Statistics and Media

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic statistical concepts and methods; to teach students modern methods for collecting information with regard to statistical studies from a variety of sources and to appropriately critique and report findings from those studies.

Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and describe basic principles of study/experimental design.
• Demonstrate use of key concepts and search terms to find available online and print resources in the University library to gather information for bibliographies and well-articulated written reports.
• Demonstrate ability to determine the nature and extent of information needed to conduct in-depth research surrounding a statistical study reported in the media. Identify applicable sources of information, evaluating these for credibility, reliability, and timeliness.
• Summarize data using basic statistical terminology, descriptive statistics, and charts and graphs, employing appropriate technologies.
• Recognize and evaluate the association between two variables through correlation, regression or contingency table analysis; explain why correlation does not imply causation.
• Solve basic probability problems and problems related to social and physical phenomena utilizing properties of the normal curve.
• Construct simple confidence intervals.  Draw conclusions from simple confidence intervals and significance test results; recognize common misuses and misinterpretations of these in the media.
• Compose a report that critically evaluates claims based on statistical reasoning from survey and experimental results found in the media and proposes a research question for a related statistical study.  Employ appropriate conventions for citing sources of information, respecting intellectual property rights.