TO: Doctoral Students Expected to Register in EDD 1006 for Spring FROM: R. H. Red Owl, Ph.D., Professor

Transcription

1 TO: Doctoral Students Expected to Register in EDD 1006 for Spring 2015 FROM: R. H. Red Owl, Ph.D., Professor SUBJECT: EDD 1006 Free Statistics Webinar and Webinar Preparation Session DATE: October 17, 2014 It s already time to talk about the spring semester and EDD 1006 (Research Methods II), which focuses on the statistical research skills that are so critical in doctoral education and social, behavioral, information, and health sciences research. Regardless of your background (or lack thereof) in statistics or math, I believe you ll find the knowledge and skills you gain in Research Methods II (and subsequently in EDD 1007, Applied Research Design) to be empowering and perhaps even life-changing in terms of your development as a scholar and the way you see and think about problems. The advanced statistical techniques and quantitative approaches you will learn in our EDD 1006 course next spring will give you the ability to see deeply into the present and to predict what will likely happen in the future under specific conditions. Although multivariable and multivariate statistical methods can't make you a soothsayer or help you see the future, they can help you see (and understand) the structure of the present more deeply and clearly, in ways that others seldom do. As the Ed.D. Bulletin states (see p. 8 at you must have completed a recent graduate course in basic statistics or obtain the permission of the instructor as a prerequisite for enrolling in EDD That course prerequisite can be satisfied by presenting transcript evidence of having successfully completed a recent graduate course in basic statistics or by obtaining my permission as the instructor (typically by passing a qualifying exam). I doubt that most of you have completed a recent graduate course in statistics, and I don't want you to have to go to the trouble or expense of taking a course or a qualifying exam before the spring semester. So, I am once again offering my free, all-day, voluntary webinar on introductory statistics, and I will accept successful completion of that webinar as satisfying the basic statistics course prerequisite for EDD My free webinar is in no way a curriculum requirement of the Ed.D. Program, so your participation would be entirely voluntary. I provide the webinar on my own time during the winter vacation as a free service for our second-year doctoral students and try to make

2 the experience as convenient, interesting, and enjoyable as possible. There are no books to buy in advance and no tests, but you would need to purchase or lease a copy of the Stata statistical program to use during the webinar. (You will have to purchase or lease that software for the course beginning in January anyway, so this is not really an added expense.) All you have to do to participate in my webinar and use it to satisfy the EDD 1006 prerequisite is to attend a prep session for a few minutes on how to use GoToMeeting and then to attend and actively participate in my webinar. (The GoToMeeting prep session is an absolute requirement for the webinar and will not be waived, even if you have used that or a similar web-conferencing system before.) If you have not completed a graduate course in basic (or higher) statistics in the past five years and need to obtain permission of the instructor to register for EDD 1006, you may either complete my free webinar or you may take and pass a closed-book, 2-hour qualifying exam in basic statistics (equivalent to a final exam in a graduate level basic stats course). Although not required, I recommend that all of you take the opportunity to participate in the webinar. Even if you could satisfy the prerequisite with a previous course or have a background in statistics, the webinar could serve as a refresher and as an opportunity to learn the basics of Stata. Please understand that I will not be able to use course time in EDD 1006 to cover the elements of basic statistics that will be addressed in the webinar and which are necessary to understand the statistical concepts and skills covered in EDD Also, the webinar will include basic instructions and hands-on experience for using the Stata statistical program that will be essential in both EDD 1006 this coming spring and EDD 1007 (Applied Research Design) next fall. If you don't take the webinar, you'll have to learn the basics of Stata on your own before our EDD 1006 course begins in January. WEBINAR SCHEDULE INFORMATION The webinar will be offered only one time this academic year (and not again until December 2015). It will be held on Monday, December 29, 2014, from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm, with about a 45-minute break for lunch. (There will be no alternate dates or make-ups, and it will not be possible to participate for only a portion of the webinar or to take the webinar without first participating in a GoToMeeting prep session. It's all or nothing, if you want to use the webinar to satisfy the course prerequisites to register for EDD 1006.) You will be able to participate in the online Webinar from almost any location with a fast internet connection and a computer or laptop with the Stata/IC version 13 statistical analysis program installed. (The steps for purchasing/leasing Stata are described below.) So, even if you re on vacation or away from Long Island on December 29, you should be able to attend the online webinar. I will open the webinar session one hour early at 8:00 am on December 29 for those who want to login in advance to make sure they have everything set up and working before the 2

3 9:00 am start time when further admissions to the webinar will be closed for the rest of the day. No late entries will be allowed, as they are disruptive. We will use my GoToMeeting web conferencing subscription for the webinar. In order to participate, you will need to have tested your computer and audio setup with GoToMeeting in advance in one of the two preparation sessions described below. If you do not participate in one of those required prep sections, you will not be allowed to participate in the webinar and will not be able to satisfy the prerequisite for EDD 1006 with the webinar. GOTOMEETING PREP SESSION REQUIRED FOR WEBINAR To make sure you are ready to use GoToMeeting, understand the logistics of the webinar, and have installed Stata successfully, I will offer online prep sessions on Wednesday, December 10, and Thursday, December 11. You should login to one of those practice sessions using GoToMeeting and a headset at any time between 4:00 and 7:00 pm and will probably only need to stay for a few minutes. Please note that you do not need to be in the prep session for the entire time window. The GoToMeeting web link for the GoToMeeting prep sessions and the webinar itself is and the password is EdD (case sensitive and no punctuation). You will need to have a computer headset with a built-in microphone to use for audio in the prep sessions and in the webinar. You may not use a telephone or computer speakers in lieu of a headset. (Also please be aware that smartphone headsets generally do not work with desktop or laptop computers for GoToMeeting, because smartphone headsets have a type of different connection for the microphone plug even though it may look like it fits.) You will not need a webcam for the webinar, and we will not be viewing webcams. Indeed, you can participate in your pajamas if you want. We'll hear you and we will probably view your computer screen at some time during the webinar, but no one will be able to see you. You will need to connect to the webinar via a fast internet connection (e.g., cable, FiOS, or DSL). You will not be able to use a dial-up connection or cellular 3G, 4G, or 4G/LTE service, and you will not be able to participate from an Internet café, bookstore, etc. You also will not be able to participate in the webinar via smartphone, ipad, or other mobile computing device, because the webinar will require your active interaction using Stata. (If you are unsure about what all this jargon means, please call me and I'll gladly answer questions about internet connections, equipment, and software requirements.) PURCHASE/LEASE AND INSTALL STATA SOFTWARE BEFORE THE GOTOMEETING PREP SESSIONS AND WEBINAR You don t need to buy any textbooks for the webinar or pay any fee for participating, but you must purchase (or lease) and install a copy of the statistical software Stata/IC 13 on the computer you will use during the prep sessions and the webinar. Stata is the statistical 3

4 software we will use extensively in both EDD 1006 this coming spring and also in EDD 1007 next fall. You may purchase a copy of Stata/IC 13 online via Stata s Campus GradPlan for Long Island University, which provides a very substantial student discount. To do that, go to the Stata web site at and then complete the order form for the Stata package you select (Stata/IC 13 and either Perpetual, Annual, or 6-months, as explained below). Please be sure to use your Long Island University address when ordering, so you will be recognized by Stata as being eligible for the graduate student discount. You will need to choose a specific Stata package from three options for Stata/IC 13. The option you choose is your decision, but the following may be helpful in making your choice: Stata is available for either PCs or Macs, whichever you prefer. I will be requiring Stata in EDD 1007 (Applied Research Design) next fall (when those of you in the Ed.D. Program are third-year doctoral students). Further, I expect many (hopefully most) of you will also want to use Stata for your dissertations. In that regard, if you can afford to buy a non-expiring version now, I recommend that you purchase a single-user, perpetual license for Stata/IC 13 with PDF documentation for about $189. That way, you would own a non-expiring copy of Stata and should not need to buy any other statistical program for the rest of your doctoral program, including your dissertation research. If you are on a tight budget and concerned about cash flow, then a one-year license to Stata/IC 13 with PDF documentation (about $98) may be a good option, because that will get you through both EDD 1006 this spring and EDD 1007 next fall. (EDD 1007 will last into the second week of December next year, so don't order a oneyear license before the first week of December this year or your license will expire before next year's course ends.). The one-year license would not, however, get you through your dissertation. You could also buy the six-month license for about $69, but then you would need to buy another license next fall for EDD 1007 and possibly for your dissertation, so I generally do not recommend that option unless it is a budgetary necessity. Please be sure you purchase (or rent) and install Stata prior to the GoToMeeting prep sessions in December if you are going to participate in the webinar. If you don't have Stata successfully installed before the prep sessions, you will not be allowed to participate in the prep session or the webinar. (Because we will be sharing screens during the prep session and the webinar, we ll know if you don t have Stata installed or are not following along actively in the Stata exercises during the prep session or webinar.) 4

5 You may install Stata on as many as three computers for you own personal (not shared) use under a single, student license. You could install it, for example, on your own laptop, your own home computer, and also on your work computer if you want. You may not share your licensed copy of Stata with anyone else. Sharing a single, student license would be both illegal and unethical, and might subject you to the student disciplinary process. (By the way, your Stata license information appears on your screen, will be printed in Stata output during EDD 1006 projects, and may be visible to others during the prep session or webinar.) ME TO REQUEST A PERMISSION CODE Finally, please send me a short addressed to redowl@liu.edu right now to (a) confirm receipt of this memo and (b) request a permission code to register for EDD You will not be able to register for EDD 1006 without a permission code, so please send that to me as soon as possible. If you do not plan to attend the webinar (and one of the prep sessions) but intend to satisfy the statistics course prerequisite for EDD 1006 in some other way (by presenting a transcript showing a recent graduate statistics course or passing a qualifying exam), please send me an at redowl@liu.edu telling me how and when you plan to satisfy the prerequisite. I will not provide a permission code for you to register for EDD 1006 until I know that you will be able to satisfy this prerequisite. My permission to register and remain in the course will be contingent upon your fulfilling your commitment and may be revoked if you do not fulfill it. Please let me know your plans right away, so I can verify your transcript evidence or arrange and administer the qualifying exam before you need to register. I will be grateful if you will help me spread the word about the voluntary webinar offer to any other doctoral students in your cohort, who may be interested and who plan to take EDD 1006 in spring A pdf copy of this memo can be downloaded online at That site is password protected, but you can use username = iesliu and password = EdD (case sensitive and no punctuation). If you have any questions about EDD1006, the voluntary webinar, or the prep sessions required for the webinar, please feel free to call me at home anytime at (631) or send me an addressed to redowl@liu.edu. Enjoy your fall semester, and I look forward to meeting all of you and working with you as you take the next steps in your professional development as a doctoral scholar. Red Owl 5