A Jeanne Site
A Jeanne Site
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: January 5, 1999
Sociology 220-01
T-Th 11:30-12:45, SBS A216
Lab: T-Th 1:00-2:15, SBS A104
Jeanne Curran, Ph.D., Esq.
Course Revised: Spring 1999
Office:
SBS B326
310-243-3831
Office Hours: T 2:30-4:30, 5:30-7:00, W 1:00-2:00
To provide a solid intuitive grasp of the role of statistics in moving from personal experience and narrative to a quantitative overview of how personal experience fits into the contextual situation.
We pay particular concern to measurement and the extent to which measurement reflects both individual and theoretical perspectives.
To clarify that more may be said about a simple study of a small group, such as your own class, than may be generalized (extrapolated) to an entire population, such as all college students, or all U.S. citizens.
In particular, knowledge of Chi-Square, t-tests, and recognition that they measure the probability of such results occurring where there is no relationship between the variables.
In particular, knowledge of lambda, gamma, and correlation, and recognition that they measure the strength of the association between variables.
Recognition that causality is complex and that even science must tolerate some ambiguity as theories, predictions, and descriptions accumulate.
With the knowledge explosion it becomes increasingly important that you understand how to measure the value of information and data that you encounter. It also becomes essential that you know how to gain access to information and data.
Workshops in the first few weeks of class will cover: Windows 95 and NT, the use of multiple programs through taskbar manipulation, a variety of means of cutting and pasting information from one program to another to avoid hardcopy printing and retyping, and using e-mail.
Jeanne at
jcurran@csudh.edu
Subject line: Name of Exercise or Assignment (copied from exercise)
First message line: Your name and class.
Second message line: Name of each member of your collaborative group.
body of message: xxxxxxx
Sometimes two people work on part of the assignment, then one or two other group members join for other parts. This first and second line of your memos to me will permit me to record subgroup activity within the main collaborative group. That lets me understand better how to provide support for collaborative work.
No hardcopy will be accepted.
You may e-mail from any machine to which you have access.
Lab computers are available, but pesky.
SPSS exercises will require the SPSS program, which means a lab computer unless you have unusual access.
There is no deadline for specific exercises. Each of you will have a different pattern and timeline for your exercises because of different skills you come with and different computers available to you.
You must establish regularity in submission. Records of my receipt of e-mail will be on the site. It is not acceptable to turn in the whole batch of work at the last minute. That will seriously lower your grade.
Jeanne at
jcurran@csudh.edu
Subject line: Name of Exercise or Assignment (copied from exercise)
First message line: Your name and class.
Second message line: Name of each member of your collaborative group.
Body of message: xxxxxxx
Sometimes two people work on part of the assignment, then one or two other group members join for other parts. This first and second line of your memos to me will permit me to record subgroup activity within the main collaborative group. That lets me understand better how to provide support for collaborative work.
From real machines, that have ears and purr, you may simply click on the e-mail icon on the site.
From lab machines, you must use Ewan. To do so, you will have to get an e-mail account, if you do not have an off-campus e-mail resource.
If you have an e-mail account at a real machine, that has ears and purrs, you may still use Ewan. You are not required to have a school e-mail account. Any account will do.
Most computers permit you to make a carbon copy (cc) of what you send. Take the trouble to do so. If I don't receive the submission you can just resend it.
Nota bene: Most of you tend to lose hardcopy almost as easily as I do. Rely on hardcopy for your personal records at your own risk. I won't take it, because I lose it. I also exhibited a remarkable ability to lose disks last semester. If what you have cannot be submitted by e-mail, first of all, it's probably overlong and I'll scream, and secondly, it's probably not going to be of any real help to share with others. Keep your answers short.
I will identify the subject I want for each exercise.
That permits me to file the e-mail quickly and record it on the proper record sheet.
E-mails with no subject identified run the risk of waiting until I can get to them.
Put your name and class, for school records, on the first message line.
Trust me. I have a whole file of "No name, no class."
You do not need to ask if I received your e-mail. A record of the receipt will be on the site. You are expected to check site records.
My lecture notes, which include answers to the exercises, are on the site. You are expected to check your own answers for accuracy.
Thanks to the patience and suffering of two previous classes, we have managed to find a pattern that seems to work for us in establishing a dialogue. The dialogue lets me understand who you are and in what ways statistics can fit into your life and learning.
We found that correcting the exercises took too long for efficient dialogue. So I include the requisite material to answer them in my lecture notes.
We found that short answers, (like, try for 25 words or less) work. They give you writing practice you need. I can read them quickly. If you're way off base, I can spot that quickly and lead you back to my lecture notes. If you manage to give a wonderful example of connected or separate knowing, I can link to that, so that you can all come to understand these very different ways of knowing.
The answers to the exercises are a part of the dialogue because they give me feedback as to how well each of you understands the basic concepts. The class, and your understanding of basic statistics, are important components of the story of learning we are trying to put together.
I respectfully request your permission to link to a (typos corrected and no name) copy of e-mail answers that prompt me to reply. I am trying to do this right on the record sheet that records the submission. This will mean that everyone can share in my answering e-mails, the better to improve their own answers. (Basic unstated assumption here that MY answers are correct!) I will correct any typos before linking, or at least any that I catch, since this is e-mail, and we all make typos.
Make sure I know your name and connect it with a face. I will have well over a hundred students again this semester. Halfway through the semester I should have heard you say your name to me so often that I can't not make the connection. The easiest way to do this is for you to simply say your name when you speak to me. It might be repetitive, but it's sure worth it when I can remember who you are and what you've done at grading time. You should do the same when you speak in class. I'm not the only one who knows your face and remembers some of what you said, but just can't think of your name. Please use names in class.
Please take time to talk to me. Every little bit you tell me helps me put your story, and that of statistics and this class, together.
Use e-mail for dialogue. Put "Dialogue" in the subject line, and I'll know to notice it specially. Don't forget I still will need name and class to file dialogues. I will consider dialogue e-mails personal unless you give me permission to share them.
The intent of this set of review questions is to help you pull together an overview of the entire course. Because all the questions will have been covered by the course exercises and lecture notes, this should not be anxiety producing, except for the very fact of having to do it.
The Review will appear on site as soon as I can get it up, and you may e-mail your short answer replies whenever you complete the materials.
Students from the previous two courses who would like to do so may submit this Final Review. It might be a good idea for those of you who want to go on to Advanced Research and who want letters of recommendation on your ability to handle basic statistics.
THIS CLASS IS NOT COMPETITIVE. MY GOAL IS FOR EACH OF YOU TO MASTER BASIC STATISTICS. PLEASE HELP EACH OTHER!
For records keeping, please use the following e-mail format for collaborative work:
Jeanne at
jcurran@csudh.edu
Subject line: Name of Exercise or Assignment (copied from exercise)
First message line: Your name and class.
Second message line: Name of each member of your collaborative group.
Body of message: xxxxxxx
Sometimes two people work on part of the assignment, then two other group members join for other parts. This first and second line of your memos to me will permit me to record subgroup activity within the main collaborative group. That lets me understand better how to provide support for collaborative work.
SBS B326
310-243-3831
Office Hours: T 2:30-4:30, 5:30-7:00, W 1:00-2:00