PS 225 Lecture 1 Introduction Quantitative and Qualitative

PS 225 Lecture 1 Introduction Quantitative and Qualitative Research Basic Mathematics Review

Goal Prepare for the course by addressing course administration, establishing a broad context and verifying possession of requisite mathematical skills

Today’s Agenda o Class Introduction o Basic Mathematics Review o Next Class

Introductions o About Me: n Meghan Cherry n Master of Public Policy n Master of Industrial Engineering n Employment in Applied Statistical Analysis p Barclays Capital p University of Michigan Hospital Operations p University of Michigan Hospital Government Relations

Availability o Office Hours n By Appointment - Feel free to schedule alternative meeting times! o Email n mcherry@svsu. edu n Expect day delay in answering emails o Phone n Cell: 989 -413 -9004 n Call between 10: 00 a. m. and 8: 00 p. m. n Expect day delay in answering voicemail n SVSU Weather Line (989) 964 -4477

Course Goals o Introduce students to basic statistical methods in the social sciences o Teach students to make and respond to arguments using statistical data

Communication Intensive This course will develop abilities in a range of written and oral modes of academic discourse, with an emphasis on developing the ability to construct coherent, well-documented arguments in the presence of a wide range of perspective and experiences

Basic Statistical Methods o Data Types and Data Collection o Descriptive Statistics o Inferential Statistics o Bivariate Statistics

Course Materials o The Essentials of Statistics: A Tool for Social Research and Student Guide o SPSS Quickstarts o A Writer’s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research o Basic Scientific Calculator o Software: SPSS n n Available in Computer Labs Student Version with Book

Website o www. megcherry. com o All course materials posted

Grading o Daily in-class assignments (20%) o Final Notebook (10%) o Quizzes (5%) o Three tests and final exam (15, 15 and 15%) o Attendance (5%)

Grade Scale 93 -100% 90 -93% 87 -89% 83 -86% 80 -82% 77 -79% 70 -76% 60 -69% 0 -60% A AB+ B BC+ C D F

Grade Calculations o You are responsible for keeping track of your own grade. o A grade calculation is the same as the calculation of a weighted meansomething you learn to do in this class!

Honor Code As a student at Saginaw Valley State University: I am committed to upholding a high standard of academic integrity in all of my work, inside and outside of the classroom. Out of respect for my peers, professors, institution, and self, I will complete all tasks honestly and to the best of my ability. I am guided by my conscience as I work toward my educational and personal goals, and I expect my fellow students to practice that same moral judgment. I take pride in my academic accomplishments and therefore will not give or receive unauthorized assistance on any assignment, project, exam or other university requirement. I seek to maintain the honor of a Saginaw Valley State University degree, and I will preserve its value throughout my professional career. Don’t cheat- It isn’t worth it!

Disabilities Of you have a disability that may restrict your participation in the course: o Contact the instructor immediately o Contact the Office of Disability Services in Curtis 112 for Assistance

Policy Exceptions o Exceptions require documentation of circumstances o Must be handled in advance whenever possible For a more extensive treatment, refer to the syllabus

Additional Resources o Writing Center, Zahnow 308

Writing Center Services: o Assist with all components of writing o Identify and address grammar issues Getting Help: o Walk-ins are welcome o Online tutoring available 24/7

Course Schedule o Tentative and subject to change based on class progress o Class speed is largely determined by the number and type of questions asked during the lecture portion of the course

Questions

What is Statistics? A numerical discipline that involves collecting, organizing, interpreting and presenting data

Branches of Statistics o Descriptive statistics are used to describe the characteristics of a set of data o Inferential statistics are used to make conclusions, estimates or forecasts

Goal of Statistics o Understand the world around us o Make informed decisions

Everyday Statistical Statements o I’m more likely to pass this test if I start studying early o On average, I sleep six hours a night Statistics allows us to quantify these familiar ideas and understand the element of chance or randomness.

Research Methods o Qualitative- analysis of words, pictures, objects and other non-numerical data n n Case Studies Interviews o Quantitative- analysis of numerical data n Physical Measurements n Statistics

Goals o Qualitative- a complete description of a phenomena o Quantitative- classify, count or use mathematical models to explain phenomena

Prerequisites o Qualitative- may have only partially identified what knowledge is desired from the research o Quantitative- desired knowledge is carefully and completely identified before research begins whenever possible

Use o Qualitative- used independently or often in the beginning stages of a larger research project o Quantitative- used independently or often in the end stages of a larger research project

Design o Qualitative- frequently modified as study progresses o Quantitative- established fully before the beginning of data collection

Nature of Data o Qualitative- subjective, relying largely on the researcher’s interpretation o Quantitative- as objective as possible

Researcher o Qualitative- becomes immersed in subject matter o Quantitative- attempts to maintain a separate, objective relationship to the data

Strengths and Weaknesses o Qualitative n Data is ‘rich’ n Time consuming n Difficult to generalize o Quantitative n Data is very specific and difficult to contextualize n Efficient to collect n Can be used to test general hypotheses

Balancing Research Methods Quantitative and qualitative research in partnership build a more comprehensive world view than either type alone Statistical analyses and data collection should be informed by qualitative research

Basic Mathematics Review o Personal assessment of class readiness o Please consult the instructor immediately if you have ANY difficulties with the review

Order of Operations Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally s se n tio ac btr Su ion dit Ad ion tion vis a Di lic ltip Mu e nth nt ne po Ex re Pa

Reading For Next Class o Census Sampling Confusion http: //www. sciencenews. org/sn_arc 99/3_6_99/bob 1. htm o Why the 2010 Census stirs up partisan politics http: //www. time. com/time/nation/article/0, 8599, 1879667, 00. html