Ed 602 Home Page

Statistics in Educational Research - An Internet Based Course

Please note: This course was last offered Spring Semester 2007. Students taking this course must have all assignments completed and take the final exam by January 10, 2008. The course will be closed at that time, but the web pages will remain but not be maintained.

Course Description

Ed 602 is offered as an internet based course through Minnesota State University Moorhead. The course will assist graduate students in education and related fields to achieve the following objectives.

Course Objectives

1. Understand the role the use of statistics and statistical analysis plays in educational research.
2. Understand the role mathematical anxiety may play in learning to use and in using statistical analysis in conducting educational research.
3. Knowledge of common descriptive and inferential statistics used in the research literature in education and human services.
4. Understand rational for and development of selected descriptive statistics.
5. Understand the use of statistics in testing research hypotheses and in generalizing the results of research.
6. Ability to gather data, code data, and prepare data for further statistical analysis.
7. Ability to calculate selected descriptive and inferential statistics with a hand held calculator, and with a personal computer running an advanced spreadsheet program.
8. Ability to select the appropriate inferential statistical test to use with a given research design or research problem.
9. Ability to report the results of descriptive statistics and the results of statistical analysis in APA style.

Course Registration

To register for this course click on registration form, print out a copy of the registration form, fill out the form, and mail it to

Ed 602 Registration
Continuing Studies
Minnesota State University Moorhead
811 11th Street South
Moorhead, MN 56563

Or Fax the registration form to Continuing Studies at 218-477-5030

If you have questions about registration, you may call the Continuing Studies office at Minnesota State University Moorhead at 218-477-5862

Course Topics

• Lesson 1. Introduction to course, terminology and scales of measurement
• Lesson 2. Sampling procedures
• Lesson 3. Frequency distributions
• Lesson 4. Graphing frequency distributions
• Lesson 5. Measures of central tendency
• Lesson 6. Measures of variability
• Lesson 7. The normal curve and standard scores
• Lesson 8. Correlation
• Lesson 9. Introduction to statistical inference
• Lesson 10. One sample statistical tests
• Lesson 11. The independent t-test
• Lesson 12. The dependent t-test
• Lesson 13. Analysis of variance
• Lesson 14. Chi-square
• Lesson 15. Testing the significance of correlation coefficients, choosing the proper statistical test
• Take home, final exam

Course Requirements

1. For each of 15 lessons, review the world wide web pages associated with the lesson, and complete the associated readings in one of the required text for the course (Basic Statistics for Behavioral Science Research, 2nd Edition by Mary B. Harris, 1998, Allyn and Bacon OR Practical Statistics for Educators, Third Edition by Ruth Ravid, 2005. University Press of America)
   It is also OK to use an earlier text for the course (Practical Statistics for Educators, 2nd Edition by Ruth Ravid, 2000, University Press of America).
   You may order the book through any bookstore or call the Minnesota State University Moorhead Bookstore and have them order it for you (phone number 218-477-2111) or go to the bookstore website at http://bookstore.mnstate.edu/
2. Complete the assignment associated with each lesson using the Excel spreadsheet program on a personal computer where necessary. Send the completed assignment by electronic mail, or by a world wide web response form, to the course instructor. Send electronic mail to instructor with any questions or concerns about any lesson.
3. Complete the brief, web based quiz associated with each lesson.
4. Complete the applied, take home, final examination for the course and send the completed final examination (available as a web based form) to the course instructor.

Course Grade

A grade for the course will be based on proportion of possible points achieved on the lesson assignments, and the final examination. The quizzes are for your own information (formative evaluation) and do not count on the final grade. You can check your progress in the course by going to the current gradebook Ed 602 Gradebook where your grades on assignments are posted by your MSUM Student ID Number.

Course Instructor

Please send electronic mail to the course instructor with any concerns, ideas, or questions you might have about this course.

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