Psych 318: Statistical Inference in Psychological
Research (Winter 2009)
Instructor: Laura Little, llittle@u.washington.edu CHL 116
Graduate TAs:
Emily Blumenthal,
eblument@u.washington.edu (AA and AB)
Robyn Laing, rlaing@u.washington.edu (AC and AD)
Undergraduate TAs:
Phaedra Boyle, Alecia Dudgeon, Julia Grant, Fumi Nakamura, Megan O’Brien, Hillary Philip
Michael
Murphy, Stephen Sanoja,
Text: Howell, D.C. Statistical Methods for Behavioral
Science (custom edition)
Website for
course materials: http://courses.washington.edu/ll317
Website for supplemental materials: http://courses.washington.edu/smartpsy
Supplementary
materials: Handouts and supplementary
materials will often be distributed during class.
You
are responsible for obtaining copies of these materials if you miss class the
day they are distributed.
Course objectives: Your goals in taking this course should be (1) to
learn the basic methods of describing data in psychological research, (2) to
learn the principles of analyzing and interpreting data in psychological
research, (3) to become acquainted with the fundamental issues surrounding
statistical methodology, (4) to prepare yourself to conduct and interpret the
results of your own research, (5) to enrich your understanding of psychology
through an appreciation of the tools researchers use to understand behavior,
and (6) to gain exposure to computer software used in data analysis (SPSS,
Excel).
Attendance at all lectures
and quiz sections is expected. You are
and will be responsible for all announcements made during class meetings
regarding exam scheduling and homework due dates.
If you miss a lecture or a section, it is your responsibility to obtain handouts and assignment information. All assignments will be posted to the class newsgroup and to the course website.
Exams: There will be four exams. The first, second and fourth exams will each
count 25% of your grade. The third exam
will count 15% of your grade. All exams
will be open notes and open book. The
fourth exam will be given during the final exam period in the regularly
assigned lecture room and it will cover the entire Psych 318 course.
Homework: There will be near-weekly assignments and a
final course portfolio that will count 10% of your final course grade. Information about the course portfolio will
be posted in the Assignments section of the course. It will be due the last day of class and will
generally consist of a compilation of your assignments, exams, and SPSS
tutorials and output.
Assignments
will not be accepted late unless permission to turn in an assignment
late is given before the due date, and assignments may not be resubmitted for a
higher grade. Assignments are due at the
beginning of class/section on the due date.
There are no exceptions to this policy.
Make-up exams: Makeup exams will not be
given unless (1) notice is given to the instructor, in person, prior to the regularly
scheduled exam time, or (2) extenuating circumstances prevail for which
documentation is available, in the form of an airline ticket receipt (in the
case of family emergencies) or a doctor's case note (not an appointment card)
for serious illness/injury. This
documentation must be presented to the instructor. All makeup exams must be taken within one
week of the missed exam. There are no
exceptions to this policy.
Academic dishonesty: UW has a set of guidelines
on how to respond to suspected cases of academic dishonesty, or
“cheating.” These cases include
plagiarism in written assignments and referring to contraband or getting help
from someone else in testing situations.
You should familiarize yourself with these guidelines. As a student at the