Review Guide for Final Examination

The Third (Final) Exam will have multiple choice questions (at least on December 10) and statistical questions covering the entire semester.  Please bring a calculator and a pencil with an eraser.  You have the option of taking the third exam on December 10, beginning at 7:30 a.m. (for those who need the time).  If your predicted grade is such that you are concerned you may not receive at least a C in the course, it is recommended that you take the exam on December 10 because you will be allowed to retake it on December 22 if you do not achieve a C for the course as a whole.  There will be a mandatory review session on December 15 for these students, also open to others.  If you are shooting for a higher grade than a C, it might be to your advantage to take more time to review and wait until December 22 to take the exam.  I do not intend to make the December 22 more difficult, but the items may be in a different format (short answer or possibly on WEBCT if there are only a few taking it).

The multiple choice questions will cover all chapters of the textbook except Chapter 10:  Experimental Research. The best way to review for the multiple choice questions is to study the Review Glossary at the end of each chapter, the lecture notes and the two online WEBCT Quizzes. The statistical questions will be similar to those on the first two exams, and in the percent quiz.   In reviewing you should give special attention to the following key points:

The logical nature of scientific theories.
The nature of concepts.
The distinction between induction and deducation.
How concepts are operationalized.
The distinction between reliability and validity.
The ways of assessing reliability and validity.
The levels of measurement and their relevance to statistical analysis.
The distinction between simple random samples, cluster samples and stratified samples.
The difference between independent, dependent, antecedent and intervening variables.
The criteria of causation.
The differences between experiments, survey research, field research, comparative research and content analysis.
The difference between row, column and total percentages and how to calculate them.
The difference between observed and expected frequencies and how to calculate them.
How to calculate the sampling error for a sample of a given size.