Overview
Many people working in journalism, public relations and other communications fields need to be able to understand how statistics are used in order to present information and frame arguments. This course is designed for those who want to become critical consumers of statistical evidence. It emphasizes a conceptual rather than a computational approach to learning statistics. Using examples taken from popular media, the course explains how people use and abuse statistics for purposes of persuasion and influence.
Outline
There are eight units in the course.
Unit 1: Why Study Statistics?
The history of statistics, the importance of studying statistics, and the scope, structure, and mechanics of the course.
Unit 2: The Significance of Sampling
Sampling procedures used to draw appropriate samples in order to make reliable and valid statements about populations; how to evaluate the results of surveys and polls.
Unit 3: Understanding Scientific Experiments
Introduction to experimental designs and their implications for making causal statements; recognizing elements of bias in designs.
Unit 4: Measurement
A focus on the reliability and validity of the numbers generated in research; making informed judgements about reported conclusions based on numbers.
Unit 5: Describing Distributions
The ways in which numbers are organized and displayed, and the importance of measures of central tendency, dispersion or variability, and “normal” distributions; making accurate interpretations.
Unit 6: Understanding Relationships
Relationships between measures, or variables; understanding the results of multiple-variable research and the validity of related conclusions.
Unit 7: Probability: The Language of Chance
The language of probability, or the degree of likelihood of the occurrence of an event; the importance of probability for statistical tests of significance.
Unit 8: Inference: Conclusions with Confidence
Methods for drawing formal conclusions from data; making informed judgements about the use and abuse of inferential techniques. Unit 8 summarizes the course.
Evaluation
To receive credit for CMNS 308, you must complete all of the assignments, achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the Final Assessment, and an overall course grade of at least a D (50 percent).
| Activity | Weight | Complete by |
| Assignment 1 | 6% | After Unit 2 |
| Assignment 2 | 6% | After Unit 4 |
| Online Quiz 1 | 4% | After Unit 4 |
| Essay | 6% | After Unit 4 |
| Assignment 3 | 6% | After Unit 5 |
| Assignment 4 | 6% | After Unit 6 |
| Online Quiz 2 | 4% | After Unit 6 |
| Assignment 5 | 6% | Unit 7 |
| Assignment 6 | 6% | Unit 8 |
| Online Quiz 3 | 4% | After Unit 8 |
| Course End Project | 14% | After Unit 8 |
| Final Assessment | 32% | |
| Total | 100% | |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Crossen, Cynthia. (1994). Tainted truth: The manipulation of fact in America. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Moore, D. S., & Notz, W. I. (2020). Statistics: Concepts and controversies (10th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman.
All other course materials are available online. They include an extensive study guide and the publisher's interactive resources that accompany the textbook Statistics: Concepts and Controversies.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the CMNS 308 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the two-part challenge assessment.
| Activity | Weight |
| Part I: Essay Assessment | 50% |
| Part II: Test Assessment | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form