Research Techniques and Data Analysis

Teaching Assistants: 

Lindsay DeClou
Tutorials 1 and 3
Office: 602 KTH
Phone Extension: 21760
Email: decloulk AT mcmaster DOT ca
Office Hours: Tuesdays 5:00--6:00 PM and Wednesdays 10:30--11:30 AM

Kosar Karimi Pour
Tutorials 2 and 4
Office: 622 KTH
Phone Extension: 21340
Email: karimk2 AT mcmaster DOT ca
Office Hours: Tuesdays 5:30--6:30 PM and Thursdays 2:30--3:30 PM

• Class Time
• Text and Readings
• Homework
• Exams and Grades
• Computing
• Advice
• Academic Ethics
• Departmental Policies
• Lecture, Exam, and Homework Schedule

Sociology 3H06 is an introductory social-statistics course. The principal goal of the course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of statistical reasoning and to the role of statistical methods in social research. At the end of the course you should be able to read sociological research that uses basic statistical methods, to undertake elementary data analysis, and to take more advanced courses in social statistics (for example, in graduate school).

More specifically, you will learn:

• to summarize statistical data and to discover patterns in data;
• how data are generated according to observational and experimental research designs;
• to draw inferences from a sample to a larger population from which the sample was drawn;
• to use computer software to process statistical data.

 

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Organization of the Course

Class Time

The class will meet once each week for a lecture (Tuesdays, 7:00 -- 9:00 PM, room JHE/264), and a tutorial session (see the table below for days, times and locations). Tutorials begin on the second week of the course -- the week of Tuesday, Sept. 20. Lectures will primarily be devoted to explaining general principles and fundamental procedures, tutorial sessions to reviewing homework, to answering questions, to computing instruction, and to special activities and demonstrations.

On some weeks, the tutorials are replaced by computer labs; these weeks are marked with an asterisk in the homework column of the course schedule. The location of the computer labs is given in the following table:

Notes: Because of university scheduling considerations the locations of the computer labs may be changed; up-to-date information will always be available on the course web site. Room JHE/233A for tutorial 3 Fall term, accommodates only 25 students, and so we will have to use it in two shifts; details will follow.

Text and Readings

Homework

There are weekly homework assignments, due at the tutorial in the week following the lecture for each topic.  Homework problems, mostly from the course text, are included in the schedule at the end of this course outline. Note: I may make some changes to the problems that are assigned as the course proceeds, so check the course web site each week. Homework must be handed in at the tutorial session in which it is due. No late homework will be accepted, nor will homework handed in at any other location.

Homework will be collected and checked, but not graded. You will receive credit for homework assignments that are handed in on time and that reflect reasonable effort. You will not be given credit for substandard homework, such as assignments that are only partially completed or assignments that give only answers without showing your work: You do not have to get homework problems right but you do have to attempt them to get credit for the homework. I will not excuse you from submitting a homework assignment unless there is a serious, documented circumstance (such as illness) preventing you from completing the homework on time; under such circumstances only, missed homework will not count towards your final grade. For information about how to report an absence from class, see under Departmental and University Policies. Homework answers will be posted to the course web site after the homework is collected.

You will need to use a calculator for many homework problems. Almost any calculator will do, as long as it can extract square roots. You will also use statistical computer software for the homework (see below).

Exams and Grades

There will be three sit-down exams -- an exam during the Fall-semester examination period, an in-class exam during the Winter semester, and an exam during the Winter-semester examination period. The best two of your three exam grades will each contribute 35 percent of your final grade; your lowest exam grade will contribute 20 percent of your final grade; and 10 percent of  your final grade will be based upon the percentage of homework assignments showing reasonable effort that you submit on time.

All three exams are closed-book, but you may bring the following materials to the exams: the document containing tables and formulas from Moore's text (on the CD distributed with the book); and one page of notes containing any additional information that you wish (details to be distributed in class prior to the first exam).  You may (and should) bring a calculator to the exams; you may not, however, use a computer in the exams.

Note: You can also download the document from Moore's text containing tables and formulas from the course web site.

Computing

A Few Words of Advice

• Some of you will find that statistics is intrinsically interesting. I hope that I can convey to you the insights that can be derived from statistical reasoning, for statistical science is one of the important intellectual developments of the last century. Even if you are not directly interested in statistical methods, however, you can learn to appreciate and use statistics as a tool -- for understanding the large corpus of social research that employs statistical methods, and for conducting research of your own. When you leave university, you may have occasion to employ these skills in your work.
• I know that many of you approach mathematical material with apprehension. It would be dishonest to claim that statistics employs no math, but this course requires only the most elementary mathematics -- arithmetic and very simple algebra. Do not be put off by this minimal math: You can do it if you try!
• It is a bad idea to fall behind in any course, but it is fatal to do so in this course: The course teaches skills and techniques, and the material is cumulative. Attend the lectures and tutorials regularly and do the homework on time. I designed the course so that you have to do a little bit each week. If you miss classes, skip homework assignments, and cram for the exams, you will almost surely not do well. If you cannot commit yourself to regular work in this course, you should not take it.
• Do not hesitate to get in touch with me or with the teaching assistants for the course if you are experiencing problems, need help, or have any questions or other course-related concerns. You can contact me by phone (x23604 -- leave a voicemail message if I do not answer), send me an email message (jfox AT mcmaster DOT ca), send an email message to the course list server (soc3h06-list AT mailman DOT mcmaster DOT ca), or come to my office during office hours (Tuesdays, 4:30--5:30, or by appointment) or to your TA's office hours (to be announced).

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: "Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty"), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.

It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3.

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism, e.g., the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work.
3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

Departmental and University Policies

Do NOT fax assignments.  Please see your instructor for the most appropriate way to submit assignments.

The Sociology staff do NOT date-stamp assignments, nor do they monitor the submission or return of papers.

The McMaster Student Absence Form is a self reporting tool for Undergraduate Students to report absences that last up to 5 days and provides the ability to request accommodation for any missed academic work.  Please note, this tool cannot be used during any final examination period.

You may submit a maximum of 1 Academic Work Missed request per term.  It is YOUR responsibility to follow up with your instructor immediately regarding the nature of the accommodation.

If you are absent more than 5 days, exceed 1 request per term, or  are absent for a reason other than medical, you MUST visit your Associate Dean’s Office (Faculty Office).  You may be required to provide supporting documentation.

This form should be filled out when you are about to return to class after your absence.

Students should check the web, the white board and the Undergraduate Bulletin board outside the Sociology office (KTH-627) for notices pertaining to Sociology classes or departmental business (e.g., class scheduling information, location of mailboxes and offices, tutorial information, class cancellations, balloting, TA job postings, etc.).

Computer use in the classroom is intended to facilitate learning in that particular lecture or tutorial.  At the discretion of the instructor, students using a computer for any other purpose may be required to turn the computer off for the remainder of the lecture or tutorial.

The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term.  The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances.  If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes.  It is the responsibility of the student to check his/her McMaster email and course web sites weekly during the term and to note any changes.

Effective September 1, 2010, it is the policy of the Faculty of Social Sciences that all e-mail communication sent from students to instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the student’s own McMaster University e-mail account.  This policy protects confidentiality and confirms the identity of the student.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that communication is sent to the university from a McMaster account.  If an instructor becomes aware that a communication has come from an alternate address, the instructor may not reply at his or her discretion.

Email Forwarding in MUGSI: http://www.mcmaster.ca/uts/support/email/emailforward.html. Forwarding will take effect 24-hours after students complete the process at the above link.

Lecture, Exam, and Homework Schedule

Lecture notes, homework answers, and some other documents are provided as PDF (Portable-Document Format) files. If you do not have a PDF-file viewer, you can download the Adobe Reader viewer free from the Adobe Web site.  

Data sets for the course, including those for Moore's text, are available on the course web site.  There are two subdirectories provided, Moore for data sets from Moore's text, and Soc3H06 for other data files.

1. From Moore, The Basic Practice of Statistics, Fourth Edition, unless otherwise noted.
2. Numbered homework problems are in Moore. An asterisk (*) means that the assignment requires the use of the computer; on these weeks, the tutorials will meet in the computer lab. You can also use the computer to check your work on other assignments.  I may make some changes to the assigned problems as the course proceeds.
3. Ch. 28 is on the CD distributed with Moore's text and is also available here.