SYLLABUS
Sociology 5334
Note: Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangement in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible so that the necessary accommodations can be made.
SEMESTER: Fall 2003
INSTRUCTOR: Evans W. Curry, Ph.D.
LECTURE HALL: 155 Holden Hall
CLASS TIME: 11:00 A.M. - 12:20 P.M. Tuesday and Thursday
OFFICE HOURS: 3:30 - 5:00 P.M. Tuesday; 11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Wednesday,
Other times by appointment.
OFFICE: Room 70 Holden Hall
PHONE: 742-2401 ext 225
EMAIL:
REQUIRED TEXT
Agresti, Alan and Barbara Finlay. 1997(3rd ed.). Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Siegel, Sidney and N. John Castellan, Jr. 1988. Nonparametric Statistics: For the Social Sciences (second edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
RECOMMENDED TEXT
Kranzler, Gerald and Janet Moursund. 1999. Statistics for the Terrified. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A. Examinations: There will be four examinations in the course. The three "regular" exams will be in class tests. Each exam will cover approximately three weeks of work. The final may be in class or take-home. If the final exam is take home, it will be comprehensive. Each exam will have a value of 100 points and count one fifth toward the final grade one earns.
B. Homework: Homework will be assigned on a regular basis. Assignments will be made at appropriate times through the semester. Assignments will be collected through the semester with a potential total score of 100 points. Summarily, the homework will count one fifth toward the final grade.
C. Maintenance of a readings journal is encouraged. This journal should contain a brief precis or synopsis of each chapter assigned. Each precis should contain a brief description of the intent, and achievement of the chapter (i.e. what does it teach?). The journal may be turned in at the end of the term for a "bonus" of up to ten cumulative points toward ones final grade.
D. The final grade will be based on 500 points as follows:
A - 450 to 500 D - 300 to 349
B - 400 to 449 F - below 300
C - 350 to 399
E. Some Internet addresses which may be of interest.
This site is the home page of the American Statistical Association. It provides links to many other useful sites.
This site is a linking site which points you to a number of other interesting statistical sites. For example, you can link to the UCLA online textbook which outlines a number of mathematical arguments which present the theoretical underpinning for many of the basic statistics you will encounter in this course.
This site is a gateway to federal statistics sources. Among others, it will link you to the Census Bureau.
This site is gateway to national (U.S.) information sources, primarily government.
This is the home page for the Chance Database. This site provides interesting discussions on the application of statistical reasoning to everyday chance occurrences.
This is the home page for the Australian National University Social Science Server. It provides links to both social science and statistical resources for the Pacific Rim.
http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/glossary/index.html
A good source for basic definitions and principles of statistics. Some good problems as well.
COURSE ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE
Week Ending Assignment For Week
The Basis of Inference
Sep. 5 Agresti and Finlay (A&F), Chp. 4; Siegel and Castellan (C&S), Chps. 1-3
Sep. 12 A&F, Chps. 5.
Sep. 19 A&F, Chps. 6; S&C, Chp. 4.
Inferences About Two Sample Differences
Sep. 26 A&F, Chp. 7; First Exam 9/19/02
Oct. 3 S&C, Chp. 6 (secs. 6.1 - 6.4, 6.6).
Inferences About Association: Proportional Reduction in Error
Oct. 10 A&F, Chp. 8; S&C, Chp. 5 (5.1 - 5.3).
Oct. 17 S&C, Chp. 9 (secs. 9.1 - 9.3); Second Exam 10/10/02.
Oct. 24 S&C, Chp. 9 (sec. 9.11).
Regression and Advanced Topics
Oct. 31 A&F, Chp. 10 & 12 (ANOV one aspect of the general linear model); S&C,
Chp. 8 (sec. 8.3)
Nov. 7 A&F, Chp. 9 Regression - simple to complex; Third Exam 11/1/01.
Nov. 14 A&F, Chp. 11 Continued discussion on regression
Nov. 21 A&F, Chp. 13 Relationship between Regression and Analysis of
Variance.
Nov. 28 A&F, Chp. 14; S&C, Chp. 8 (secs. 8.1, 8.2), THANKSGIVING BEGINS
Wednesday, November 27.
COURSE ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE (con’t)
Week Ending Assignment For Week
Dec. 5 Additional considerations continued
Dec. 12 Course wrap up Tuesday only meeting.
Dec. 17 Final Exam 7:30 - 10:00 A.M. (If final exam is a take home, the exam
will be due at 12:00 P.M. on this day.)