sta1cts critical thinking with stats
CRITICAL THINKING WITH STATISTICS
STA1CTS
2015
Credit points: 15
Subject outline
Critical Thinking with Statistics will help you to understand why we need data in our daily and professional lives, how data are produced, and how they are transformed using statistics into information that empowers us to make decisions and solve problems. This subject will make you appreciate how numbers reported in the media shape debates about social, economic, and environmental problems and policies. Importantly, it will also make you appreciate how numbers reported in the media can often be misleading, and it will teach you how to critically evaluate the information that you are bombarded with on a daily basis. The emphasis in this subject will be on key concepts rather than mathematical calculations, and you will learn statistics by doing it with the SPSS statistical software package and real data from your discipline area (i.e., science, psychology, or business).
SchoolSchool of Life Sciences
Credit points15
Subject Co-ordinatorWarren Paul
Available to Study Abroad StudentsYes
Subject year levelYear Level 1 - UG
Exchange StudentsYes
Subject particulars
Subject rules
PrerequisitesN/A
Co-requisitesN/A
Incompatible subjects STA1LS, STA1SS, STA2LS, STA2SS, STA1STM, STA1PSY, ECO1ISB
Equivalent subjectsN/A
Special conditionsN/A
Learning resources
Readings
| Resource Type | Title | Resource Requirement | Author and Year | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readings | Essential Statistics | Recommended | Moore, D 2013 | 2ND ED FREEMAN, NY |
| Readings | Introduction to the Practice of Statistics | Recommended | Moore, McCabe, Alwan, Craig & Duckworth 2011 | 3RD ED, FREEMAN, NY |
| Readings | Statistics for Psychology | Recommended | Aron, A, Aron, E and Coups, E 2013 | 6TH ED, PEARSON |
Graduate capabilities & intended learning outcomes
01. Propose research questions in the form of simple hypotheses about population means and proportions, and design basic studies that will produce the data needed to answer those questions.
- Activities:
- Assessed by assignment. (WHEN: W7 & W12, WHAT: Assignment, PERCENT: 10%, DEPTH 2 )
02. Apply the appropriate descriptive tools of statistics to summarise data and reveal important features that will help to answer questions.
- Activities:
- Students are given descriptions of studies that aim to answer certain questions. They must be able to identify the type and number of variables and the type of study, and then choose the appropriate analysis tools. Students are assigned projects involving real data that have a context, question, and data set. Students must choose the appropriate tools to analyse the data and answer the question. (WHEN: W7 & W12, WHAT: Assignment, PERCENT: 10%, DEPTH 2 ) Students interpret graphs and numerical summaries. (WHEN: End, WHAT: Exam, PERCENT: 20%, DEPTH 2)
03. Apply the appropriate inferential tools of statistics to weigh up evidence and draw conclusions.
- Activities:
- Students are assigned projects involving real data that have a context, question, and data set. Students must choose the appropriate tools to analyse the data and answer the question. (WHEN: W7 & W12, WHAT: Assignment, PERCENT: 10%, DEPTH 2 ) Students carry out hypothesis testing and estimation, and interpret SPSS output. (WHEN: End, WHAT: Exam, PERCENT: 20%, DEPTH 2)
04. Demonstrate an understanding of the terminology and important concepts in statistics.
- Activities:
- Online tutorials and assessments dealing with statistical literacy and threshold concepts. (WHEN: W1-10, WHAT: Online tutorial/assessment, PERCENT: 20%, DEPTH 2)
05. Critically evaluate the statistics presented in reports and the media in order to assess the value of the information.
- Activities:
- Students are given a media article to evaluate. (WHEN: W7 & W12, WHAT: Assignment, PERCENT: 10%, DEPTH 2 )
Subject options
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Albury-Wodonga, 2015, Semester 2, Day
Overview
Online enrolmentYes
Maximum enrolment sizeN/A
Enrolment information
Subject Instance Co-ordinatorWarren Paul
Class requirements
Computer LaboratoryWeek: 31 - 43
Two 1.0 hours computer laboratory per week on weekdays during the day from week 31 to week 43 and delivered via face-to-face.
LectureWeek: 31 - 43
Two 1.0 hours lecture per week on weekdays during the day from week 31 to week 43 and delivered via face-to-face.
Assessments
| Assessment element | Comments | % | ILO* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 weekly assessment tasks (on-line quizzes) | 20 | 02, 03, 04, 05 | |
| 2-hour examination | 40 | 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 | |
| Assignments (2 assignments) | 40 | 01, 02, 03, 04 |