Fall 2000 Course Syllabus

Statistics for Psychology (PSY 346)

Professor Information

Instructor: Dr. Marvin A. Hecht
Office Hours: will post; or you can call me to make an appointment

Class Information

Fee: $3.00
Section: A
Time: T TH 2 - 3:45pm
Place: Alexandria Hall. Rm 317
Credit: 3 hours
Prerequisites: a math

Presentation of Material

The course will use the traditional lecture format, but it will be supplemented with occasional overhead materials and videotapes to further illustrate the material. We will also incorporate web technology into this course. This syllabus including relevant links is on the world wide web and regular announcements will also be posted to the web

Required Reading

There is one textbook, available from the Louisana College bookstore.
  • Sprinthall, R. (1999). Basic Statistical Analysis. (6th ed). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

    Course Requirements

    There will be a quiz early on to see how you are studying, and the material on this quiz will also be covered in the first test. Your grade for this course will be determined mostly by a series of four non-cumulative tests, as well as your attendance. There last test will be given during the final exam period. Tests will be all multiple choice.

    Breakdown of Grade:
    Test Percent Chapters
    >

    Grading Scale

    The grading scale for this class will use a 10-point scale as follows:

    A = 90 - 100 B = 80 - 90 %, C = 70 - 80 %, D = 60 - 70 % , F for less than 60 %

    This is the default scale, and I reserve the right to adjust this scale slightly after examining the class distribution. I may choose to adjust any or all students upward, but I will never adjust this scale downward.

    You can and should use this scale in combination with the breakdown above to figure out what your grade is at various points in the semester -- please do not come to me asking what minimal score you have to make on the final to get a certain grade!

    Policy Regarding Attendance

    Louisiana College requires that strict tabs be kept on attendance. Accordingly, at the beginning of each class, I will call roll at the beginning of each class. When your name is called, please respond with Yes Sir or other appropriate audible feedback. A check will be placed next to your name if you respond, and no check if you are not present.

    It is important to be on time since I will not distinguish between tardys and absences. Latecomers will be counted as absent and they cannot have their attendance record corrected at the end of class. Missing class is bad for two reasons: (a) if you miss more than 25% of the classes (for this class more than 11 absences) then you automatically fail according to Louisiana College policy, and (b), even when you miss some classes, this will also hurt you since a certain percentage of your grade will be based on how good your attendance is--i.e. in this class you will gain points for having good attendance.

    In this class, I will also not distinguish between excused absences and non-excused absences. In other words, you will not be asked to provide a doctor's certificate for any absences, nor am I interested in the reason for your absence. This allows your issues or reasons to remain private, which they should. However, you should also realize that one disadvantage of this system it that since people do occasionally get sick or have unexpected things happen to them, you may fall short of having a perfect attendance record through no fault of your own.


    If you need to leave in the middle of a class for any reason, please either raise your hand and ask to be dismissed, or let me know ahead of time so that there will be a minimum of disruption to the flow of the class.

    Policy Regarding Missed Exams

    In the past, it has proven prohibitive to make up two copies of every test and to coordinate times for makeup tests. Therefore, for this course, anyone who misses a regularly scheduled test for whatever reason (I donŐt differentiate among excuses) will not have an opportunity to write that particular test again. Instead, he or she will be required to write a special exam on dead day just before finals. This dead day exam will be held for all people who have missed any regular scheduled test, and it will be a cumulative exam, covering all of the material in the course, regardless of which test was missed. It would therefore be much better not to miss a regularly scheduled test. Realize also that getting sick may mean that you have to write this cumulative exam through no fault of your own -- however this is the easiest and most efficient way of dealing with a difficult situation.

    Important Dates

    Sept 4 Last day to register late
    Oct 21 Midterm grades
    Nov 2 Final day to drop this course with a W
    Nov 30 Final day to drop this course with a WP or WF
    Dec 15 Final grades handed into registrar, mailed shortly thereafter


    Tentative Schedule of Topics


    Week Day Date Topic


    Final Exam:


    Relevant Links for this Course

    American Psychological Association
    Worth.COM
    Amazon.com
    CNN.com
    LC Psychology Page (including announcements)

    This page is maintained by Marvin A. Hecht and was last updated Aug 28, 1998.