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K. Scott Alberts
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Spring 2012
Wkdays 9:45-11:15 AM |
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JINS 352: Why You're Wrong
Expanded Catalog Description: This course focuses on the way attitudes, opinions and policies change in the face of collected data, and how this can influence public policy. We will examine several specific examples where bad science drove public policy, and where good science change the world. We will explore the nature of truth and knowledge from both a philosophical and applied point of view, as well as the history of statistics, statistical inference, and the use of statistics in decision making.
Prerequisites: Students in this course should have completed the Essential Skills requirement in Statistics. Exceptions may be made for those currently enrolled in a course that will fulfill this requirement. We won't be doing too much calculation, but you will better understand the reasoning if you understand the vocabulary and structure.
Required Texts:
Course Pack (Get this right away!)
Huff, Darrell, 1982 (or 1954). How to Lie with Statistics. Norton and Company
First published in 1954, this book shows some obvious pitfalls of graphs as well as some numerical tricks commonly used to distort the meaning of data. Don’t let the obsolete tone fool you; the same tricks are being used throughout advertising today.
Jones, James H. (1993). Bad Blood, The Tuskegee Syphilis
Experiment, Revised Edition. Free Press, ISBN: 0029166764
This book describes one of the dark episodes in American science research.
Salsburg, David, 2001. The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century, W. H. Freeman and Company
This is an excellent book on the history of statistics. It focuses on the way in which statistics has influenced modern scientific thinking.
Pick-a-Text: You will need two books, one on climate change and one on Change (whatever that means), taken from a list I will provide (groups will have the same book, so you can share, if you want). We'll decide during the second week of class or so, and you can buy it from wherever you'd like.
Attendance: This class is all about discussion, so come to class every day. It you are not in class, I will assume you are doing something more important, but if you have that many other important things to do, you should take a different class instead, or fewer.
Reading: This class has a lot of it. You are expected to stay up with it as best you can. You might even read ahead. If you haven’t taken notes while you read, this may be the semester to start; I provide a notebook that may help you get into the groove.
Termpaper: The heart of this class is a 15+ page term paper, that you will write on a topic of your choosing. This is done as eight smaller assignments, so it isn't quite as overwhelming as it sounds.
Seminars: Several times during the semester, you will be asked to lead class, either by yourself, or as part of a group.
Student Evaluation: Grades are done by contract - See separate handout