SPRING 2006 On-line
course offering
INSTRUCTOR: Dr
Jim Taulman, Mike Fredenberg
OFFICE LOCATION: Pine Ridge, Wanblee, Martin, Piya
Wiconi
HOURS: Regular class time or by
appointment
OFFICE PHONE: 605-455-6003
E-MAIL: jtaulman@olc.edu,
mfredenberg@olc.edu
Soc 253 / Math 314 will be
offered concurrently as an on-line course.
Soc 253 Catalog Description: This course provides an introduction to statistics. On successful
completion of the course, the student should be aware of common descriptive
statistics and graphical procedures. The student should develop an
understanding of the basics of statistical inference, be aware of some common
inferential statistical procedures used in the social sciences and the
environmental sciences, and be able to read and interpret statistical
information. Prerequisites: Math 103 with a grade of B or higher.
Math
314 Catalog Description: Topics
include samples, populations, distributions, descriptive statistics,
probability and statistical inference, experimental design, correlation and
linear regression. A lab portion of the
course will introduce students to the use of computer-based statistical
programs to solve problems in elementary statistics.
Required
Text: Brase & Brase (2004).
Understanding Basic Statistics, 3rd edition. Houghton Mifflin.
Online
Materials: This class will be offered on the Internet via the
Moodle interface. All class assignments
and announcements will be posted on this site.
It is imperative that a student check this site daily as the calendar
may change at any time. Students will
work with the ExcelŽ spreadsheet program available on all computers in the
lab. On-line tutoring is offered through
the Houghton Mifflin Website (www.smartthinking.com/houghton.html).
Reading
Level: Students will be expected to read all sections covered
in lectures. The
reading
level of the text is grade 14 as computed using the Fry Readability Index.
Writing
Expected: Exams and homework assignments may contain essay
questions.
Written
reports may be assigned.
Critical Thinking: Critical thinking and reasoning are part of any well
rounded
education. This course will supplement these skills
whenever possible. Various
modules
and projects will cover this area independent of the course content.
Lakota
Perspective: The Lakota perspective will be provided by way of
daily
interaction
between student and teacher where traditional Lakota values such as patience,
respect,
and honor will be maintained. The
students will be expected to aid the teacher
with
the inclusion of the Lakota perspective.
Course
goals: Students who have successfully
completed this course will:
1. Read and interpret statistical results as reported in
research articles.
2. Correctly use descriptive and basic inferential
statistical terminology in writing.
3. Use descriptive and graphical procedures to organize
and present data summaries, including measures of central tendency and
dispersion, histograms, box plots, and exploratory graphical techniques.
4. Apply the concept of probability, and describe the
meaning of probability and uncertainty in statistical discourse.
5. Apply the logic of statistical inference, and describe
the assumptions on which frequently encountered inferential techniques are
based. Apply and interpret the concept of statistical significance.
6. Apply inferential techniques using z and t tests of
significance, including analysis of variance and linear model designs.
7. Apply correlation procedures to appropriate problems.
8. Use Excel to apply statistical procedures. Interpret
output appropriately and write up results narrative.
Methods of Instruction: This course
will be offered on-line with regular meetings in person with instructors for
additional assistance.
Course Requirements and
Assignments: Regular attendance is vital to successful
completion of this course. Attendance
will be based solely on a student successfully submitting weekly assignments to the instructor. Oglala Lakota College attendance policy
(refer to OLC College Catalog 2005-2006, page 13) will be followed in this
course. A student may be dropped from
this course after three consecutive absences and will be dropped after five
total absences. It is the student's
responsibility to submit assignments in a timely manner.
Assignment and Grading:
The weekly assignment will consist of a written assignment and an on-line quiz.
The weekly quiz must be completed within a week of the quiz being assigned. For
the written assignment credit will be given for the approach that is
used as well, as for the correct answer.
Therefore, students are strongly encouraged to complete homework legibly
and in a manner that a casual observer can understand how an answer was
derived.
Grades will be
determined from total points for all work as follows:
Homework: 80 points/week = 1200
points
Participation: 20
points/week = 300 points
Weekly Quiz: 100
points/week = 1500 points
Midterm Exam: 1000
points
Final Exam: 1000 points
Total: 5000 points
A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F 59 or less %
Schedule
of classes Chapter
Week
1 , Jan. 24 Statistical concepts and terminology 1
Week
2 , Jan. 31 Data organization, charts and graphs 2
Week
3, Feb. 7 Central tendency of data 3
Week
4 , Feb. 14 Measures of variation 3
Week
5, Feb. 21 More variation 3
Week
6 , Feb. 28 Probability distributions 5
and 6
Week
7 , Mar. 7 The normal distribution 7
Week
8 , Mar. 14 More about the normal distribution 7
Week
9 , Mar. 21 Sampling distributions 8
Week
10, Mar. 28 Estimation of the mean
and other data parameters 9
Week
11, Apr. 4 Hypothesis testing 10
Week
12, Apr. 11 Regression and
correlation 4
Week
13, Apr. 18 Inferences about
paired differences 11
Week
14, Apr. 25 Means testing 11
Week
15, May 2 Chi square and
goodness of fit of sample data to a model 12
Week 16, May 9 Final exam