COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The final grade for the course will be based on all of the following:

1. Weekly Assignments All assignments listed for each week are due the following Tuesday by 8 am—either in class or in my office. Up to two assignments may be late with no penalty, but they must be turned in by the next class. All other late assignments will be penalized by one point per calendar day late. (worth total of 10 pts)

2. Examinations There are four mandatory exams in the class. Students must take the exams on the days they are given unless he/she experiences severe hardship such as a death in the family or severe illness. Students who need take exams on a different day for other reasons, such as a family trip, plan to go home early, or not ready for the exam, may do so but will lose five percent of their grade. Note, however, that this option of taking exams on a different day than that scheduled is only permitted if the student and professor agree prior to the test date. (worth total of 18 pts each, 72 pts total)

3. Research Paper You are responsible for writing a paper that uses statistics to answer real research questions. The paper involves asking a question, doing a research overview of past studies, coming up with the correct method(s) for testing the question, testing the question, deciding what the answer is based on your results, and describe what other research needs to be done in the future (as a result of your work). The paper must be, in length, from 10-15 pages, including tables, and include the following sections: introduction, background, methods, results, and discussion/conclusion. The paper must also include references and tables/figures. I recommend you use data from the General Social Survey, or any other data set you can access. Please check the research paper section of the course outline for the due dates you must follow to submit your paper. (worth 18 pts)

QUIZ POLICY

As long as students keep up with the readings and participate in class, there will be no quizzes. However, if I find this is not the case, I will give in-class quizzes that will count toward the final grade.

REQUIRED BOOKS

Below are the books required for class.

George, D. and P. Mallery. SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference , 12.0 Update (5 th Edition). Pearson Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 1:  0-205-45245-0

Agresti, A. and B. Findlay. 1997. Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences . Pearson Education. ISBN: 0135265266.

Schroeder, L.D., D.L. Sjoquist, and P.E. Stephan. 1986. Understanding Regression Analysis . Sage Publications. ISBN: 0803927584