Required In-Class Midterm Exam Saturday
October 4 at 9 a.m. in Law 204.
We will not have new readings this week. Instead, we will review
the readings for the past three weeks in preparation for the first
midterm which will be in-class on October 4. I am not going to
post the readings on this page, you can find them on the pages
for the previous three weeks.
Several students have asked me for a "review guide". The test
will be mostly multiple choice questions similar to those you have had
on your quizzes. There are a few with tables from Microcase and
multiple choice questions to be answered by looking at the table.
At the end, there are some percentage and expected frequency questions
to calculate. You should bring a calculator. The test is
closed book and closed notes. No computers can be used.
Here are some suggestions for review:
A good place to begin is with
the "Main Points" section at the ends of Chapters One, Four and Five of
Babbie, keeping in mind that we did not do the secction called
"criteria of measurement quality" in Chapter Five. The one
for Chapter Two is not so valuable since we did not do the section on
paradigms. If you don't understand the "Main Points" you can find
a fuller explanation in the chapter itself.
I have summarized the main
points in a presentation for each week. There is no point in my
rewriting that here as a "review guide." You can find these in
powerpoint format in Sakai/resources for each week, including a version
with a voice narration. You can also find them online at Google
Documents at the following links but these versions lack the
narration. [if you get a screen asking you to log onto your
Google Docs account, you do not need to do this. Just click on
the link to view the presentation in a different window].
The best explanation of the calculation of percentages and
expected frequencies is in the powerpoint Percents and Expected
Frequencies which is available in Sakai/Resources/Week Four. The
narrated version offers an audio explanation. You can also find a
non-narrated
version on Google Docs. at
the end of the Syllabus
Page for Week One. A video
of the class on Sept 6 is also available (however, it started half an
hour
late). You might find the video useful to jog your memory, I'm
not sure if you can read the whiteboard material on it.
Going through the quizzes you have already taken is very
helpful. Some of these items may appear again on the
midterm. You can access these through SAKAI.
There is a REVIEW QUIZ in
Sakai. This is open now and will remain open until 7 a.m. on
October 4. This is
for review, the score will not count toward your grade. The
software will tell you the answers after you answer a question, and in
some cases it may also offer some explanation. You may take this
as often as you like, it is for learning, not grading.
There is a review Crossword Puzzle in Sakai/Resources/Week
Four
The chat room will be open for
you to discuss among
yourselves, and Ron and I will sign on as often as we can. Ron
and I, however, may not be able to answer all the
questions in chat because it is too hard for people to find the
answers if a lot of students sign on. Often the answer is a long
way from the question.
To be sure to get an answer to a question, post it to the Discussion
List.
The Discussion List in SAKAI is
very useful if you are confused by something and need it
explained. You post your question there and Ron or I will answer
it as soon as we can. Your answer will be paired with your
question. You can also peruse the Discussion List and read
questions other students have posted. Please do not send
questions for review to me or Ron by email.
The problem with this is that we end up answering the same questions
over and over because other students do not see them. Post them
in the Discussion List so everyone can see the answers.
The Ayers workbook has good
summaries of the material, if you like his style (personally I prefer
it to Babbie, but students usually prefer Babbie).
The Companion
Site to the Babbie book has flash cards, a glossary and sample
tests.