Entry requirements
It is assumed that the student has a basic knowledge about basic statistical concepts (like mean, variance, correlation) and research methods (the difference between correlational/longitudinal studies and an experiment, the difference between a between-participants and a within-participants study). A basic understanding of SPSS is helpful but not required.
Description
The Preparatory Statistics Course teaches students statistical knowledge and practical skills at a conceptual level, useful for the quantitative research process used in most master theses. The topics cover part of the bachelor statistics program with specific attention for formulating research questions, data handling in SPSS, interpreting and reporting SPSS results (APA style), and drawing conclusions based on these results. The course (and its assessment) is fully in English.
Course objectives
Upon completion of this course, students can:
1. Explain in a basic way several statistical techniques that are often used in empirical psychological research (e.g.,, t-test, ANOVA, linear and logistic regression);
2. Apply these basic statistical techniques to empirical data by means of the IBM SPSS software;
3. Apply several data manipulation steps (including inputting data and plotting) in IBM SPSS to empirical data;
4. Select a suitable analysis method for given data, apply it and interpret the results correctly;
5. Clearly report on their analytic choices and results for colleagues in the field.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Course
Students need to enroll for lectures (and work group sessions). Please consult the Instructions registration.
Examination
Students are not automatically enrolled for an examination. They can register via MyStudymap from 100 to 10 calendar days before the date; students who are not registered will not be permitted to take the examination.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of:
6 2-hour lectures
9 2-hour supervised work group sessions (computer practical).
Attendance at the workgroup sessions is mandatory. See Brightspace for more information.
The course is fully in English (lectures, practicals, assignments, SPSS and final exam).
Assessment method
The final grade is based on
1. 1 SPSS exam which assesses the students’ practical skills in using IBM SPSS for data handling.
2. 4 take-home assignments in which the statistical techniques discussed during the lectures are applied in the form of a short research report.
3. Final exam (at the end of the course, 3h). The final exam takes the same form as the practical assignments and covers all of the topics addressed during the lectures and the work group sessions.
Students receive extensive feedback (during the practicals) on both the assignments and the SPSS exam. All assessment is in English.
The final grade is determined by combining (each with a weight of 50%): (1) the average grade on the assignments/SPSS exam (the average grade across the 4 assignments and the SPSS exam) and (2) the grade of the final exam, (3) in combination with sufficiently active participation in the compulsory work group sessions. The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for compulsory attendance. Students are required to attend all work group sessions. Non-attendance (due to illness, for instance) should be announced beforehand. Students who miss more than 2 of the 8 work group sessions will not pass the course. Non-attendance cannot be compensated by extra assignments. To complete the course successfully, the SPSS-exam, all 4 take-home assignments as well as the final exam should be completed.
To pass the course students should have: (1) an average grade on assignments/SPSS exam equal to or greater than 5.5 (the average grade across the 4 assignments and the SPSS exam) AND (2) a final grade equal to or greater than 5.5
When a student does not have an average grade on assignments/SPSS exam equal to or greater than 5.5 (the average grade across the 4 assignments and the SPSS exam), the student has to redo all assignments/SPSS exam with a score below 5.5. The resit consists of upgrading the assignment/SPSS exam (so, the assignment/exam will be the same). As the student received extensive feedback on the first version of the assignment/exam and questions stays the same, the maximum score for the upgraded assignment/exam is 6/10.
When a student does have an average grade on assignments/SPSS exam equal to or greater than 5.5 (the average grade across the 4 assignments and the SPSS exam) but a final grade smaller than 5.5, the student has to resit the final exam (but not the assignments or the SPSS exam). The resit consists of upgrading the report for the final exam (the exam questions will stay the same). As the student received extensive feedback on the first version of the final exam and questions stays the same, the maximum score for the upgraded final exam is 6/10.
The Institute of Psychology follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of this fraud policy.
Reading list
Andy Field (2018). Discovering Statistics using SPSS. Fifth Edition. Sage: London.
IBM SPSS 27. A student version of IBM SPSS can be purchased through www.surfspot.nl.
Contact information
Dr. Tom F. Wilderjans t.f.wilderjans@fsw.leidenuniv.nl