PSYC 2200L - Behavioral Statistics Lab
Class Meeting:
M & W 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
F 10:00 am - 11:00 am
All sessions livestreaming on Teams
October 26 - November 18
Office: 306 Callaway Academic Building
Available by appointment. See the scheduler to the right to make an appointment.
For Fall 2020, all meetings will occur on Teams.
Email: ssthomas@lagrange.edu
(use subject: PSYC 2200L)
Twitter: @SocialPsySteph (Class hashtag: #PSYC2200L)
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Please see the course calendar at the bottom of the page for assignment dates.
All students enrolled for Fall 2020 should complete the following survey. All surveys should be completed by Tuesday, October 27th at 3:00 pm. This survey will count as your first participation points for the course.
Assistant Professor
306 CAB
Department of Psychological Sciences
LaGrange College
Course Description and Objectives
This course will teach students how to effectively use statistical computing software (e.g., JASP, Excel). By the end of this course, students should be able to navigate the software, manipulate variables, compute and interpret descriptive statistics, create graphs, and compute and interpret hypothesis tests including independent samples t-test and correlation.
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Course Requirements
Attendance & Participation
Attendance is crucial to be successful in this course. Missing just one day can put you far behind on material. Thus, attending class is a required component of this course and will contribute to your grade. Being on time is also important in order to not disrupt the class and ensure you have received all of the information. Therefore, students that are 15 minutes or later for the class will be counted as absent for the day and will not receive attendance points.
If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed from a classmate. I am happy to answer specific questions about the material after you have obtained materials from a classmate, but I will not re-give lectures to students who missed class. I do not send slides to students by email.
Early in the semester, you should get contact information from one or more of your classmates and set up a "buddy system" for the purposes of letting you know what was covered in class and any changes to the course outline (including information regarding deadlines for various assignments).
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If you are absent, you must fill out an absence form (found on Connect) and turn it into me ASAP, and at least by the next day you are in class. After receiving your absence form I will email you indicating what specific work you should complete to make up for your absence.
Because this class only meets for 4 weeks, attendance is crucial. Therefore, if you have three or more unexcused and/or unmade-up absences during the course, you will fail the course. Having 3 absences is a full week of class and thus would mean that you had been absent for 25% of the course. Absences that you have been made-up will not be counted towards this total. In addition, only 1 undocumented excused absence will be accepted during the course. After that, all other absences require documentation to be considered excused.
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Another contribution to your overall grade will be your participation in active learning exercises such as in-class activities and in-class discussions. These activities are designed to help you learn concepts in an active and memorable manner. Each class period, I will ask questions and call on students to answer those questions. Participation will be recorded and will contribute to your overall grade.
Projects
You will complete 2 projects throughout the course and a final project. These projects will cover the information we learned in class and serve as your demonstration of mastery of those concepts. When each project is graded, you will receive feedback. For your final project, you will utilize the feedback to edit both of your already completed projects and turn in one final paper.
No late work will be accepted and papers must be submitted as electronically on Connect as a PDF. More information about each mini-project can be found on Connect.
Overall Grading
The different types of assignments that you will encounter in this class will each contribute a unique amount of weight towards your final grade in the class. The following table lists the percent of your final grade that will come from each of the designated types of assignments. Note: an average grade of D or F on exams may lead to a final grade of D or F in the course.
The following factors may also affect a student's grade:
Grades may also reflect class behavior, and those students who behave in a way deemed disruptive by the instructor may have their grades reduced and/or be referred to Student Judiciaries. Likewise, students that are active in class discussion may have their grades increased.
Academic misconduct. Any student who cheats or plagiarizes will be given a grade of “F” for the course and will be referred to Student Judiciaries. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: wearing earphones or hats to the test session, attempting to or leaving the classroom with a copy of the test or answer sheet, looking at another student’s test or answer sheet, or using a phone during the exam period. Plagiarism involves any attempt to pass off work from another source as your own. This applies to both tests and assignments.
Maintaining a Good Learning Environment in the Classroom
Electronic Devices
Please silence your phone and put it away during class. This not only distracts other students around you but also distracts me from my lecture. If I see a phone out an inappropriate time, I will call you out in front of everyone and your grade WILL be negatively impacted by repeated issues.
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I will use Twitter to send out additional reminders and announcements (in addition to what I post on Connect). Students are strongly encouraged to follow me to easily receive this information. When I post information relevant to students in this course I will use #PSYC2200L. I encourage students that have questions or comments related to class to post using this # as well or send me a direct tweet. T
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Laptops
Laptops are required for class. If you don't have one, please speak with the professor ASAP at the beginning of the course.
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Please use polite email etiquette and don't email me about these issues or your email may be deleted. In general, my email responses will be very short (1-sentence). I am not trying to be rude, just efficient as I get many emails in a day. If your question requires a lengthy response, I would suggest scheduling a meeting with me instead. For all email responses, please permit at least 24 hours before expecting a response (e.g., you are unlikely to get a response to your email the night before an exam). In general, emails may not be answered over the weekend, holidays, or after business hours.
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Finding Errors
To encourage the reading of all class materials, I offer extra credit to the first person to notice errors in any class documents. If you spot an error (this can be as simple as a misplaced comma or a misspelled word), please send me an email with a screenshot and explanation of the error. Each found error will earn you extra credit towards the Participation portion of your grade. This not only encourages deep reading and attention to all class materials but ensures that the class materials are continually improving.
Other Administrative Details
All papers submitted in this class should follow APA format and the paper formatting guidelines found here.
The course outline is a guide. The coverage of certain topics or participation in class activities may take more time or less time than was originally expected. The instructor reserves the right to alter the course outline at any time. Students will be notified in class and/or by email of any changes in the course outline.
In the case of an emergency such as severe weather or an influenza or zombie outbreak, I may be obliged to make changes to course content, assignments, or other substantive elements of the class.
The syllabus may be corrected or amended if errors or omissions are discovered after the syllabus is posted. Corrections will be posted to the course Connect site and/or the instructor's Twitter page.
ADA Statement: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, LaGrange College consistently undertakes to provide, by every reasonable effort, assistance and appropriate accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. If you have a disability, please contact Brandi Cameron, Coordinator of Learning Disability Support Services at 706-880-8269. She is located in Smith Hall in room 121. Students with documented accommodations that they wish to utilize must speak with the instructor & present documentation by the end of the 2nd week of the semester.
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Acts of academic misconduct (e.g. cheating, plagiarism) may result in course failure and will result in referral to the Honor Council. No electronic devices may be on a student's person, out, or in use during exams or other graded activities. If that rule is violated, it will be assumed that the device is used for cheating. The matter will be referred to the Honor Council. Unless told otherwise by the instructor, assume that all graded work uses only the student's brainpower and is closed book/notes/internet and is an individual assignment. During exams and graded activities, students may only have a pencil and an eraser on the table top (aside from any materials provided by the instructor). During exams, all belongings should be closed and stowed under the table. All notes/books must be in a zipped bag and placed under the table. You must turn in your exam if you leave the room.
Honor Code: “As a member of the student body of LaGrange College, I confirm my commitment to the ideals of civility, diversity, service, and excellence. Recognizing the significance of personal integrity in establishing these ideals within our community, I pledge that I will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate these unethical behaviors in others.”
All tests, papers, etc... will be destroyed during week 5 of the following semester. Any questions regarding grades or assignments must be addressed before that time.
You are required to get permission from the instructor if you wish to audio record, video record, or take pictures of a class.
Important information from the instructor will be sent to student's via their LaGrange email account, announcements within the Connect course site, and within the course Team. Students are responsible for all messages and materials sent via these routes. Reminders and hints may also be sent via the instructor's Twitter account. Any changes to course policy, dates, or assignments will also be sent via email or Connect.
DropGuard: The faculty, staff, and administration at LaGrange College want students to succeed in every aspect of their college experience. One of the tools we use to help us in that process is called DropGuard. The DropGuard system allows faculty and staff members to enter information when they are concerned about students – perhaps because of absences from class or other activities, or because of irregular performance, and so on. If there are several indications that things may not be going well for a student, it’s possible that the student will be contacted by their advisor or by another campus official. Students may receive email notifications from DropGuard when the instructor notes a concern. If a student finds themselves in a situation where they could use some additional assistance, please set up a meeting with a faculty member or academic advisor. Naturally, academic support services are readily available in PACE, Tutoring Center, the Writing Center, and in the Counseling Center (study skills, time management, etc.). If students have specific questions about DropGuard itself, please feel free to e-mail: studentsuccess@lagrange.edu.
If you ever encounter an issue with an online assignment, please email me and you MUST include a screenshot that documents your issue. Failure to follow this guideline may result in a denial of your request for late submission of the assignment. As a note, technical errors are bound to occur, therefore, it is HIGHLY recommended that you do not wait until the last minute to complete assignments.
Responsible Employee Reporting Obligation: All faculty and staff share in the responsibility to create a safe learning environment for all students and for the campus as a whole. As members of the campus community, all faculty and staff (other than those designated as confidential reporters) are designated as responsible employees and therefore have the duty to report any instances of sexual harassment, sexual violence and/or other forms of prohibited discrimination. If a student would prefer to share information about sexual harassment, sexual violence or discrimination with a confidential employee who does not have this reporting responsibility, a list of those individuals can be found at http://www.lagrange.edu/about/security/sexual-harassment-violence.html.
*Instructor reserves right to alter schedule due to any unforeseen circumstances*
Course Calendar