. 86-89 AND pp. 94-111
OPTIONAL: stem & leaf plot material
September 22 ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE Central tendency and variation
September 27 EXAM ONE REVIEW Univariate basic statistics
September 29 EXAM 1 COVERS MATERIAL THROUGH GUIDE 3
September 15-
October 6		 Relationships between two variables
Learning the "pieces" of a Table
Bivariate Crosstabulations
Introduction to classical hypothesis testing
Chi-Square
Correlation coefficients: ,, and 
T-tests for independent groups & extensions		 Losh, Guide 4
Losh, Guide 5
Huff, Chapter 7, pp. 74-86
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 8, pp. 248-266
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 8, pp. 272-278
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 8, pp. 282-286
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 6, FOCUS ON:
pp. 154-167; pp. 171-179; pp. 193-198
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 7, pp. 210-220
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 7, pp. 232-234
(For the curious about one-way analysis of variance:
Agresti & Finlay, pp. 438-445)
  EXAM ONE FEEDBACK  
October 11-
November 1		  Measures of Association and Tabular Control
Multivariate Crosstabulation Tables
The Concept of Statistical Interaction
Causal Issues in Non-experimental Data		 Losh, Guide 6
Huff, Chapter 8, pp. 87-99
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 10, pp. 356-373
October 20 ASSIGNMENT 3 DUE Bivariate Tables
Zero Order (Bivariate) Correlations
T-test Practice
Hypothesis Testing
November 1 EXAM TWO REVIEW  Basic bivariate statistics
November 3 EXAM TWO 
We can do a short review before 		 COVERS MATERIAL THROUGH GUIDE 5
 November 8-22 Basics in Multiple Regression and Correlation Losh, Guide 7
Losh, Guide 8
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 9, pp 301-342
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 11, pp 382-404
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 11, pp 411-421
November 10 ASSIGNMENT 4 DUE Three-Way Crosstabulation Tables With a Control Variable
Causal Issues in Non-Experimental Data
  EXAM TWO FEEDBACK  
November 22 ASSIGNMENT 5 DUE Working with multiple regression
NOVEMBER 24-26 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS NO CLASS
November 29-
December 1		 Sampling and Probability Losh Guide 9
Agresti & Finlay, Chapter 2, pp.18-29
Sampling distribution review
Confidence interval review
Huff, Chapters 9 and 10, pp. 100-142
December 1
LAST DAY CLASS		 EXAM THREE REVIEW Very basic multivariate statistics 
December 8
Wednesday 5:30 PM		 EXAM THREE COVERS MATERIAL THROUGH GUIDE 9

A LECTURE (AND ASSOCIATED MATERIALS) WILL BE LINKED WITH EACH TOPIC AS THE SEMESTER PROGRESSES.
 
 

OVERVIEW

This page created with Netscape Composer
and is best viewed with Netscape Navigator
600 X 800 display resolution.
There may be some minor changes as the semester progresses.
Your patience is appreciated.
Susan Carol Losh
August 15, 2004
Welcome back to school.