Course Syllabus

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide students of public administration with statistical tools necessary to be better producers and consumers of various kinds of data and to enhance decision-making capabilities in a public management context. Students will learn, apply and critique statistical approaches to real-world situations through theoretical and practical application of statistical concepts.

Course Learning Outcomes

This course is designed to promote core competencies of the MPA program and to provide students with specific skills in statistical analysis. Students who successfully complete this course will have made significant personal advances in the ability to:

1. Assess and adapt to new information and changing environments
2. Write persuasively with polish and professionalism
3. Use common analytical tools effectively
4. Convey technical ideas to all audiences, both orally and in writing
5. Communicate process and results to all stakeholders
6. Structure problems
7. Gather, evaluate and focus information
8. Critique the application of analytical tools
9. Understand the substantive implications of quantitative analysis
10. Work independently and in groups to accomplish new, difficult, and/or challenging tasks
11. Manage time effectively

 The Specific quantitative tools and concepts introduced in this course include:

1. Basic survey research design
2. Basics of ethics in research and institutional (human subjects) review
3. Elements of causal relationships
4. Descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency, dispersion, proportions, frequency)
5. Inferential statistics (confidence intervals)
6. Use of z-scores
7. Hypothesis testing
8. Testing difference of means and proportions
9. Regression analysis (including simple, multiple, logistic, and interrupted time series analysis)
10. Basic data management
11. Use of statistical software

Reading Materials

Required: Berman, Evan. 2007. Essential Statistics for Public Managers and Policy Analysts, 3^rd edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Optional: Berman, Evan. 2007. Exercising Essential Statistics, 3^rd edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Other readings will be assigned and posted on Canvas per the syllabus and course calendar.

Community Partners

A significant component of this course is the completion of a statistics project on behalf of a community partner. Community partners and student teams will be assigned during the first week of class. Information about the community partners for this semester can be found here:

2013 Community Partner Information Sheets.docx

Note that some community partners have more than one project. Community partner projects are assigned to specific sections of the statistics course as follows:

Monday/Wednesday
United Way Welcome Baby
Cancer Wellness House
Clearfield Aquatic Center (Recreation Management Students have priority)
Santaquin City
Oelessebougou (Education)
Oelessebougou (Health Care)

Tuesday/Thursday
Humanitarian Experience for Youth (Parent)
Humanitarian Experience for Youth (Participant)
RIPM Alumni Survey
Oelessebougou (Poverty Reduction)
Orem City
Independent project/project proposal

Please ensure that you are registered for the section of the course that will give you the greatest likelihood of participating in a project you prefer. Note that enrollment in a course section does not guarantee assignment to your preferred project. Note also that some students in the Tuesday/Thursday class will have the option of proposing and executing a statistics project of their choice. This is recommended ONLY for students who have significant prior experience with data analysis and/or have close connections with community partner organizations with data analysis needs. Independently proposed projects are at the sole discretion of the instructor.

Classroom Procedures

Before class:
Students are expected to read the assigned readings and report on those readings using Canvas prior to class.

Review & questions:
Students are invited to bring questions from previous weeks’ material and/or the assigned readings for discussion during the first portion of class. Students are encouraged to make note of their questions as they are encountered from reading or application during the week prior to class. Substantive questions posed during this portion of class will be rewarded with participation points.

Lecture & discussion:
Students are invited to be actively engaged in the lecture and demonstrations that take place during the lecture and discussion portion of the class. This is when new material will be introduced, including some material not available in the textbook. Full attention is expected during lecture. The instructor will make every effort to make lecture notes available to students so that minimal note-taking is necessary.

Technology & practice problems:
Students are invited to work independently and/or collaboratively to practice material from lecture as directed by the instructor. This will help students to verify that they have the practical knowledge necessary for application to their own independent projects.Practice work is not due to the instructor. Answers will be provided for verification purposes, though students are also strongly encouraged to work together to find correct answers together before referring to the answer keys. Students who master the material before others are expected to actively engage as teachers during this time period to both solidify their own understanding of the concepts and to aid others in understanding. When students feel confident that they and their peers have mastered the material and are ready to apply it, they may move on to application.

Application:
Students will apply their knowledge to data of their choosing and prepare materials for presentation and critique. An assignment sheet outlining the output expectations for each application session will be posted online.

Presentation and critique:
Students will occasionally be invited to report on their practice or application work during class. Not all students will have the opportunity to present their work each week. Presentations may occur in pairs, groups, or whole-class settings at the instructor’s discretion. The purpose of this portion of class is to allow students to present their work using the language of statistics and to receive feedback on their work and suggestions for improvement. It is also an opportunity for the other students in class to practice being savvy consumers of statistics, strengthening their critical analysis skills and deepening their understanding of how to prepare and analyze data in the most useful and compelling way possible. Students who present work during this section of class will receive participation points.

Readings

Students are responsible for completing readings before class and for reporting on those readings via Canvas. Readings not posted on Canvas or posted late WILL NOT BE COUNTED, regardless of whether the student completed the readings. It is the student's responsibility to complete readings on time and to report on readings in a timely manner. Note that internet connections in the TNRB are not always reliable; it is the student's responsibility to report on readings in a timely manner in order to avoid technical difficulties.

Writing Center

Students are required to submit their draft work to the writing center for feedback. The writing center will grade the quality of communication for all drafts and these grades will comprise a portion of the assignment grade for each assignment. Assignments with an asterisk (*) include writing center grades.

Exams

There are four (4) midterm exams in this course and an optional final exam. The exam score for this course will be the *higher* of either the combined midterm exam scores *or* the final exam score. Midterms and the final exam are taken outside of regular class time. Due dates for these exams are noted on the course syllabus and calendar. Exams (midterms and final) must be taken in one session and without the aid of peers/colleagues/live help of any kind. Midterm exams will be made available one week prior to their due dates.

Late or Missing Assignments

Late assignments will be docked 20 percentage points from the earned grade (so a late assignment earning 80% of available points will be worth 60% of available points). Participation points and unreported readings (whether the readings had been completed or not) cannot be made up. Any special arrangements for late or make-up work contrary to this policy must be made in advance and in writing.

Grades

Final grades are the result of normalized grading scales based on class performance and conform to Marriott School of Management GPA targets for graduate programs.