 |
Course Description |
|
|
Course Outline |
|
|
Grading |
|
|
Textbooks |
|
|
Computers & Software |
|
|
Instructors |
This is a first course in applied statistics for anthropology undergraduate majors and graduate students. It is designed to give the student basic competence in the application and interpretation of statistics through an introduction to the linear model. Emphasis is placed on activity-based learning using real-world examples drawn from the anthropology subdisciplines.
Students will learn how…
|
|
to interpret and evaluate many of the statistical results reported in the anthropological literature; |
|
|
to apply and interpret statistical reasoning in research; and |
|
|
essential concepts they need to develop their statistical skills at the advanced level. |
The class will meet for four hours each week--three hours in class and one hour in the computer lab. Problem sets that apply the course materials to anthropological data will be assigned throughout the semester.
The prerequisites for this course include previous anthropology coursework, minimally at the 200-level, and an introductory college algebra course such as Math 112 or its equivalent.
Click on a line to see a general synopsis of what the topic includes, or access each part separately through the "lectures" and "assignments" buttons.
Lec/Disc: 2 MWF, 209a Davenport
Lab: 3 F, 206 Lincoln Hall
| Sep 3-5 | Introduction; OCCSS lab orientation | ||
| Sep 8-12 | Data and measurement | ||
| Sep 15-19 | Graphical data displays | ||
| Sep 22-Oct 3 | Measures of central tendency and spread | ||
| Oct 10 | First Exam | ||
| Oct 6-15 | Probability | ||
| Oct 17 | No class - South Asia Meetings, Madison, WI | ||
| Oct 20-24 | Theoretical distributions | ||
| Oct 27-31 | One-sample confidence intervals and tests | ||
| Nov 3-7 | Tables and chi-square tests | ||
| Nov 14 | Second Exam | ||
| Nov 10-17 | ANOVA & other 2-sample comparisons | ||
| Nov 21-Dec 10 | Correlation & Regression | ||
| Nov 28 | No class - Thanksgiving holiday | ||
| Dec 12 | Third Exam |
The lab sections meet on Fridays in Rm 206 Lincoln Hall (the OCCSS pc lab). I will use the labs to demonstrate how to do the statistical tasks that we are covering in the "lecture" part of the course. It will also be a good time for you to work on your statistics homework and to ask the kind of questions that require one-on-one discussions.
Your semester grade will be based on your performance on weekly homework assignments, three examinations, and an optional term paper.
Frequent assignments, many of which we will work on during the lab sessions, will test your understanding of the application of statistical methods in the analysis of anthropological data. Feel free to discuss the homework problems with other students but I want to see your work, not a group consensus. I also want to see the details of your work, but don't hand me a 2 cm thick printout and expect me to explore it to find your answer. If I cannot reconstruct from your homework papers how you came up the answer(s) you turned in, then you will receive a low grade for the assignment.
See the assignments section of this class web page for individual assignments and deadlines. No late homework assignments will be accepted for grading.
The exams will test your understanding of statistical concepts. Exams 1 and 2 will each count 15%; Exam 3 will be worth 20%. I may try to give the exams during the Friday lab sessions so you can have access to a computer and statistics package while you work on the test (we'll try it and see if it works).
All exams will be "open book". They will be comprehensive in that if you didn't understand the material from the first third of the course, you will understand even less in the second third, and so on.
Students may gain a maximum of 5 final grade points by researching and writing a research paper on a statistical topic. Your topic must be approved by the instructor before you start researching it. See the assignments section for details and deadlines.
|
|
Hamilton, Lawrence C. (1996) Data Analysis for Social Scientists. Duxbury Press/Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. |
|
|
Anagnoson, J. T. and R. E. DeLeon. (1996) StataQuest 4. Duxbury Press/Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. This student version of Stata is available for Windows and DOS. (It is also advertised as being available for the Macintosh, but this is false advertising. I submitted a book order for the Mac version of StataQuest in November of 1996; the UI bookstore called in late August, 1997, to tell me that the Mac version doesn't exist and won't be published until next spring or summer. This is, of course, NOT what the Duxbury sales rep told me last fall! |
|
|
Other assigned articles will be on reserve in the Anthropology Reading Room (193 Davenport Hall). These packets may be checked out for copying. |
The OCCSS lab contains 15 computers running Windows NT and a wide variety of statistical packages. One of the computers, the one in the second row next to the overhead projector, can display on a big screen at the front of the room. I will the latter machine so this leaves 14 possible computers per class meeting for everyone else (if they are all working). We will have exclusive use of this room during our posted class time. At other times you are welcome to use, on a first-come, first-served basis, this lab or the machines in any other CCSO computer site in which there is not a class being held.
The class examples and lab demonstrations will use StataQuest, a student version of a professional statistics package called Stata. You may use any statistical package that offers functionality comparable to StataQuest for homework, but the TA and I will offer consulting support only for StataQuest. Check out class hotlist page for links to public domain and shareware versions of other statistical packages.
The OCCSS pc lab computers are all running Stata. To make Stata look and act just like StataQuest, type "quest" in the command window (and press the "return" key) when you start a Stata session.
Please also remember that the Anthropology Department has its own computer facility in Rm 109G Davenport Hall. Many of the machines in this lab will either be running StataQuest, the class statistical software, or can connect to the OCCSS server. The Anthropology Computer Facility is only for use by anthropology students and faculty. It is NOT a CCSO public site.
Instructor: Barry Lewis
Hours: 3-4 MW
Office: 209f Davenport Hall
Phone: 244-3501
Email: blewis@uiuc.edu