GOVT366 - Statistics for Social Scientists

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Academic Year 2005/2006

Statistics for Social Scientists
GOVT 366 FA

This course is a standard introduction to statistics and quantitative methods for the social sciences. The goal is to cultivate an ability to conceive and test political and social theories. The coverage of quantitative methods includes descriptive statistics, probability and sampling theory, and the deductive logic of hypothesis testing and statistical inference, with a special emphasis on measurement, cross-tabulation, and regression. The intended audience for this course includes majors in Government, Sociology, and the College of Social Studies. Research problems and data sources are drawn from various fields of political science and sociology.

MAJOR READINGS

Moore, THE BASIC PRACTICE OF STATISTICS

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

2 hour exams and a final exam, plus problem sets.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Instruction in a statistical package, SPSS, is an integral feature of the course. Previous experience with computers is helpful but not required. Knowledge of calculus is not assumed or required. Because the statistical content of this course overlaps with GOVT204 Political Analysis: A Quantitative Approach, one may not take both courses for credit. Students with a special interest in statistical techniques for public policy analysis should take GOVT204 rather than GOVT366. The content of GOVT366 also overlaps with ECON300 Quantitative Methods in Economics, PSYC201 Psychological Statistics, and MATH231 Probability and Statistics. Students who have already taken or who intend to take any of these three courses should not enroll in G366.
Students who wish to be eligible to register for the course during Drop/Add should place themselves on the wait list during on-line registration. Wait list preference rankings will be one factor I will consider in making Drop/Add period registration decisions.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS GOVT Grading Mode: Graded

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Boyd,Richard W.

Times: .M.W.F. 10:00AM-10:50AM; Location: SCIE74;

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 24)

SR. major: 12 Jr. major: 9

SR. non-major: 3 Jr. non-major: 0 SO: X FR: X

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Quantitative Reasoning

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006