EDLD 607: Applied Statistics and Quantitative Research Methods Spring 2009, MRH 139, Tuesdays 5:30 - 8:20 Professor: Fred Galloway (galloway@sandiego.edu) Office/Phone/Fax: 275H MRH 619-260-7435/619-849-8175 Office Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2:30–5:00 and by appointment As described in the catalogue, this course provides instruction in “variety of quantitative research designs and select data collection and statistical analysis procedures appropriate to each design.” In other words, this course will provide students with the statistical skills necessary to understand many of the important statistical procedures used in educational research. This course also serves as the prerequisite for the advanced quant methods course (EDLD 613) typically offered during the fall semester. Although there are many objectives for students in this course, students will be expected to master the following four basic objectives: • • • •
learn how to use and present descriptive statistics in an effective, convincing manner; understand what it means to make a robust statistical inference; formulate research questions and testable hypotheses; and understand the relationship between causality and research design.
To meet these objectives, all students will be expected to attend class regularly, do the assigned readings before class, complete all thirteen chapter assignments, pass both inclass tests, and actively contribute to class discussions. Please remember that in terms of class participation, the quality of the contribution is infinitely more important than the quantity of the contribution. In other words, monopolizing class discussion provides little, if any, value-added to the class and as such is to be avoided. There is only one required text for the course, Statistics for Business and Economics, 10th Edition by David Anderson, Dennis Sweeney, and Thomas Williams (ASW); this text can be purchased in either digital or print format. To supplement the text and provide an interactive set of weekly assignments, students will also need to register for some courserelated software at www.aplia.com. This software, which will be bundled together with the textbook, is available at both the university bookstore as well as directly from www.aplia.com, which may offer a more competitive price. Both the book and the software are required for the course; however, for those continuing on to the advanced quant methods course the same textbook will be used. Instructions for registering and possibly purchasing the textbook directly from Aplia appear at the end of this syllabus. To assess student performance in the course, there will be several methods of evaluation. Students will be expected to complete all thirteen weekly assignments by the Sunday following the in-class lecture, collaborate on a written critique of a contemporary policy report (which will be discussed in detail later), pass two exams, and actively participate and contribute in class. With the exception of the critique of the policy report where
students are required to work collaboratively, all work is expected to be that of the student alone, and any violation of this standard will result in appropriate disciplinary action. To help master and stay on top of the lecture material, all students are expected to complete all of the chapter assignments before their respective midterms; each assignment should take most students approximately 1-2 hours and will be graded. The relative weights for these five evaluative components are listed below: • • • • •
Midterm #1 Midterm #2 Policy Report Critique Weekly Assignments Class Participation
25% 25% 20% 20% 10%
Taken together, the relative weights for the course suggest that half the students’ final grade comes from the two midterms, while the other half comes from the policy critique, weekly homework assignments, and class participation. For those students that fail to pass the first midterm, a make-up exam will be given, provided that they completed all of the required homework assignments before they took the midterm.
Weekly Schedule of Readings and Lecture Coverage Date
Readings
January 27
Lecture Coverage Course Structure and Overview Register for supplemental course software
February 3
ASW 1-3
Descriptive Statistics
February 10
ASW 4
Introduction to Probability
February 17
ASW 5
Discrete Probability Distributions
February 24
ASW 6
Continuous Probability Distributions
March 3
ASW 7
Sampling and Sampling Distributions
March 10 March 17
SPRING BREAK ASW 1-7
March 24
MIDTERM #1 Discussion of Midterm and Policy Report Critique
March 31
ASW 8
Interval Estimation
April 7
ASW 9
Hypothesis Testing
April 14
NO FORMAL CLASS Work in groups on Policy Report Critique
April 21
ASW 10, 11
Statistical Inference -- Means and Variances Policy Report Critique due at the beginning of class
April 28
ASW 12
Test of Goodness of Fit and Independence
May 5
ASW 13
Research Design and Causality, Introduction to Analysis of Variance
May 12
ASW 13
Analysis of Variance
May 19
ASW 8-13
MIDTERM #2
Student Registration and Payment Instructions Course Name: Applied Statistics and Quantitative Research Methods - Spring 2009 Start Date: 01/27/2009 Instructor: Fred Galloway Course Key: ACYV-EQS4-QBLS You can begin working on your homework as soon as you register! • In this course, you will use a textbook and Aplia's website. • In most cases, you can save money if you buy Aplia and your textbook together. See payment options below. • You will have access to a digital version of your textbook using Aplia.
Registration If you have never used Aplia before... 1. Connect to http://www.aplia.com. 2. Click the New Student link and enter your Course Key: ACYV-EQS4-QBLS. Continue following the instructions to complete your registration. If you have used Aplia before... 1. Connect to http://www.aplia.com. 2. Sign in with your usual e-mail address and password and enter your Course Key when prompted: ACYV-EQS4-QBLS. If you are not prompted for a new Course Key, click the Enter Course Key button to enroll in a new Aplia course. Enter your Course Key when you are prompted. * You will have different payment options after you register for your course. If you choose to pay later, you can use Aplia without paying until 11:59 PM on 02/15/2009.
Payment Option 1: Digital Textbook with Aplia Access • From Aplia: Purchase access to your course from Aplia's website for $70.00 USD. Option 2: Physical Textbook with Aplia Access (also includes digital textbook) • From Aplia: Purchase access to your course for $70.00 USD and a physical book for $70.00 USD from Aplia's website. • From Bookstore: Purchase an Aplia Access Card and a physical book together as a bundle from your campus bookstore. * If you purchased an Aplia Access Card from a bookstore, enter the Access Card's payment code on Aplia's website as payment for your Aplia course. * You will have access to your digital textbook up until the end of this course.