HS350 Appl Statistical & Research Reasoning
Prerequisite: C- or higher in MA135
This course introduces students to methods of scientific inquiry in human service practice and delivery, while developing students’ ability to read scientific literature and critically evaluate the research design and statistical analyses. Students gain skills in formulating appropriate research questions, collecting and analyzing data, testing relationships between variables, assessing reliability and validity issues, and engaging in ethical decision-making related to scientific inquiry. The course prepares students to conduct and understand statistical analyses, with an emphasis on interpretation rather than mathematical calculations. Students critically examine research articles for the purpose of understanding the appropriate use and potential abuse of statistics in human service research. Basic statistical procedures used in evidence-based practice and program evaluation are covered including descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, understanding tests of significance, confidence intervals, confounding variables, power, and univariate and bivariate inferential statistics. Students engage in laboratory exercises, conducting data analysis using computer software.
Prerequisite
MA135 [minimum grade = C-] or MA151 [minimum grade = C-] or MA201 [minimum grade = C-] or MA208 [minimum grade = C-]