CJ 656: Applied Statistics in Criminal Justice
Section 201
Spring 2008
c2=158
Tuesdays 4:00-6:20, Smith Hall 418
Criminal Justice Department
Smith Hall 774
Phone:
304-696-3087
m = 256
Fax: 304-696-3085
Email: bora@marshall.edu
Web Page: www.marshall.edu/criminal-justice/bora.htm
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30-12:00
REQUIRED TEXTS
Schacht, S.P., & Aspelmeier, J.E. (2005).
Social and Behavioral Statistics:
A User-friendly Approach (2nd ed.).
Cambridge, MA: Westview Press.
Holcomb, Z. C. (2006). SPSS Basics:
Techniques for a First Course in Statistics.
Publishing.
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Principles of statistical techniques with emphasis upon their
application in the criminal justice system.
PREREQUISITES
Undergraduate
statistics course, undergraduate research methods course, and CJ 655
COMPUTER
REQUIREMENTS
A
student must have a computer or access to one, as well as access to the
Internet to send and receive email messages. If you are using an email account
other than your
DESIRED
LEARNER OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES
·
To understand the
different techniques used in criminal justice research to summarize, analyze,
interpret, and evaluate data.
·
To learn the basics
of descriptive and inferential statistics.
·
To appreciate the
differences between statistical procedures and to be able to identify which
procedure is appropriate for different types of data and research designs.
·
To comprehend
statistical information presented in everyday situations.
·
To learn the use of
the predominant statistical program in the social sciences (i.e., SPSS).
EVALUATION OF
LEARNER OBJECTIVES
·
There will be a
mid-term exam and a final exam. Both exams will consist of multiple choice,
true/false, short answer, and problems. The final exam is not comprehensive;
however, due to the nature of this course, it is essentially comprehensive
because topics build upon each other. The dates for these exams are as follows:
Mid-Term Exam - Tuesday, February 26
Final Exam - Tuesday, May 6
(4-6pm)
·
Assignments will be
given to strengthen student understanding of the topics covered in class. These
assignments must be typed, which means no hand written work will be accepted (except
for formulas and hand calculations). Late assignments will be penalized one
letter grade for each day late and will not be accepted after four days past
the due date.
·
There may be quizzes
given throughout the semester to assess student comprehension.
“He
uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts—for support rather than
illumination.” -Andrew Lang
PAPER
GUIDELINES
There are no major papers for this course. As
mentioned above, a number of assignments will be required. Guidelines and
directions for these assignments will be handed out according to the course
schedule provided below. Due dates for these assignments are also
provided; thus, no excuse will be accepted for delinquent assignments.
ATTENDANCE
POLICY
Attendance will be recorded daily, but only for my purposes. This is a
graduate course, so it is up to you if you come to class. However, I must point out the difficulty level of
this course. Missing even one class will put you behind. If you miss class, it
is your responsibility to get the notes and assignments from another student
and hand in the assignments when they are due.
If you miss an exam with no legitimate documented
excuse a zero will be given for that test with no make-up test. If you are ill or know in advance that you
will miss an exam for a legitimate excuse, you (or your representative) must
notify me BEFORE the scheduled exam time (if I am not notified
before the exam, you will be given a zero regardless of the excuse). There are no make-ups for quizzes, with or
without an excuse; however, if a valid documented excuse is presented [and
accepted by me] the score will be waived, but it is your responsibility to
notify me regarding a missed quiz (i.e., “I will not hunt you down”). No
excuses will be accepted after the class period immediately following the class
that was missed.
GRADES
|
Criteria |
Weight |
Scale |
|
Mid-Term
Exam |
35 % |
90-100% = A |
|
Final
Exam |
35 % |
80-89% = B |
|
Assignments
& Quizzes |
30 % |
70-79% = C |
|
|
|
60-69% = D |
|
TOTAL |
100 % |
Below 60% =
F |
BORA’S
“TEN COMMANDMENTS”
1. As a general rule, I don’t allow my lectures to be tape-recorded.
Exceptions are made for students with disabilities, however prior permission must
be obtained from the professor.
2. All cell phones must be turned off and put away (out of view) at the
commencement of class, with the exception of emergency service personnel. Cell
phones are disruptive not only to me, but your fellow students, so please be
courteous. You will receive only one warning if your cell phone goes off in
class, or if I catch you playing with it during class.
3. You may NOT eat during class. This means food of any kind (chips, sandwiches,
candy, etc.). However, drinks are permitted (non-alcoholic of course). Also,
you should not be working on anything not related to this class once class
commences (this includes reading, copying other’s notes, knitting, playing
games on your cell phone, etc.).
4. Do NOT leave the classroom once class has started, unless it is an
absolute emergency or you have notified me before class that you will be
leaving. You should use the restroom, get a drink of water, make a phone call,
etc. before class starts.
5. Don’t cheat or plagiarize!
Academic dishonesty is something I take very seriously and will not
tolerate. Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing will automatically receive a
failing grade for the course and will be referred to the dean for appropriate
disciplinary action. Plagiarism from the internet has become a very serious
problem and professors now have access to various software programs to identify
this behavior, so at this point in your academic career, don’t risk it!
6. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, the dumbest question is the one not
asked! If you ask a question I can’t
answer, I’ll find out the answer and get back to you. Please remember that as a teacher, I am
merely your guide through the field, I am not the field itself!
7. During discussions please respect different viewpoints; there is always
more than one side. Treat others’ views
as you would want your own to be treated, with an open mind. Personal attacks
on others will not be tolerated!
8. I like to run my classes as an open forum where we can all learn from
each other, so I encourage intelligent discussions, questions, and comments,
but at the same time we have to remember that we are at a university setting
and must act accordingly.
9. I encourage all my students to make use of my office hours, they are
there for you. If you can’t make it at the scheduled times, let me know and we
can arrange to meet at another time.
However, this invitation is only for those students who come to class on
a regular basis and put forth a genuine effort to learn. Also, please keep in mind that I have a life
too and while my office hours are mandatory, my other time is not, so my
flexibility can only extend so far.
10. Enjoy! Have fun! Learn! Some
students feel that each of these endeavors are independent of each other, they
are not. You can enjoy and have fun
while learning. I hope to make it as
comfortable as I can for you, but it will take some work on your part as well.
“There
are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” -Benjamin
Disrael
TENTATIVE
COURSE SCHEDULE
|
Week 1 |
Jan 15 |
|
The Wheel of Science -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Week 2 |
Jan 22 |
|
Perspective & Rationale for Statistical
Analysis; Measurement Issues -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 2 & 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
Week 3 |
Jan 29 |
|
Measures of Central Tendency & Dispersion -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 4 & 5 |
|
|
-Assignment # 1 & SPSS Assignment distributed |
|
|
Week 4 |
Feb 5 |
|
Introduction to SPSS -Read Holcomb Chapters 1-7 -Assignment #1 and SPSS Assignment due |
|
|
|
|
|
Week 5 |
Feb 12 |
|
The Normal Distribution & Probabilities -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 6 & 7
and Holcomb Chapter 8 & 9 -Assignment # 2 distributed |
|
|
Week 6 |
Feb 19 |
|
Going from Univariate to Bivariate Analysis;
Review for Mid-Term Exam -Assignment # 2 due |
|
|
Week 7 |
Feb 26 |
|
Midterm Exam |
|
|
Week 8 |
Mar 4 |
|
Inferential Statistics & Confidence Intervals -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 8 -Assignment # 3 distributed |
|
|
Week 9 |
Mar 11 |
|
No Class- ACJS Conference |
|
|
Week 10 |
Mar 18 |
|
Hypothesis Testing -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 9 and
Holcomb Chapters 11-13 -Assignment # 3 due -Assignment # 4 distributed |
|
|
Week 11 |
Mar 25 |
|
No
Class -Spring Break |
|
|
Week 12 |
Apr 1 |
|
Chi-Square Test of Statistical Significance &
Measures of Association -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 13 and
Holcomb Chapter 16 -Assignment # 4 due -Assignment # 5 and SPSS Assignment distributed |
|
|
Week 13 |
Apr 8 |
|
Advanced SPSS -Assignment # 5 and SPSS Assignment due |
|
|
Week 14 |
Apr 15 |
|
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA); Causality &
Correlation; Regression -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier 10 & 11 and
Holcomb Chapter 10 & 14 |
|
|
Week 15 |
Apr 22 |
|
Regression (cont.) -Assignment # 6 distributed |
|
|
Week 16 |
Apr 29 |
|
Multiple
Regression and MANOVA; Review for Final Exam -Read Schacht & Aspelmeier Chapter 12 -Assignment
# 6 due |
|
|
Week 17 |
May 6 |
|
Final Exam (Tuesday, May 6, 4:00-6:00pm) |
|
GRADE
INQUIRIES
Student materials will be returned as soon as
graded to the student. If the student has a question about a grade on an
assignment, the student must bring the assignment to the professor. No grade
inquiries about specific assignments will be explored without the questioned
assignment. It is the student's responsibility to keep their materials. Final
examinations and materials not picked up will be kept in my office for 30 days
into the next semester. At that time, all material not claimed will be
destroyed.
“Like
dreams, statistics are a form of wish fulfillment.” -Jean Baudrillard