PSY 120 Elementary Statistical Reasoning

rninme · Jul 31, 2012

Take it starting in October with ME!!

SoundRN7 · Jul 31, 2012

I think taking this class over the course of a whole quarter/semester would be doable with another class and working. I may be wrong but I think the 8 week class was the normal quarter length class, but because of a shortened summer quarter it got shortened to 8 weeks.?? Am I making sense?

DidiRN · Aug 1, 2012

I am taking this course with Business Communications this summer. I was warned not to take stats with any other class by my adviser, but I thought since I am now part time I could handle it. I wanted to get them both out of the way like this so I could graduate earlier.

I worked out my course schedule until the end, and by doing this, I would get done sooner.

I am spending an enormous amount of hours on these courses. I study stats daily and I am still struggling in it. I am praying for a C so I don't have to take it over again. I am not sure why I am doing so poorly even though I am trying so hard, but my guess is because I am and always have been very poor at math. I took a prealgebra course 8 years ago, and I can honestly say that had I not taken that, I would have never been able to do this class. I didn't remember the math from way back then, but when I went to brush up on my algebra skills, I was able to recall it. Previously I had taken an algebra course 30 years ago; I had no recollection of it.

It seems too like all my mistakes are just dumb ones. One little error in the numbers can totally throw you off. The videos that this instructor has online have been a huge help to me. However I find this instructor's tests very tough.

As crazy as this sounds after saying all of that, I actually like this class; I find it interesting. I guess I just don't have that math aptitude like most people do and mess up with little things. I don't mean to scare anyone by my story; just keep in mind that like I said before I am extremely bad at math. I am just praying for a C!! One more weeek to go!!!

SoundRN7 · Aug 1, 2012

Started on mod 9 & 10 today. I haven't gotten very far into the packet and have been struggling. I found a few things online that made a lot more sense then what is presented in the book or notes and wanted to share them here.

DETERMINING BETWEEN ONE-TAIL OR TWO- TAIL

One tail = One that specifies the direction of a difference or correlation. For example -If we correlate income to the number of years in school we could hypothesize that years in school tends to make income increase. This specifies the direction of the difference, in this case positive ( more school means more money)

Two tail = One that does not speficy the direction of a difference of correlation. For example - If we were correlating people's heights with their income, we might have no good reason for expecting that the correlation would be positive (income increasing with height) or negative (income decreasing with height). We might just want to find out if there were any relationship at all, and that's a two-tailed hypothesis. Info taken from: Will That Be One Tail or Two?

DETERMINING CRITICAL Z AND CRITICAL T

Critical z - assuming that your alpha (weird greek lowercase letter a) is .05 and looking for a two-tail.

Step 1. Subtract alpha of .05 from 1.00 = .95

Step 2. Divide that number, .95 by 2 (2 tails) = .4750

Step 3. Look up .4750 "means to z" number in z tables. Then look at z score that corresponds to that mean to z number = 1.96 +

Critical z - with alpha of .05 and one-tail

Step 1. Subtract .05 from normal mean of 50 = .45

Step 2. Look up .45 "mean to z" number in z tables. Then look at z score that corresponds to that mean to z number = +1.65 or -1.65

Critical t - with n=25 alpha=.05 and two tails

Step 1. Figure degree of freedom which is normally always 1. Subtract degree of freedom from the n value. So 25-1=24

Step 2. Then look up that number, 24, on the t-table, under df.

Step 3. Then, from 24df, go over to your alpha number, .05, under two tails and you get + 2.064 -that's the answer to this one

Critical t - with n=25 alpha .01 and one tail

Step 1. Figure the degree of freedom (df) by subtracting 1 from the n value. So 25-1=24

Step 2. Look up 24 on the t-table under df. From there go over to your alpha number of .01 under one tail for the answer = +2.492 or -2.492

Hope this helps someone. I could not decipher this from the book.

SoundRN7 · Aug 1, 2012

Just found something else.

How to determine t-test from z-test.

T-test used when you have a SAMPLE standard deviation.

Z-test used when you have a POPULATION standard deviation.

DidiRN · Aug 1, 2012

Just found something else.
How to determine t-test from z-test.
T-test used when you have a SAMPLE standard deviation.
Z-test used when you have a POPULATION standard deviation.

Thanks modgoth! I need all the help I can get :)

bushrn75 · Aug 1, 2012

Omg! Thank god I don't have to take that class!!! Mine transferred!

mtsteelhorse · Aug 1, 2012

Omg! Thank god I don't have to take that class!!! Mine transferred!

I am bagging this class until I know for sure I'm going to grad school. Found out I don't need it to get in but will need before the research class. I'll figure out an easier approach. Luckily my stats from a gazillion years ago transferred. Good luck to everyone. I dropped it!

michelemybell · Aug 1, 2012

Some of the mods were confusing and took considerable time and effort to figure out and complete while others were more simple and less time consuming. Personally, I would not want to take this class plus a nursing class, while also working FT. If I did, I'm sure there would be fits of rage where books get thrown around and filthy pirate language spewed. LOL! But that's just me. I'm sure there have been many people who have taken this course with another while also working and managed. Though I would assume that it was difficult.

Oh brother....looking forward to it!

rninme · Aug 1, 2012

Oh brother....looking forward to it!

Well - can it be any worse than this *&&^^%%$ Family class?

SoundRN7 · Aug 1, 2012

Well - can it be any worse than this *&&^^%%$ Family class?

I had originally signed up for Family but ended up dropping it so I could take care of non nursing classes this quarter. After reading the comment section on Family today, I am so darned glad I did not take it. I know there have been headaches in some of the nursing classes but it sounds like Family takes the cake. What a load of bs.

SoundRN7 · Aug 1, 2012

I am finished with mod 9 & 10. IMO, it was worse then anything before it! Maybe cramming 9 & 10 together at the end isn't the best idea? I started working on it in the early afternoon with the intention of not stopping until I was done. I pulled an all nighter and finished at 5am. I think my brain has turned to mush and I am seeing in null hypothesis'. Can someone please tell me how I will use this in real life and will stats help me in the nursing research class? I am SO done with this class, except for the final, and as soon as I get a little more sleep, I will have the energy to do the happy dance.

What classes are you taking for fall semester? I'm taking Research 405/4550 the first 5 weeks, Community 341/4540 and Strategic Planning/Management combined 4580 the second five weeks, and the RFPD fashion class the 3rd five weeks. After loading up on 3 classes this quarter I am looking forward to only 1 class the first five weeks. I will be able to have a life again, woohoo.