Elementary Statistics--EDUC 665, Fall 2002

Instructor: Prof. Ratna Nandakumar, Ph.D.              

Office Hrs: Wednesday 2:30 - 4 pm.

Email: nandakum@udel.edu

Class session:          Thursday 4-7 pm.

Lectures:                        006 Willard Hall

Textbook:

Gravetter, F. J., & Wallnau, L. B. (2002). Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. 4th Edition, Wadsworth, Pacific Grove, CA.

Optional text:

Gravetter, F. J. (2002). Study guide for Gravetter and Wallnau's Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. 4th Edition, Wadsworth, Pacific Grove, CA.

Philosophy and Goals

The emphasis of this course is on understanding the statistical concepts and learning to use statistics to address real world problems in education and related fields. Upon completion of this course it is hoped that you will be able to:

1. Think critically about data.

2. Use graphical and numerical summaries.

3. Apply standard statistical inference procedures.

4. Draw meaningful conclusions from such analyses.

All components of this course are designed to develop a thoughtful and reflective approach to the use of statistics in your respective fields.

 Structure

We will have a lecture/discussion format throughout the semester. At the end of each class period a set of exercise problems will be assigned from the textbook. It shall be assumed that students have read the assigned readings and worked out the assigned exercise problems before the next class session.

Each of you is expected to contribute to class discussions and group discussions. The key to the success of this course is assignments and class participation.

Course Requirements:

Attendance

Your active participation is required during class discussions and computer lab sessions. You will not get full benefit from this course without regular attendance. Being absent from class without prior permission will result in substantial reduction in points for class participation.

Class Presentation  

Every student is expected to make a 5-10 minute class presentation of an application of a statistical technique learnt in class.

Select one research article in your field or you may discuss your own study if you have one. If you are selecting a research article, select an article that uses z-scores, t-statistic, or any other experimental design to test a hypothesis.  In your presentation pay attention to the following points.

  1. What are the objectives of the research study?
  2. What are the independent and dependent variables?
  3. What is the research design?
  4. What are the null and alternative hypotheses?
  5. How many subjects were involved in the study and who were the subjects?
  6. What descriptive statistics did the researcher(s) use? Do you think the tables, graphs, and figures are appropriate for the type of research? Are they easy to understand? Give reasons why or why not.
  7. What were the findings of the study? Do the findings make sense? Why or why not?
  8. What conclusion(s) did the researcher(s) draw from these results?
  9. Do you agree with the conclusions based on the data? Why or why not?

Determination of Grades

Homework assignments -- 15%

Midterm Examination -- 35%

Final Examination -- 35%

Class Presentation -- 15%

Grievance Policy

Any reasonable request to re-grade a particular item on examination will be considered. However, the instructor reserves the right to re-grade the entire examination.

Other Administrative Comments

If, at any point during the course, you have any questions or concerns regarding any aspect of the course, please do not hesitate to contact me in person, by email, or by phone. You may contact me after the class to arrange for an appointment. 

SYLLABUS

Day

Topics to be Covered

(chapters refer to Gravetter and Wallnau)

September 5      

Chap. 1: Introduction

Chap. 2: Frequency Distributions
September 12          

Chap. 3: Central Tendency

Chap. 4: Variability
September 19    

Chap. 4: Variability (contd.)

 Chap. 5: z-Scores    

September 26

Chap. 6: Probability
October 3    Chap. 7: The dist. of sample means
October 10 Chap. 8: Introduction to hypothesis testing
October 17   Midterm Examination
October 24 Chap. 9: The t-statistic
October 31

Chap10: Hypothe. tests with two indep. samples

Chap. 11: Hypothesis tests with related samples
November 7 Chap. 12: Estimation
November 14  Chap. 15: Correlation and regression
November 21 Chap 16: The Chi-square test
November 28 No class - Thanksgiving Holiday
December 5

Review

Class presentations
? Final Examination
   

       ____________________________________________________________

Note: This schedule is only tentative. Some adjustments may be desirable as a result of

Students' background and interests to expand or reduce coverage of some of the above topics.