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Introduction to Statistical Methods
Professor Russell T. HurlburtTeaching Assistant Arianna Rahbaran
Syllabus--Fall 2023
Copyright 2023 Russell T. Hurlburt (see terms of use).
Last modified 9/18/2023
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Course Goals and Overview
Course goals:
- to acquire an understanding of basic statistical concepts;
- to be able to perform accurately basic statistical computations;
- to demonstrate your understanding by providing "eyeball-estimates" of all statistics before computations are performed.
Course material:
- The textbook is Hurlburt, R.T. (2017). Comprehending behavioral statistics (6th ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt.
- Lectlets are short, interactive, audio/visual lectures delivered across the Internet from the Personal Trainer site (access included free with your textbook). These lectlets are asynchronous -- available any place and any time you have access to the Web.
- There is a lab for each chapter, delivered by Personal Trainer. Each lab has a quiz (delivered by Personal Trainer), which counts towards your final grade.
Exams:
- The course exams take place according to a fixed schedule -- that is, the exams are not asynchronous.
- Exam dates (2023): Monday September 18, Monday October 9, Monday October 30, and Monday November 20.
- Exam times: Exams may last 75 minutes. You must begin the exams between 8:00 am and 11:30 am (between 6:30 am and noon if using ProctorU) on the assigned date.
- Exam administration: For students who are COVID-19 symptom free, exams will be administered in a live proctored location on the UNLV campus (CBC-B117). Students who are remote from Las Vegas may take the exams though ProctorU, which will charge you approximately $25 for each exam for this service.
Calendar:
- The course calendar can be found here.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Who Should Take This Course?
Anyone who meets the prerequisites and who is eligible to take a course at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas may take this course. You do not need to be physically present in Las Vegas because the entire course will be available at any time and any place served by the Internet.Prerequistes are Introductory psychology (PSY101) and college algebra (Mat 096, 124, or 126 or satisfactory placement on the mathematics pretest).
Because there is no in-person contact, you should recognize that success in this course requires that you be self-motivated.
Furthermore, your success in this class relies heavily on your ability to read and understand the textbook. There will be short lectures ("lectlets"), but some of the material in this class will be presented only in the textbook. (Students generally find the textbook to be very clear and self-explanatory.)
Exams will be administered in a live-proctored location on the UNLV Campus (CBC-B117). Alternatively, exams may be taken anywhere you have a computer with a broadband internet connection, a webcam, and a microphone, administered by the third-party provider ProctorU. ProctorU charges for this service (about $25 per exam). ProctorU examinations will be videotaped, and those videotapes may be examined by employees of UNLV or their designees.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Computer Equipment You Will Need
Computer requirements are:- Any computer with broadband access to the Internet. Windows or Macintosh computers are OK. However, the exams are *not* accessible with a Chromebook.
- A webcam and microphone. (Check your webcam here; and check your microphone here).)
- The computer must have the ability to play audio through speakers or headphones.
- If you are using a public computer (as in a computer lab on campus), you will need to bring your own headphones to hear the audio.
- If you will take your exams using ProctorU, check with ProctorU to be sure your computer meets their requirements. A public computer will most likely *not* be adequate.
Contact the UNLV library technology loan program. Alternatively, you can use computers in the UNLV open computer labs or at the UNLV libraries.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Textbook and Personal Trainer Software
TEXTBOOK:
Hurlburt, R.T. (2017). Comprehending behavioral statistics (6th ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt. ISBN 9781524904654. This text may be purchased from the bookstore or online. You must use the sixth edition; previous editions will not provide access to Personal Trainer. You may use either the printed copy or the ebook, which are available online here (you may install an ebook on two computers and two hand-held devices; access disappears after a year). Both the printed copy (for the original purchaser) and the ebook include free access to the Personal Trainer website. The printed book is also available at the bookstore.The Personal Trainer website is provided free of charge to the original purchaser of the textbook. If you purchase a used book, you must purchase the website-only Personal Trainer (see next section).
PERSONAL TRAINER SOFTWARE:
Hurlburt, R. T. (2017). Personal Trainer 6.0. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt. Access to this site is included free with the sixth edition of the textbook (original purchaser) or ebook and operates on both Windows and Macintosh computers. The site includes a complete set of lectlets, the eyeball-estimation and computational program ESTAT, the labs and quizzes, and DataGen, statistical explorational software. Here is the Personal Trainer navigation bar:
If you are not the original purchaser of the textbook, you must purchase (for $85.09) the website-only version of Personal Trainer at https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/comprehending-behavioral-statistics-0.
You must register for Personal Trainer software by going to khpcontent.com (you will need the access code from your textbook or ebook email). Follow the instructions on the inside front cover of the textbook or the email that provided your ebook.
CALCULATOR:
A calculator is required for this course. A $2.00 version that has a square root key and a single memory function is adequate. Calculators with special statistical functions are permitted, but you will be required to show your work anyway.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Class
This Online Education course has no live classes. The lectlets take the place of lectures.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Registration and Email
Registration:
If you have the proper equipment installed, and you can be present for the exams on the dates specified, register with the same registration procedure you would use for any other UNLV course.Email:
You are responsible for maintaining the ability to receive timely emails from me. WebCampus probably uses your RebelMail (unlv.nevada.edu) address. If you do not check that account daily, have your RebelMail forwarded to an account that you do check daily.To find out what WebCampus Canvas thinks your email address is: Open WebCampus. Click Account (the picture logo at the upper left). Then click Settings. Make sure the Default Email contains an email address that you monitor frequently, or forward mail to from that address to a more convenient one.
To have your RebelMail forwarded to some other account: Launch RebelMail, click the gear at the upper right, click Settings, select the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, click Add a forwarding address.
To control spam, for example, in RebelMail (gmail): Click Settings (the gear icon at upper right) Click Settings Select the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab Click Create a new filter (at the bottom center) In the From cell type notifications@instructure.com Click Create filter Select Never send it to spam Click Create filter
Email addresses:
Professor: Dr. Hurlburt at Russ@unlv.nevada.eduTeaching assistant: Linnea Bacon at baconl1@unlv.nevada.edu
Send written exams to: psy210.1002@gmail.com
Send homework to: psy210.homework.1002@gmail.com
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Lectlets
A 'lectlet' is Dr. Hurlburt's attempt at creating a lecture-type environment optimized for asynchronous learning. Dr. Hurlburt has been building lectlets since 2000. They have these advantages:- Short: Specifically targeted at one topic
- Always ready: You can hear the lecture at your convenience
- Repeatable: You can listen again if you desire
- Controllable: If an interruption occurs or you lose concentration, you can pause and/or rewind (try that in a classroom lecture!)
- Helpful for people with special needs: Volume can be individually adjusted by the hearing impaired; rate of presentation can be controlled by the those for whom language is difficult; repetition is easy for those with attention difficulties; and so on
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Advice from Former Students
| Near the end of semesters, I ask students who were just completing PSY210 (both live classroom and Online Education) whether they had any advice they would like to share with incoming students. Was there anything that they wished they had known at the beginning of the semester? Here's what they said, basically unedited... |
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Here's my piece of advice to future statistic students: Do the homework! --Amy |
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This is the first method that I have ever used to truly learn statistics. If you follow the plan as he has outlined you will do well. The lectlets are great, the book is well written, informative but not dry, and the quizzes keep you on your toes.
Do not get behind, do the work assigned and enjoy an understanding of Statistical Methods. --Alan |
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If you stay on top of everything there is no way you won't understand
what is going on. Read the book, listen to the lectlets and take advantage of
everything offered on the Personal Trainer. If you keep up with the
syllabus there is no way you will fail.
--Vivien |
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Here's my suggestion for taking the class: You need to
do all the homework assignments for every chapter so
it will help you understand the subject as well as
getting extra credit for it... make sure you go to
class every day or listen to the lectlets... and make
sure you do all the extra credit... if you do all of
these, you'll be more likely to get an A for this
class...:)
--Maria |
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My advice would be to definitely do the
homework problems, which help tremendously with the test. I would also
recommend reading the book along with taking lecture notes because your tests
have information in them that is more thoroughly discussed in your book,
although your lectures are great too.
It's also good to take notes from the
book as you read, and draw the distributions that are given as examples in
the book.
The last thing that I would recommend is trying to understand
statistics, not just memorize the equations. When you do that, the class is
so much easier to understand. --Ruff |
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My advice would be for distance ed students to try to get together
during the semester and chat about the class, homework, problems, or
solutions. This method seems to help in other D.E. classes and could be
a real advantage here too.
--Mary |
|
I wish there was advice when I first started
the class!
For both live and distance-education classes I would tell them to pay
strict attention to the side notes (in the textbook margins) and definitely listen
to the lectlets
whether they are distance ed or not. For me, it really made a difference in
my comprehension of difficult principles.
--Monica |
|
I think it is a very good idea to have input from prior students because
an online course- especially this course!- can be very intimidating.
I found that the strong points of the course were in the organization of
the material. There was not any concept that I could not learn if I just went
back and listened again to the lectlets or went over the ESTAT lessons again.
I found they were more helpful than the book, which was easier to get lost in.
My best advice is to make sure to set aside Monday night or a night early
on in the week to do the lectlets and quizzes because they are due on
Fridays. Make it like an actual classroom hour. Too many times I had to rush
a quiz out in the end because I procrastinated.
I really felt that this was an easy class to comprehend if you put the
normal amount of time in to it you would any class -- nothing extraordinary.
It is that explicative and interactive.
--Tiffany |
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Labs and Quizzes
Labs:
Labs are found on the Personal Trainer website and are available 24/7. Labs are designed to provide practice in the skills involved in comprehending statistics. There is a lab for each textbook chapter.The labs include frequent interactive text-entry cells. These are valuable exercises that test your comprehension, but they are not saved and they do not count toward your grade. Each lab is designed to prepare you for the corresponding quiz.
Quizzes:
Quizzes are found on the Personal Trainer website and are available 24/7. There is a deadline for each quiz; deadlines are found in the class Schedule.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Homework
Required homework is Section A and Section C at the end of each chapter (except that Chapter 1 has no Section C).Homework is due on the day of the exams for the relevant chapters. If you take your exam at UNLV, turn in homework to your exam proctor. Otherwise, scan or take pics of the homework email to PSY210.homework.1002@gmail.com. There is no specified format: pencil on paper is fine.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Examinations
For students who are COVID-19 symptom free, examinations 1, 2, 3, and 4 will by proctored by UNLV employees on the UNLV campus (CBC-B117). Alternatively (e.g., you are a student remote from UNLV), you may take examinations 1, 2, 3, and 4 using a service provided by ProctorU. This service costs approximately $25 per exam; click here for more information.It is possible that in response to COVID, the proctored-at-UNLV option will be cancelled, in which case exams for everyone will be administered using ProctorU.
- When: Whether at UNLV or by ProctorU, examinations 1, 2, 3, and 4 will each last 75 minutes and must begin between 8:00 am and 11:30 am (between 6:30 am and noon if using ProctorU) on the day scheduled (you may begin at any time in that window).
- How: Each exam will have 33 multiple-choice/true-false questions (you will enter answers directly into your browser) and two pages (17 points) of written (computational) questions.
- Crib sheet: These examinations will be closed book and closed notes. However, you may prepare and bring to each exam one 'crib sheet' using one or both sides of an 8.5 X 11 inch piece of paper.
- Formulas and tables: We will provide a pdf that includes the equations that are shown in the inside front and back covers of your textbook and the tables from Appendix A. You should print that pdf and bring it with you to the exams.
- Calculator: You may use a calculator during the exam.
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Exam Procedure using ProctorU
If you are unvaccinated or are remote from Las Vegas, you may take exams using ProctorU, which will charge you approximately $25 for each exam.OVERVIEW
You will register at ProctorU and pay the fee for each exam. You will take the exam in a setting where a ProctorU proctor will use your webcam to monitor and record your test taking. During the exam, the multiple-choice questions will be presented via WebCampus (your ProctorU proctor will help you sign in). The written questions will be displayed in WebCampus but you will write your answers on templates that you have printed prior to the exam. Near the end of the ProctorU session you will hold those templates up to your webcam so that your answers can be recorded there. After the exam, you will tak a pic of your answers (the pic must match what you held up to the webcam) and email the pic to psy210.1002@gmail.com, where Dr. Hurlburt will grade them.
WELL BEFORE THE EXAM
- Watch the ProctorU student experience video for what to expect.
- Register as a test-taker at https://go.proctoru.com/registrations. ProctorU can take several days to process your registration, so don’t wait.
- Read the ProctorU instructions.
- If you haven’t done so already, let me know that you plan to use ProctorU on exams.
- Download Chrome or Firefox (the only browsers ProctorU supports).
- Install the ProctorU Chrome or Firefox extension as instructed by ProctorU.
- Sign up for the PSY210 exam from the menu in your ProctorU account at https://go.proctoru.com/.
- NOTE THAT PROCTORU WILL CHARGE YOU AN ADDITIONAL PREMIUM FEE IF YOU REGISTER LESS THAN 72 HOURS BEFORE THE EXAM. So don’t wait!
- Log in to ProctorU and use the Test Your Equipment link.
- Print the written-portion template.
- Print the formulas and tables packet (you will not need this for the first exam).
- Create your crib-sheet (one double-sided 8.5 X 11 inch paper)
- Verify that your computer, webcam, and Wi-Fi connection work (log in to ProctorUand use the Test Your Equipment link).
- Prepare the area where you will take the exam
- Two forms of photo ID
- The written-portion template that you printed before the exam
- The formulas and tables packet that you printed before the exam (you will not need this for the first exam)
- The crib-sheet that you prepared before the exam
- Scratch paper
- Calculator
- Answer the multiple-choice questions in WebCampus (your ProctorU proctor will help you start it).
- Answer the written items on the written-portion template that you printed.
- Hold up each of the pages of written answers so your ProctorU webcam can record them.
- Lay the two pages of the written-portion answers side by side and take a pic. Make sure the pic is clear.
- Email that pic to psy210.1002@gmail.com. The answers in that pic must be the answers you held up to the ProctorU webcam.
- Email pics of your homework to psy210.homework.1002@gmail.com
PSY210: Introduction to Statistical Methods
Grades
This course has seven 100-point scores: Exam 1, exam 2, exam 3, exam 4, exam 5, the cumulative final exam, and the quiz composite.The 'Quiz Composite' score is obtained by dropping the two lowest quizzes and adjusting to make it a 100-point score: There are 19 quizzes, each worth 10 points, for a total of 190 quiz points. We will drop the lowest two quizzes, giving a total of 170 points. The 'quiz composite' is the sum of all your quizzes (minus the dropped two) multiplied by 100/170, making the quiz composite have a maximum of 100 points.
We will drop the your lowest score on the five chapter Examinations and the quiz composite score. (The Cumulative Final Exam is not droppable. We will drop the quiz composite if it is your lowest score.)
Your final grade will be therefore based on six equally weighted scores: the best five of the Examinations and quiz composite, and the Cumulative Review Final Exam.
Each of those scores is worth 100 points. Therefore your final grade will be based on 600 points. Grade categories will be 10% wide; thus an A will be 540 points and above; a B will be 480 points and above, a C will be 420, a D 360, and and F 359 and below.
Homework will 'soften' the edges of these categories. For example, if your total points is 539 and you have done no homework, you will receive a B. However, if you have done some of the homework, you will receive an A. The more homework you have done, the more lenient we will be.
There will be no make-up exams. If you miss an exam, that will be the score that will be dropped.