DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF SARGODHA

Course Outline of Advanced Statistics & Computers

MPhil Psychology (Semester I)       

Course Instructor: Dr. Adnan Adil

Course Description

Many real-life applications of statistics involve the study of a large number of variables. The analyses of the resulting data sets deal with the relationships among these variables, evaluation of the effect of some variables on others, reduction of the dimensionality of the data sets by weeding out extraneous information, etc. This course will survey several advanced statistical methods to deal with research problems, scholars have in their own research. It extends their existing knowledge to deal with the specific problems they face in their theses and dissertations.

The course avoids a rigorous mathematical treatment of the subject and reliance on statistical notation. Instead, the emphasis will be on geometrical and intuitive understanding of various models and their applications, identifying the fundamental concepts that affect the use of advanced statistical techniques, and express them in simple terms. The course will be applied in the sense that we will focus on estimating models and interpreting the results, rather than understanding in detail the mathematics behind the techniques. For the purpose, we will exclusively use computer to run statistical software like SPSS and AMOS instead of manual calculations or computations. I hope that the course will provide you with a solid foundation in advanced quantitative methods, which is in high demand in many fields, both in and out of academia.

Objectives of the Course

The goals of the course are to develop the skills necessary to identify an appropriate statistical technique for data analysis, estimation of models, and interpretation of results for independent research and to critically evaluate contemporary social research using advanced quantitative methods. More specifically, the objectives of this course are as follows:

1. To make students intelligent consumers of quantitative research through inculcating a critical sense of appreciation for statistical procedures used in quantitative research.
2. To impart practical skills to the students in using advanced statistical techniques to analyze data so as to reach objective conclusions based on the obtained data.
3. To make students efficient users of statistical software like SPSS for data analyses.
4. To familiarize students with standardized reporting of statistical results as per APA writing manual.

Learning Outcomes of the Course  

At the completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate the pertinent knowledge of various concepts, principles, and techniques of statistical procedures used for data analysis in research. The students should also be able to use SPSS efficiently for organizing, cleaning, and analyzing their data. Finally, the students would be able to interpret the statistical results, and report those results in accordance with APA writing manual.

Course Plan

This course holds 3 credit hours. Accordingly, there would be two lectures per week. Each lecture would be of 90-minute duration. The class will be held on every Monday and Tuesday in the classroom of MPhil I. This course will be taught in a lecture/discussion format. Lectures are used to present and clarify issues from the set text and to discuss data sets. They will also include short interactive exercises for the demonstration of SPSS operations. The mode of instructions would be English. Lectures may be facilitated through the use of transparencies on high definition projector and multimedia presentations for essential concepts. As appropriate, various activities and supplemental readings will be used to enhance student’s understanding of the material. Classroom lectures/discussions/activities will focus on the topics listed in the course break down. Furthermore, lectures will not be limited to the material from the texts; rather they would be a source of additional information from the instructor.

Course Breakdown

Course Evaluation

The assessment of learning in this course would be undertaken through various assessment activities. There would be two formal examinations namely midterm and final term examinations. Besides these formal examinations, there would be three classroom quiz, two written individual assignments, and one group project that must be submitted in written report and formally presented in the classroom. The relative distribution of marks across these assessment exercises is as follows:

Learning Resources

The instructor shall provide important web links for each chapter of the course for enhancing students’ learning. Relevant research articles for critical review shall also be provided by the instructor. Reading material will also be posted on the group ID of the class. The recommended texts for this course are as follows:

Field, A. (2017). Discovering statistics using SPSS (5th ed.). London: Sage.

Howell, D. C. (2017). Fundamental statistics for the behavioral sciences (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson.

Gravetter, F. J. & Wallnau, L. B. (2017). Essentials of statistics for behavioral sciences. (10th ed.). New York: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Best of Luck Dear Students