Faculty Contact Information:
Mr. Andreas Rambow
Adjunct Associate Professor
University of Maryland University College
European Division
US Mail:
Education Center - UMUC
Attn: Mr. Andreas Rambow
NSSG (80 ASG) AERSH-SE
Unit 21420 Box 6629
APO, AE 09705 | |
Consultation:
By email: 24/24 h, 7 days a week
Fax/VoiceMail: +32-71-834571 | |
Required Texts and Readings:
Text used exclusively in this course --
Anderson, D.R., Sweeney, D.J. & Williams, T.A. (2003).Modern business statistics with Microsoft Excel, (1st ed.). New York: South-Western College Publishing.
Texts used in multiple courses --
Weiss, C.( 1997). Evaluation, (2nd ed.). Prentice. Chapters 6, 7, 12 only
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.). Washington DC: Author. | |
Supplementary Readings:
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.
Student will need:
- a handheld calculator with the capability to do exponentiation, roots and handle 2 variables x & y (the TI-30X IIB currently available at AAFES for ca. $12.95 is adequate);
- access to a personal computer with MS-Excel installed (either your home computer, your work computer with permission from your supervisor, or use the hardware and software at a UMUC computer lab). The use of a computer is highly recommended for working with larger data files assigned as homework and supplied on CD-ROM with the text book.
Optional:
- manuals for Texas Instruments calculators can be found at:
http://education.ti.com/us/global/guides.html
- reference book on MS-Excel | |
Recommended Journals:
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Course Description:
| Prerequisites: The equivalent of College Algebra or permission of the Program Director.Provides the knowledge necessary to interpret published research results and to permit elementary research in business and public administration. Content includes: descriptive statistics, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, sampling, correlation, linear regression and multiple regression. | |
Course Goals:
As one of two research methods courses in the MPA program, this course provides graduate students with the conceptual and practical tools to develop proposals for and conduct non-experimental research projects, policy analyses, and program evaluations, as well as to evaluate and incorporate the implications of published reports into their practice as professionals. Upon completion of the course, participants should have an understanding of:
- Research methods as used in management settings.
- Quantitative research approaches.
- The of previous research and related literature.
- The process of hypothesis formulation and testing.
- Descriptive and inferential statistics.
- Data requirements for statistical procedures.
- Ethical considerations and constraints.
- The role of information technology in quantitative research and statistical analysis.
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
- Determine
when quantitative approaches are necessary and appropriate
- Interpret
quantitative research
- Apply
various inferential statistical tests
- Develop
sampling and data collection techniques
- Utilize
descriptive statistics to report findings
- Define
ethical and legal constraints on research
- Present
research findings in written and graphic or oral formats
- Analyze
the application of information technology in research | |
Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A------------------100 - 89.5%
B------------------89.4 – 79.5%
C------------------79.4 - 69.5%
F------------------69.4% or less
A curve may be applied.
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog.
Hard copies of the catalog are available in your local Education Center. | |
Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society. In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, the following are required:
Participation in Class........................................20%
Assigned Problem Sets which includes writing memos and other correspondence to satisfy the writing requirement for the course........................................................30%
Midterm Examination...........................................25%
Final Examination (not cumulative)............................25% | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation and study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
Participation in Class: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Attendance is mandatory and roll will be taken. Any absence should be communicated as soon as possible to the instructor. Students are responsible for catching up on any missed work or assignments.
Assigned Problem Sets: You will be asked to solve a set of problems for each chapter discussed in class. The problems will come from the textbook and the instructor will provide the solutions to provide the student with immediate feedback as to how far the material discussed has been understood.
We will cover one chapter per session in the course. This is a weekend course; please refer to the course schedule below for exact dates. The problem sets are due the following weekend unless otherwise specified by the instructor. Late submissions need the instructor's approval and are restricted to duty-related reasons, emergencies, or unforeseen events. Private issues do not fall under this policy.
Midterm Exam: The midterm will be given during the third weekend of the course. Please refer to the schedule below for the exact date and time. The rest will preferably consist of problems and short essay questions.
Final Exam: The final exam for this course will be "take-home". The final exam is not cumulative. It covers only the material covered after the midterm. The format is identical to the midterm exam.
In general: The student is expected to participate regularly in discussions and complete homework and class assignments on time. A participation score will be assessed based on a student’s active contribution to class discussions. A student must be prepared to discuss and work with readings during the session in which they are assigned; you must read ahead to be prepared for class.
Every class meeting is important. The student is responsible for material covered and assignments missed during an absence. It is the student’s responsibility to coordinate make up work.
The case problems are based on larger data sets available to the student on the CD-ROM supplied with the textbook. MS-Excel computer software is required to access the data on the CD. In each assignment, the case problem requires problem solving with statistical calculations and some analysis. The analysis is often as simple as answering three questions associated with the case problem. Even so, it is expected that the successful student will respond in complete sentences, organizing their responses, citing sources where necessary, and using correct standard English. Data, calculations, and tabular results may be presented either as computer-generated output (preferred) or in neatly organized and accomplished hand writing.
Pages 122-205 of the 5th edition of the APA manual are especially useful in this course and should be followed whenever you are using outside information. Section 3.7. of the manual (pages 174-175) is of critical importance for those wishing to avoid charges of plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.
The instructor reserves the right to modify the class schedule based on needs of the students and class progress in consonance with course objectives. Computer software [Excel, etc.] may be used for homework assignments and case problems; but no computer aids will be allowed on exams. Handheld calculators are the basic tool for both homework and exams. | |
Course Schedule:
Please note that this is a weekend term with the following meeting dates: 30/31 Oct, 13/14 Nov, 4/5 Dec, 18/19 Dec.
Weekend 1: 30/31 October
Chapter 1: Data and Statistics
Chapter 2: Descriptive Statistics: Tabular and Graphical Methods
Chapter 3: Descriptive Statistics: Numerical Methods
Chapter 4: Introduction to Probability
Weekend 2: 13/14 November
Chapter 5: Discrete Probability Distributions
Chapter 6: Continuous Probability Distributions
Chapter 7: Sampling and Sampling Distributions
Chapter 8: Interval Estimation
Weekend 3: 4/5 December
Midterm Exam covering Chapters 1 through 8
Chapter 9: Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 10: Statistical Inferences About Means and Proportions for Two Populations
Chapter 11: Inferences About Population Variances
Weekend 4: 18/19 December
Chapter 12: Tests of Goodness of Fit and Independence
Chapter 13: Analysis of Variance and Experimental Design
Chapter 14: Simple Linear Regression
Chapter 14: Simple Linear Regresssion, part 2 and Chapter 15: Multiple Regression (time-permitting)
Final Exam Take-home covering Chapters 9 through 14. The exam is due no later than Wednesday, December 22, 2004 by email or by fax. | |
Academic Policies:
The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi.
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
| Mr. Rambow has been a faculty member since 1995. He took his degrees from George Mason University, Marymount University and is currently working on his Doctorate of Business Administration, with an emphasis in Economics, at New University. | |