Introduction to Statistics in Sociology, Exams of Statistics

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SOCI 212 – STATISTICS I CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY,

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

(SOCIOLOGY 212C)

The Course

This course is designed as an introduction to the basic concepts of descriptive statistics. It will help you acquire basic skills in understanding and using stats, and prepare you for other statistical courses you may take in the future. The goal of the class is to understand the logic of statistical analysis and learn how to critically evaluate basic statistical evidence in sociological literature.

In the first part of the course, we will consider essential topics in descriptive univariate statistics, such as central tendency, measures of position and measures of dispersion. We will learn about the techniques for numeric and graphic presentation of various types of variables. The second part of the course will consider possible relationships between two variables and will examine measures of association as useful tools of social data analysis. We will learn how to calculate and present a bivariate table, the correlation coefficient, and other measures of association. The course will conclude with introduction to regression.

While giving you the theoretical background in basic statistics, the course will emphasize the practical application of statistical techniques in sociological research. Our aim is twofold. First, we will learn how to determine statistical techniques appropriate for different research situations. Second, we will learn how to critically evaluate statistics presented in the current sociological

literature. Here, we will systematically consider examples of statistics we learn, and see how they

are presented in peer-reviewed sociology articles. We will also examine data from major surveys

and opinion polls to see how this statistics is calculated and interpreted. Survey data will be

analyzed using the SPSS statistical package in each lecture, and introductory computer labs will be

held after each half of the course. By the end of the course you should be able to understand the

logic of the given statistics, know how to calculate it and obtain it in SPSS, and how to interpret and

present this statistics in a sociological paper.

All class materials will be posted on the class website (in Moodle), together will current communications and updates. The website will include class notes, announcements, changes to the schedule and solutions for the assignments. It is therefore essential that you have access to Moodle during all times while working on this class.

Readings The course will be based on the following book:

Joseph F. Healey and Steven G. Prus (2015) Statistics: a Tool for Social Research. ThirdCanadian

edition. Nelson Education.

The book is available in the bookstore and on library reserve. The e-format of the book and individual chapters can also be purchased at

Class notes also constitute the required readings.

Evaluation

Assessment will be made on the basis of two assignments and two exams.

Assignments constitute 30 percent of your final grade (15% each), giving you an opportunity to work in a systematic way with the material covered in class. They will also help you to prepare for the exams, since the assigned problems will be similar to those on the exams. Each assignment will consist of 10 to 12 interpretational and calculational questions, and will take you up to eight hours each to complete. You should therefore start working on the assignments early, since the last minute work will create frustration and bring unsatisfactory results. The assignment questions will be posted on Moodle at the beginning of each study module. Your assignments will be graded and the solutions for them will be posted on Moodle right after the due date. You will also have additional questions posted for each study block, which are intended merely as additional practice. These will not be graded, but you can assess yourself by checking the solutions at the back of the book, on Moodle, or in conversation with instructor during the office hours.

You will have sufficient time to work on each assignment and should hand it in no later than the due date. The solutions for the assignments will be posted on Moodle immediately after the class following the due day. Therefore, late assignments cannot be accepted. In these circumstances, the best strategy is to work on them in the process, but not right before the due date. If you are running out of time, it would be best to submit whatever part of the assignment you have completed rather than submit nothing, because late submission, like no submission, will result in the grade of 0.

Exams are non-cumulative and will constitute 70 percent of your final grade ( 30% midterm and 40%

final). They will test your understanding of the class material and homework assignments.

Grading scheme in Concordia is the following:

Note: For your work, you will need a calculator and a USB stick in the event of going to the lab.

90 - 100 A+

85 - 89 A

80 - 84 A-

77 - 79 B+

73 - 76 B

70 - 72 B-

67 - 69 C+

63 - 66 C

60 - 62 C-

57 - 59 D+

53 - 56 D

50 - 52 D-

0 - 29 R

30 - 49 F

Assignments Assignment 1: October 25. The layout of the assignment will be posted on the website in the second week of the course. You will either have to print the layout and fill it in manually, or fill it on a computer, print it and submit it to Natalka’s mailbox at the department. Solutions will be posted on October 26, 1 pm. No assignments submitted after this time will be accepted.

Assignment 2: December 5 Questions will be posted on the website after the midterm. Please fill in the layout that will be posted on moodle. Solutions will be posted on December 6, 1 pm. No assignments submitted after this time will be accepted. Please use odd-numbered questions after each chapter of the textbook, and questions from the study guide for practicing and in your preparation for the exams.

Course Outline and Schedule

Cla ss

Date Topics Readings

Is statistics useful in social research and how? Introduction to Statistics (^1) Sep 9 Introduction to the course. What is the place of statistics

insocial research? Research questions, hypotheses and statistics. Origins, usesand limitations of statistics.

Chapter 1

(^2) Sep 16 Main statistical concepts: research concerns, descriptive

and inferential stats, variables and level of measurement, forms of data presentation.

Chapter 1

What is the best way to present your data? Basic Descriptive Statistics (^2) Sep 16 Basic description of qualitative variables: percentages and

proportions, ratios and rates, frequency distributions and graphs.

Chapter 2

(^3) Sep 23 Presentation of quantitative data: Grouped and ungrouped

frequency distributions, constructing a frequency distribution. Histograms, line graphs and dotplots.

Chapter 2

How to describe our data with one central number? Measures of Central Tendency and Position

(^4) Sep (^30) Measures of central tendency: mode, median, midrange,mean. Choosing a measure of central tendency.

Chapter 3

(^5) Oct (^7) Measures of position: Quartiles, deciles, and percentiles.Five- number summary.

Classnotes (main source), some chapter 3

Doing simple Stats in SPSS: computer lab (location TBA)

How spread out is our data? Measures of Dispersion and Position (^6) Oct (^14) What do measures of dispersion mean? Range and interquartile range, variance and standard deviation, qualitative variation. Interpreting the standard deviation.

z- scores as measures of position.

Chapter 3

Cla ss

Date Topics Readings

How to present a table with two variables?: Constructing and Analysing BivariateTables

(^7) Oct 21 Understanding the standard deviation: the empirical rule.Review for Midterm Exam.

Classnotes

Oct 25. Assignment 1 Due

(^8) Oct 28 Midterm Exam.

Are two variables related, is there a relationship between them? Measures ofAssociation

9 Nov 4 Constructing and interpreting bivariate tables. Presentation and graphs for two variables of various types: tables, statistics, and graphs.

Are two variables related? Intro to measures of Associations.

Classnotes (main for bivariate tables), Chapter 10.2, 11.2, 11. (max difference only), 11. Chapter 11.1, 11. (measures of association only, no tests of significance) (^10) Nov 11 Measures of association for nominal variables. χ^2 as a measure of association.

Other chi-square based measures: Cramer’s V and φ. λ as a PRE measure of association. Situations in which we use nominal measures and their interpretations.

Classnotes (for sequence and logic of presentation), Chapter 11.5, Chapter 10.3-10.4, 10. (logic and calc of χ^2 , no hypo testing!), Chapter 11.6-11. (^11) Nov 18 Measures of association for ordinal variables: gamma G and Spearman’s ρ. Situations in which we use ordinal measures and their interpretations.

Chapter 12.1- 5 (Gamma only), Chapter 12.6, Classnotes

(^12) Nov 25 Measures of association for interval-ratio variables: correlation coefficient. Situations in which we use correlation coefficient, its interpretations. Intro to simpleregression.

Chapter 13.1, 13.5-6, classnotes

Can we express the relationship between variables in a simple model? Intro toRegression

(^13) Dec 2 Introduction to regression continued.Review for the final exam.

Chapter 13.2-4, 13. classnotes

Dec 5 (optional, location TBA)

Doing correlation and regression in SPSS: computer lab (location TBA). Review for the final exam.

Dec 5. Assignment 2 Due.

Exam period (TBA). Final Exam