Statistics III

obligatory courses

This course will cover theoretical and practical aspects of advanced data

analysis using SPSS software within the area of social science (with

emphasis on practical).

The aim of the course is to cover a range of topics in multivariate analysis,

including theoretical framework, statistical model selection,

computational techniques, and drawing a conclusion about the data.

Students will gain theoretical knowledge of these techniques and more

importantly apply methods practically using statistical software. Students

will learn how to make data-based decision, but also how to communicate

results correctly in written and visual form.

The course will be divided into two parts. The first one will be on

statistical techniques aiming to answer questions about differences

(various types of ANOVA). The second part will be related to methods

allowing the students to investigate research questions about

mechanisms (various types of regression analysis). Students will be also

familiarized with basic psychometric techniques used in assessing the

reliability of psychological scales and building indicators in relation to

Exploratory Factor Analysis results.

Textbook (obligatory): Field A. (2014). Discovering Statistics Using IBM

SPSS Statistics, 4th ed. SAGE.

Learning outcomes

 Procedural knowledge how to run statistical analysis

 Skills to choose the right statistical procedures for a given problem

 Knowledge how to interpret and draw conclusions from the results of

statistical procedures with regard to different types of data and

research problems

 Skills to communicate research outcomes

 Skills to present the data according to APA standards

The final grade will consist of:

1. Activity during the class (10%)

Points will be given to the students who will answer correctly the

instructor’s questions during the class. At the end of the course, all

the collected points will be summed up and they will contribute to

the final grade as 10% of it.

2. Homework (20%) The students should expect 2-3 short homework

assignments during the course

3. Midterm exam (30%)

4. Final exam (40%)

Grading scale:

95%+ = 5!

90-94% = 5

80-89% = 4.5

70-79% = 4

60-69% = 3.5

50-59% = 3

below 50% = 2 (fail)

Attendance rules

Attendance in the course is crucial.

Two unexcused absences are allowed.

Two more absences are allowed in case of excuse.

More than 4 absences result in lack of possibility to pass the course.

Additional work is given in case of more absences than 2 regardless of the

fact if the absences are unexcused or excused.