Spring 2021 | SOC 3811 Section 001: Social Statistics (48409)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- Completely Online
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education RequirementOnline Course
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021Tue 09:45AM - 11:00AMOff CampusUMN REMOTE
- Enrollment Status:
- Open (128 of 145 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- This course will introduce majors and non-majors to basic statistical measures and procedures that are used to describe and analyze quantitative data in sociological research. The topics include (1) frequency and percentage distributions, (2) central tendency and dispersion, (3) probability theory and statistical inference, (4) models of bivariate analysis, and (5) basics of multivariate analysis. Lectures on these topics will be given in class, and lab exercises are designed to help students learn statistical skills and software needed to analyze quantitative data provided in the class. prereq: Credit will not be granted if credit has been received for Soc 5811 (Soc 5811 offered Fall terms only). Undergraduates with strong math background are encouraged to register for 5811 in lieu of 3811. Soc Majors/Minors must register A-F.
- Class Notes:
- This lecture is completely online. On Tuesdays, the lecture will meet in a synchronous format at the scheduled time. The remaining lecture material will be available online in an asynchronous format. Click this link for more detailed information: http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ewf+SOC3811+Spring2021
- Class Description:
Quantitative data can reveal the social world - or disguise it. This class will teach methods of describing, displaying, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative data so that it can reveal, not disguise, social patterns. We will cover: (1) descriptive statistics and principles of good graphing; (2) methods of transforming data to make its patterns visible; (3) the probability theory that lets us use samples to learn about populations; (4) principles of causal inference; and (5) methods for relating multiple variables to understand their relationships.
Credit will not be granted if credit has been received for Soc 5811 (Soc 5811 offered Fall terms only). Undergraduates with strong math background are encouraged to register for 5811 in lieu of 3811. Soc Majors/Minors must register A-F.
- Grading:
- 48% Data Analysis Assignments45% Quizzes7% Learning Reflections
- Exam Format:
- ComputationsMultiple ChoiceShort Answer
- Class Format:
- In Spring 2021, we will meet virtually only. The Tuesday lecture period and the labs will be synchronous. The Thursday lecture period will be asynchronous and can be done at any time between Tuesday lecture periods. The Tuesday period will be highly interactive and is a chance to get practice with help from other students and your professor.
50% Lecture and large-group activities50% Computer Labs - Workload:
- 10-35 pages reading per week (note: textbook reading is slow because it requires stopping to do practice problems along the way); weekly quizzes; 3 longer analytical memos.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/48409/1213
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 9 November 2020
Spring 2021 | SOC 3811 Section 008: Social Statistics (49558)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- Completely Online
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education RequirementOnline Course
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021Tue 05:30PM - 08:00PMOff CampusUMN REMOTE
- Enrollment Status:
- Open (50 of 58 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- This course will introduce majors and non-majors to basic statistical measures and procedures that are used to describe and analyze quantitative data in sociological research. The topics include (1) frequency and percentage distributions, (2) central tendency and dispersion, (3) probability theory and statistical inference, (4) models of bivariate analysis, and (5) basics of multivariate analysis. Lectures on these topics will be given in class, and lab exercises are designed to help students learn statistical skills and software needed to analyze quantitative data provided in the class. prereq: Credit will not be granted if credit has been received for Soc 5811 (Soc 5811 offered Fall terms only). Undergraduates with strong math background are encouraged to register for 5811 in lieu of 3811. Soc Majors/Minors must register A-F.
- Class Notes:
- This course is completely online in a synchronous format. The lecture will meet online at the scheduled times. Click this link for more detailed course information: http://classinfo.umn.edu/?bianx001+SOC3811+Spring2021
- Class Description:
- This course will introduce sociology majors to basic statistical measures and procedures that are used to describe and analyze quantitative data in sociological research. The topics include (1) frequency and percentage distributions, (2) central tendency and dispersion, (3) probability theory and statistical inference, (4) models of bivariate analysis, and (5) basics of multivariate analysis. Lectures on these topics will be given in class, and lab exercises are designed to help students learn statistical skills needed to analyze quantitative data provided in the class. In addition to attendance to lectures and labs, students are expected to read 15 pages of the text per week. There will be three exams. Students will need a simple calculator for assignments and exams. This course meets the CLE requirements for the Mathematical Thinking core. We explore the dual nature of social statistics as a body of knowledge with its own logic and way of thinking, and as a powerful tool for understanding and describing social reality. Students in this course are exposed to the mathematic knowledge that underlies key concepts, but they are also shown how each concept applies to real world social science issues and debates. They are asked to demonstrate their mastery of the mathematical concept and its practical application through in-class discussions, problem sets, and exam questions. Students are taught the mathematical foundations of probability and sampling theory; they are taught about sampling distributions; and they are shown the real-world implications of these ideas for how social science knowledge is gained through surveys of randomly sampled observations.
- Who Should Take This Class?:
- Sociology major.
- Learning Objectives:
- See full description under Class Description. Briefly, this is a requirement for a sociology major. You will learn basic quantitative analytic skills useful for senior thesis and a future research job.
- Grading:
- 10% Class attendance50% Problem solving assignments40% Midterm exam !05% End of course extra credit
- Exam Format:
- multiple choice, computational problems
- Class Format:
- 65% Lecture
35% Laboratory - Workload:
- 10 pages per week reading (textbook and lecture notes)10 out of 12 assignments and weekly problem solving labs2 Exam(s)
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/49558/1213
- Past Syllabi:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/bianx001_SOC3811_Spring2024.pdf (Spring 2024)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/bianx001_SOC3811_Spring2020.pdf (Spring 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/bianx001_SOC3811_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019) - Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 18 September 2020
ClassInfo Links - Spring 2021 Sociology Classes
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