Fw: Graduate course on SPSS - clarification

[kim.barchard]

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions!  However, I now realize I
wasn't very clear.

I have already taught courses on undergraduate and graduate statistics, in
which I taught students how to do the analysis in SPSS.   Now I am thinking
of teaching a course on SPSS.  This course would assume an understanding of
basic statistics, and it would only teach a couple of more statistical
techniques - all of them simple.  The purpose of the course would be to
teach students SPSS.

For texts, I was thinking of the SPSS Syntax Manual and Raynald Levesque's
SPSS Programming and Data Management, 3rd edition.  This are difficult
reading, though, and are designed more as reference materials than course
textbooks.  So, if anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

For assignments, I was thinking of one assignment that shows students how
to enter data using the data window and conduct analyses using the menus.
The next assignment would show students how to use syntax windows.  All
assignments from then on would use syntax windows.  In my own research,
I've recently become a fan of OMS, and so I would like to include that.   I
haven't really explored the possibilities of Python, but that would also be
an option.  I was planning to require my students to subscribe to this
listserv for the duration of the course.

Has anyone taught a course like that, or do you know of any courses like
that?  Does anyone have assignments or lectures that would be helpful?  Are
there any other books I should look at?

Thank you,

Kim

[Art Kendall-2]

Someone suggested help desk experience.   If you can arrange that it
will be very helpful.  You might assign some students to a "class help
desk role" for each project.

in addition you should consider having each student provide
"referencing" for a few other students on each project.  Rearrange which
students each student works with on each project.  This provides them
with experience in seeing different approaches to the same problem.  It
also habituates them to this good data analysis QA practice.

"Referencing" is audit/policy speak for the process of reviewing syntax
etc. and conclusions drawn from the data to see whether they accomplish
the purpose of the analysis.  In actual audits/studies, this provides
independent assurance that the documentation communicates, that results
accurately describe what was done, and that the analysis is consistent
with the purpose of the study.

- - -

Emphasize that as they learn the language they will have a greater
understanding of what they can do and will develop what they want to
do.  Therefore, they will revise the syntax many times.  Data analysis
is a continuous improvement process.

Art Kendall
Social

[hidden email] wrote:

>Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions!  However, I now realize I
>wasn't very clear.
>
>I have already taught courses on undergraduate and graduate statistics, in
>which I taught students how to do the analysis in SPSS.   Now I am thinking
>of teaching a course on SPSS.  This course would assume an understanding of
>basic statistics, and it would only teach a couple of more statistical
>techniques - all of them simple.  The purpose of the course would be to
>teach students SPSS.
>
>For texts, I was thinking of the SPSS Syntax Manual and Raynald Levesque's
>SPSS Programming and Data Management, 3rd edition.  This are difficult
>reading, though, and are designed more as reference materials than course
>textbooks.  So, if anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
>
>For assignments, I was thinking of one assignment that shows students how
>to enter data using the data window and conduct analyses using the menus.
>The next assignment would show students how to use syntax windows.  All
>assignments from then on would use syntax windows.  In my own research,
>I've recently become a fan of OMS, and so I would like to include that.   I
>haven't really explored the possibilities of Python, but that would also be
>an option.  I was planning to require my students to subscribe to this
>listserv for the duration of the course.
>
>Has anyone taught a course like that, or do you know of any courses like
>that?  Does anyone have assignments or lectures that would be helpful?  Are
>there any other books I should look at?
>
>Thank you,
>
>Kim
>
>
>