EDUC 790 Syllabus

EDUC 790-Advanced Statistics

Towson University-College of Education
Department of Educational Technology and Literacy-Spring 2019

College Mission: Inspire, educate and prepare facilitators of active learning for diverse and
inclusive communities of learners in environments that are technologically advanced.
Additional details about the College's Mission and Vision:
http://towson.edu/coe/about/mission.html

Instructor: Scot W. McNary, Ph.D.

Office Location: HH0102F
Office Contact: phone: 410 704–4835 email: smcnary@towson.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Class Meeting Dates: Mondays 5:00–7:40pm
Class Meeting Location: HH0207

Goal: The course is designed to introduce graduate students to theory and methodology of
applied data analysis. It provides an opportunity to survey quantitative methods in research
in the area of teaching and learning, elementary education, secondary education,
instructional technology, or school library media. Knowledge of applied data analysis,
including statistical analysis and graphical displays, is intended to aid graduate students in
the development of their personal research.

Objectives:
At the completion of this course, graduate students are expected to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of multiple regression and correlation in educational
research.
2. Apply multiple regression and correlation methods to educational research problems.
3. Demonstrate the ability to test statistical assumptions and manage real world data.
4. Evaluate problems and select appropriate analytic tools.

Standards: This course is consistent with standards from the following sources:
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Proposition 4 Teachers Think Systematically About Their Practice and Learn From
Experience
Proposition 5 Teachers Are Members of Learning Communities
Maryland Teacher Technology Standards
Standard 1: Technology Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application
Standard 2: Communication
Standard 7: Professional Growth

Course Texts:
Field, A. (2014). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE.

Other reading may be assigned as needed.

Grading: This course is graded according to the following criteria.

A=95– A-=90– B+=85– B=80– C=70– F=69 and below

100% 94% 89% 84% 79%

Course Evaluation Component Descriptions:

Homework and Final Examination

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Graduate students will take in-class examinations that will test understanding of the
research concepts and processes discussed in the textbook and during class meetings.

Homework
Graduate students will complete five homework assignments that will typically involve some
computer work using SPSS and hand calculations. Each homework will have one week
before it will be turned in. Homework errors may be corrected and turned in again to aid
mastery.

Component Contribution to Final Grade

Homeworks (4) 60%
Final Examination 40%

Class Policies:
Academic Integrity.
Students are expected to maintain high standards of ethical conduct and academic integrity.
Cheating and plagiarism in preparing materials submitted as original work by the student
constitute a violation of academic integrity. Penalties for academic dishonesty may result in
failure for the course. The university statement on academic integrity is here:

https://www.towson.edu/provost/academicresources/documents/03_01_00_student_acade
mic_integrity_policy.pdf

The following websites have resources for learning more about plagiarism and how to avoid
it:

Purdue OWL, Avoiding Plagiarism: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/avoiding-plagiarism

Harvard: How to Avoid Plagiarism https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-

policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism

Attendance.
Attendance is necessary. If you must miss a session for an emergency it is your
responsibility to inform the instructor prior to the missed class, seek notes from a classmate
for the missed class, and make up all work missed.

Class Participation and Homework.

Class participation by students is expected, and online discussions may be extensive some
weeks. Expect to interact often and at length with your peers during the course of the
semester. Readings, slide presentations are your responsibility to have read prior to class.
In class work will consist of SPSS (or other software of your preference) use and discussion.

Assignment Due Dates.

Students are expected to submit all assignments on the due dates and participate in all
discussions. Unless indicated by the instructor otherwise, submit the written assignments in
person in class the date it is due. Late assignments will incur a point reduction of 5% for
each day the assignment is late.

Cancellations.
Class will be canceled only when Towson University announces that classes will be canceled.
Towson University posts closing announcements on the main web page
(http://www.towson.edu) and creates messages on the following phone numbers: 410-704-
2000 and 410-704-NEWS. Towson University also notifies the following media sources with
closing information: WBAL Radio 11 (1090 AM), WLIF (101.9 FM), WWMX (106.5 FM), WYPR

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(88.1 FM), WBAL-TV (11), WJZ-TV (13), WMAR-TV (2), and the Associated Press wire
service.

Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance.

Graduate students who need accommodations should provide a statement from the Towson
University Disability Support Services Office (410-704-2638) authorizing your
accommodation.

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Tentative Course Schedule:

The following schedule may be adapted to meet the needs of the class. Chapter
assignments refer to chapters in Field (2014). Readings are found in subject specific folders
on Blackboard on the Course Documents page. Assumption testing, non-parametric
alternatives, and non-NHST alternatives are themes that run throughout.
Date Topic Assignment
01/28/19 Course introduction Chapters 1-6 (skim, then loop
through these throughout the
semester)
02/04/19 Regression/Correlation review Chapter 7
02/11/19 Chapter 8; Homework #1 assigned
02/18/19 Group difference models/NHST Chapters 9; Cohen (1994) &
Gigerenzer (2004)
02/25/19 Cumming & Finch (2005)
03/04/19 Simple repeated measures Homework #2 assigned
03/11/19
03/18/19 Spring break (no classes)
03/25/19 Week 8 ANOVA Chapter 11
04/01/19 Homework #3 assigned
04/08/19 ANCOVA Chapter 12
04/15/19
04/22/19 Repeated measures (more than two Chapter 14; Homework #4 assigned
measures, and group comparisons)
04/29/19 Factorial ANOVA Chapter 13
05/06/19 Chapter 19; Final examination
assigned
05/13/19 TBA Final examination due