CJ2350: Statistics for Criminal Justice

Fall 2017
MWF 1:25-2:15
Hyde Hall 439B

Dr. Laura Dykstra

Department of Criminal Justice
Office: Hyde 334D
Email: lgdykstra@plymouth.edu
Office hours: T 10:00-12:00, 1:00-3:00 or by appt

COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introduction to statistical analysis designed to equip students of criminal
justice with the skills necessary to analyze and interpret data from both original and
existing data sets. Principal learning goals: to select the most appropriate statistical
techniques for specific research problems, to understand fundamentals of codebook
construction and manipulation, to calculate the appropriate statistics using SPSS and to
properly interpret the results.

QRCO DESCRIPTION
This course meets the General Education requirement for Quantitative
Reasoning. According to the General Education Program Handbook, “Mathematics finds
application in all fields of scholarship. All disciplines make use of quantitative reasoning
in some way and to some extent. Students take a three-credit Quantitative Reasoning
(QRCO) course specified as required for their major. This course may be taught within
the major discipline or not. It might teach quantitative techniques used as primary or
secondary tools within the discipline or might be a course in which students of less
quantitative disciplines come to deepen their appreciation of the relevance of
quantitative reasoning to us all.”

COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with the variety of ways the field
of criminal justice uses statistics. The course is designed to build confidence employing
statistical techniques to analyze data. The first part of the course will address
descriptive statistics (statistics designed to describe the data). The second part of the
course will examine inferential statistics (statistics used to infer relationships among
variables and to generalize knowledge to the population from which the data were
drawn). The goal is to give you the ability to understand and calculate a variety of
common statistical operations in the field of criminal justice. Upon completion of the
course you should have an understanding of units of analysis, variable types, probability,
descriptive statistics, theoretical differences between sample and population
distributions, hypothesis testing and statistical significance, and basic regression
modeling. Students will learn to critically examine data and evaluate the strength of
statistical evidence to draw valid conclusions regarding data.
 Specifically, by the end of this course, you will:
1. Understand the essential role of statistics in the criminal justice field
2. Use statistical methods to understand and describe data
3. Use statistics to confidently draw conclusions regarding relationships within the
criminal justice field
4. Adeptly communicate statistical findings
5. Apply your statistical knowledge to be an intelligent consumer of research, able to
understand and critique research that you read or that is presented to you

REQUIRED MATERIALS
Please come to class each day with a graphing calculator. You may also desire to
purchase a student version of SPSS. The purchase of SPSS is not required; however
some of your assignments will use SPSS, so if you do not purchase a student version of
the program, know that you will be spending some time in the campus computer labs.

Fox, J.A., Levin, J. & Forde, D. R. (2014). Elementary Statistics in Criminal Justice
Research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Kirkpatrick, L.A. & Feeney, B.C. (2013). A Simple Guide to IBM SPSS Statistics for Version
20.0. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Publishing.

GRADING POLICY
Final grades for this course will be based on the following components
Graded Components Grade Calculation
Your Score Weighted Grade
Exam A: 15% _____ x .15 = _____
Exam B: 15% _____ x .15 = _____
Exam C: 15% _____ x .15 = _____
Homework: 15% _____ x .15 = _____
Project Part 1: 10% _____ x .10 = _____
Project Part 2: 15% _____ x .15 = _____
Project Part 3: 15% _____ x .15 = _____

Total: 100% = _____

Information on the University Grading Policy can be found here:

https://www.plymouth.edu/undergraduate/files/2010/11/Fair-Grading-Policy.pdf

Final grades are calculated according to the scale below:

A 93-100 B 83-86 C 76-73 D 63-66
A- 90-92 B- 80-82 C- 72-70 D- 60-62
B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 69-67 F 59 and below

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Exams
There will be four exams throughout the semester. At the end of the semester,
your lowest exam grade will be dropped (in other words, your lowest exam grade does
not count toward your final grade). Exams will be based off of assigned readings and
class lectures. Exam questions may include multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank,
and mathematical problems and interpretation of results and may require you to
calculate and interpret statistical problems. Please bring a graphing calculator. Students
are encouraged to make up a “cheat sheet” of formulas and notes for each exam. All
exams are open-book and open note. Make-up exams can only be given when a student
has an officially recognized absence (including documented illness, religious observance
and compelling circumstances beyond the student’s control). If an exam is going to be
missed, please contact me prior to class. Official documentation must be provided.

Homework Assignments
There will be eleven homework assignments throughout the semester. Each
assignment will be graded on a 10 point scale. Homework assignments are to be turned
in the day they are due. For each day a homework assignment is late, one letter grade
will be subtracted. Homework assignments that are submitted after the solutions have
been posted online will not be accepted. If a student is going to miss class on a day in
which a homework assignment is due, please email me the assignment prior to class.
Homework assignments will be posted on Moodle seven days before they are due. Your
homework grade will be calculated as the sum of the 10 highest homework grades
during the semester (i.e. your lowest homework grade will be dropped). Students are
welcome (and encouraged!) to work together on homework assignments; however,
each student is expected to complete their own work and turn in their own homework
paper. While collaboration is a valuable and necessary aspect of the research process
that can increase understanding and exploration, at the end of the day each student
must master the skill sets they will need.

Projects
During the course of the semester, you will complete a statistical analysis on a
research question. A datasets will be made available to you for this purpose. The
purpose of this ongoing project is to allow you to apply the material you have learned to
answer a real research question in your field. This analysis will be conducted in three
stages. The first stage (project part 1) will involve explaining the research question,
defining the level of measurement, and calculating descriptive statistics of your variables
(i.e. mean, median, etc.). The second stage (project part 2) will include hypothesis
testing. In the third stage (project part 3) you will run a regression model. Additional
details regarding each assignment will be posted on Moodle.

ATTENDANCE
Please be both present and prepared for all class sessions. If you must miss class
for any reason, please notify me prior to class. If you are missing class on a day in which
an assignment is due, please email me the assignment prior to class. Dates indicated in
bold on the schedule below contain major graded events. Unexcused absences on these
days will result in a zero for the exam. For students with excused absences (with
documentation), a make-up date will be scheduled. Please see the University
Attendance Policy for an explanation of excused absences:
https://www.plymouth.edu/undergraduate/files/2010/11/Class-Attendance-Policy.pdf

PARTICIPATION
Participation is an important part of this class, and includes posing and
responding to questions, and raising relevant observations and comments. If you have
questions regarding any of the material PLEASE ASK. Your questions help me to clarify
my lessons and to recognize if something is unclear, and help your classmates
understand the material! In addition, do not hesitate to drop in to my office to ask
questions or to talk. These types of informal discussions with your instructors are a
valuable part of the college experience that I urge you to take advantage of! We are
here to be a resource to you. You are welcome to stop by my office both during posted
office hours and at any other time my door is open.

TUTORING
If you feel at any time that you are having difficulty grasping the material or are
not performing at the level you desire, please come to my office hours or email me to
set up a time to meet. As well as seeking my assistance, the Math Activity Center (MAC)
located in Hyde 351 provides a peer tutoring service for this and other math courses.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
The success of this class is dependent on our ability as a class to work together to
create an environment conducive to learning. I actively encourage students to ask
questions, discuss class topics, and express viewpoints, concerns and opinions. I expect
that all students speak respectfully to each other and to me. Disruptive behaviors in the
classroom rob other students of opportunities to learn. Students engaging in disruptive
behaviors may be asked to leave.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Behaviors classified under academic
dishonesty include:
1. Cheating: intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized material,
information or study aids in any academic exercise.
2. Fabrication: intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any
information or citation in an academic exercise.
3. Facilitating academic dishonesty: intentionally or knowingly helping or
attempting to help another to violate any provision of the academic code.
4. Plagiarism: intentionally or knowingly representing words/ideas of another as
your own.
In the event of academic dishonesty, formal and informal actions may be taken.
Information on the University Academic Integrity Policy can be found here:
https://www.plymouth.edu/undergraduate/files/2010/11/Academic-Integrity-Policy.pdf

USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Students may use their personal computers to take class notes. If a student is
found to be using personal technology devices in any way that is not related to taking
class notes, the student may lose the privilege of using any personal technology device
for the duration of the semester. PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELLPHONES FOR THE DURATION
OF CLASS.

DISABILITY SUPPORT
Plymouth State University is committed to providing students with documented
disabilities equal access to all university programs and facilities.  If you think you have a
disability requiring accommodations, you should immediately contact the Disability
Services Office (DSO) in the Center for Student Success in Mary Lyon (603-535-3065) to
determine whether you are eligible for such accommodations.  Academic
accommodations will only be considered for students who have registered with the
DSO.  Every effort will be made to accommodate students in need of academic support.
If you have a Letter of Accommodation for this course from the DSO, please provide me
with that information privately so that we can discuss those accommodations. If you
require accommodations to be made for the first exam, please provide me with a Letter
of Accommodation by Friday September 19th.

FINAL COMMENTS
I think many students walk into math classes feeling anxious because they are
not a “math person.” This is a math class for non-math people. If you are willing to put
in the work, it is highly likely you will be successful! It is important to keep up with
weekly readings and assignments in order to do well. If you find yourself falling behind
or struggling with the material, PLEASE do not hesitate to take advantage of the office
hours and help sessions available to you. My goal as an instructor and your goal as a
student are one and the same – for you to do well in this course by learning to grasp
abstract statistical concepts in a way that allows you to understand their importance for
the field of criminology and criminal justice. We are all in this together, and our success
or failure depend on our ability to work together!

SCHEDULE
The schedule below is a tentative representation of when we will be covering material.
It is subject to change. All readings and assignments are to be completed/handed in the
day they appear on the schedule. All readings except those labeled “SPSS” are from the
Fox book. SPSS readings are from the Kirkpatrick book.

Date Topic Reading Assignments

W 9/6 Introduction
F 9/8 Purpose of Statistics pp. 1-9
M 9/11 Levels of Measurement pp. 9-14 HW 1
W 9/13 Variable Management pp. 14-17
F 9/15 Validity and Sampling pp. 17-19, 104-107
M 9/18 Data Organization pp. 24-40 HW 2
W 9/20 Data Organization pp. 40-47
F 9/22 EXAM 1
M 9/25 Measures of Central Tendency pp. 51-61
W 9/27 Measures of Variability pp. 64-76
F 9/29 Introduction to Probability pp.81-83 HW 3
M 10/2 Probability pp.83-88
W 10/4 Into to SPSS & Measures (LAB) SPSS pp. 1-24
F 10/6 Standard Normal Distribution pp. 88-94 HW 4
M 10/9 NO CLASS
W 10/11 Z Scores pp. 95-102
F 10/13 Sampling Distributions pp. 107-112 Project Part 1
M 10/16 Standard Error, Confidence Intervals pp. 112-119 HW 5
W 10/18 T Distributions, Confidence Intervals pp. 119-129
F 10/20 EXAM 2
M 10/23 Hypothesis Testing for Means pp. 133-147
W 10/25 Hypothesis Testing for Means pp. 148-155
F 10/27 NO CLASS
M 10/30 Hypothesis Testing for Proportions pp. 155-165 HW 6
W 11/1 ANOVA pp. 169-181
F 11/3 ANOVA pp. 182-184
M 11/6 Chi-Square Test pp. 186-203 HW 7
W 11/8 Hypothesis Testing (LAB) SPSS pp. 25-57
F 11/10 NO CLASS
M 11/13 EXAM 3
W 11/15 NO CLASS
F 11/17 NO CLASS
M 11/20 Correlation pp. 203-210 HW 8
W 11/22 NO CLASS Project Part 2
F 11/24 NO CLASS
M 11/27 Non-Parametric Correlation pp. 216-233 HW 9
W 11/29 Correlation (LAB) SPSS pp. 97-102
F 12/1 Non-Parametric Tests pp. 268-284
M 12/4 OLS Regression pp. 237-251 HW 10
W 12/6 OLS Regression (LAB) SPSS pp. 80-96
F 12/8 Regression pp. 252-259
M 12/11 Logistic Regression HW 11
W 12/13 Applying Statistics pp. 288-311 Project Part 3
F 12/15 Review
F 12/22 EXAM 4 (11:00-1:30)