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About |
Course policies and information. |
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This course offers an introduction to advanced topics in statistics with the focus of understanding the kind of data we see in the behavioral and social sciences. The aim is for statistical concepts to be tightly interwoven with the practice of psychological research, where we build models and work with data in R. The centerpiece of the course is to achieve a deep understanding of the linear mixed-effects model, which we will approach from both a frequentist and Bayesian perspective. Along the way, other topics will be visited (and revisited), including notions of power, measurement, non-parametric statistics, and model comparison.
Credits: 4 --- Instructional Mode: In-person
Course requirements include regular attendance, active participation in class discussions and weekly labs, and completion of all exams and homework assignments. There will be 2 closed-book exams completed in class to assess conceptual knowledge, as well as 6 homework assignments, which will involve hands-on application of the material. These assignments are issued Wednesday afternoon and are due the following Wednesday morning at 8:00 am. Four of these are regular "homework assignments," covering weekly course material, and two are cumulative "comprehensive assignments" synthesizing all of the material up to that point in advance of the in-class exams. These components are assigned the following weights:
- 30%: Comprehensive homeworks
- 40%: Weekly homeworks
- 25%: In-class exams
- 5%: Participation
And course grades are assigned as follows: A = 92- 100%, AB = 88-92%, B = 82-88%, BC = 78-82%, C = 78% and below:
Our course notes are available online here. For many classes, there will be assigned readings and/or accompanying online interactive tutorials link in the schedule. There is no official course textbook, although much of the presentation is loosely sourced from Gelman & Hill's Data analysis using regression and multilevel / hierarchical models and McElreath's Statistical Rethinking which are regarded as gold standard for mixed-effects models and Bayesian data analysis, respectively.
Each week, we will make the homework available on Wednesday afternoon after class. The homework is then due the following Wednesday by 8am.
You will have 5 slip days in total. If you return a homework within 24h after the deadline, this costs you one slip day (or 2 slip days if you return it within 48h, etc.). If you’ve use up all your slip days, late homework submissions from that point on will receive a score of 0.
You are encouraged to work and study in groups. However, your writeup must be your own (both the coding as well as any written text). You will indicate who you worked with on your writeup.
We welcome feedback regarding the course at any point! Please feel free to email us directly or come to Robert's office hours to discuss.
Occasionally, a student may have a complaint about a TA or course instructor. If that happens, you should feel free to discuss the matter directly with the TA or instructor. If the complaint is about the TA and you do not feel comfortable discussing it with the individual, you should discuss it with the course instructor. Complaints about mistakes in grading should be resolved with the TA and/or instructor in the great majority of cases. If the complaint is about the instructor (other than ordinary grading questions) and you do not feel comfortable discussing it with the individual, make an appointment to speak to the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, Professor Shawn Green, [email protected].
If you have concerns about climate or bias in this class, or if you wish to report an incident of bias or hate that has occurred in class, you may contact the Chair of the Department, Professor Allyson Bennett ([email protected]) or the Chair of the Psychology Department Climate & Diversity Committee, Martha Alibali ([email protected]). You may also use the University’s bias incident reporting system, which you can reach at the following link: https://doso.students.wisc.edu/services/bias-reporting-process/.
All students deserve to be safe and respected at UW-Madison. Unfortunately, we know that sexual and relationship violence do happen here. Free, confidential resources are available on and off campus for students impacted by sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking (regardless of when the violence occurred). You don’t have to label your experience to seek help. Friends of survivors can reach out for support too. A list of resources can be found at https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/survivor-resources/
If you wish to speak to someone in the Department of Psychology about your concerns, you may contact the Chair of the Department, Professor Allyson Bennett ([email protected]) or the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies, Professor Shawn Green ([email protected]). Please note that all of these individuals are Responsible Employees (https://compliance.wisc.edu/titleix/mandatory-reporting/#responsible-employees).
The members of the faculty of the Department of Psychology at UW-Madison uphold the highest ethical standards of teaching and research. They expect their students to uphold the same standards of ethical conduct. By registering for this course, you are implicitly agreeing to conduct yourself with the utmost integrity throughout the semester.
In the Department of Psychology, acts of academic misconduct are taken very seriously. Such acts diminish the educational experience for all involved – students who commit the acts, classmates who would never consider engaging in such behaviors, and instructors. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating on assignments and exams, stealing exams, sabotaging the work of classmates, submitting fraudulent data, plagiarizing the work of classmates or published and/or online sources, acquiring previously written papers and submitting them (altered or unaltered) for course assignments, collaborating with classmates when such collaboration is not authorized, and assisting fellow students in acts of misconduct. Students who have knowledge that classmates have engaged in academic misconduct should report this to the instructor.
By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UW-Madison’s community of scholars in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest academic integrity standards. Academic misconduct compromises the integrity of the university. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and helping others commit these acts are examples of academic misconduct, which can result in disciplinary action. This includes but is not limited to failure on the assignment/course, disciplinary probation, or suspension. Substantial or repeated cases of misconduct will be forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards for additional review. For more information, refer to https://conduct.students.wisc.edu/academic-misconduct/.
Institutional statement on diversity: “Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.” https://diversity.wisc.edu/
McBurney Disability Resource Center syllabus statement: “The University of Wisconsin-Madison supports the right of all enrolled students to a full and equal educational opportunity. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Wisconsin State Statute (36.12), and UW-Madison policy (Faculty Document 1071) require that students with disabilities be reasonably accommodated in instruction and campus life. Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities is a shared faculty and student responsibility. Students are expected to inform faculty [me] of their need for instructional accommodations by the end of the third week of the semester, or as soon as possible after a disability has been incurred or recognized. Faculty [I], will work either directly with the student [you] or in coordination with the McBurney Center to identify and provide reasonable instructional accommodations. Disability information, including instructional accommodations as part of a student's educational record, is confidential and protected under FERPA.” http://mcburney.wisc.edu/facstaffother/faculty/syllabus.php
UW-Madison students who have experienced sexual misconduct (which can include sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence and/or stalking) also have the right to request academic accommodations. This right is afforded them under Federal legislation (Title IX). Information about services and resources (including information about how to request accommodations) is available through Survivor Services, a part of University Health Services: https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/survivor-services/ .