PSYC 33554 Statistics and Methods I Lab

for PSYC 33554 — Sections 991/9U1, 992/9U2, 993/9U3, 994/9U4

Fall 2026

Instructor:  Dr. Mohsen Rafiei (mrafiei@ualr.edu)

Tutor(s):  Lacie McVoy (llmcvoy@ualr.edu) and Lindsey Carl (lxcarl@ualr.edu)

Preferred Method of Communication:  Through each tutor's respective email

Office Location:  Stabler Hall 602

Office Phone:  501-916-3171

Blackboard Support (grades only):  https://ualr.edu/blackboard/ or 501-916-3602

Meeting Times with Tutors:  Virtual — Schedule here or through the Wix lab website

Prerequisite(s):  MATH 11003 or MATH 11103, with a grade of C or better

Lab Website:  https://rbflynn4.wixsite.com/statlab

Required Materials:  This lab does not require its own textbook. However, some lab assignments may use material from the textbook required for your PSYC 33554 course. See your course syllabus for the exact textbook title, edition, and where to purchase it.

Required Technology:  A desktop or laptop computer (not a cellphone or Chromebook) with reliable internet access; Microsoft 365 (including Excel); Google Meet; and Python.

Important: You must earn a “C” grade or better in both the non-lab part of the course and the lab to pass this course. No matter how many points you earn overall, you fail the entire course if you fail either part, and you must repeat both. To earn higher than a C in this course, you must earn at least 69.5% on the Lab.

What This Lab Syllabus Includes

For this lab, the “syllabus” includes this page, all materials posted on the Wix lab website, and any official communication sent through the lab website or your @ualr.edu email account.

Lab Purpose and Content

This one-credit statistics lab supplements your PSYC 33554 statistics course. The goal is to give you hands-on experience working with data using statistical software — either Python or Excel.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lab, you will be able to:

• Generate descriptive statistics and graphical displays using statistical software.

• Prepare datasets through variable creation, transformation, recoding, and selection.

• Apply statistical software to solve probability and sampling problems.

• Conduct statistical analyses using Python or Excel.

• Interpret software output to answer psychological research questions.

Specifically, upon completion of this lab you will be able to use Python or Excel to:

• Obtain descriptive statistics of variables.

• Produce univariate graphic displays of variables.

• Produce bivariate graphic displays of relationships between two variables.

• Create new variables.

• Collapse variables.

• Transform variables.

• Work with subsets of variables.

• Find areas under the curve of the normal distribution (these exercises cover probability and null hypothesis testing).

• Produce confidence intervals.

• Conduct simple analyses (e.g., correlations and bivariate regression).

• Solve simple probability questions.

Career Readiness Objectives

The Department of Psychological Science is committed to integrating career-ready skills into its courses. Career Readiness Objectives are derived from those articulated by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Upon successful completion of this lab, the student will have practiced and demonstrated career readiness skills including: Communication, Critical Thinking, Professionalism, and Technology. Lab Assignments #1–8 (Python or Excel) address Communication, Critical Thinking, and Technology.

Method of Instruction

Instruction is delivered through video lectures on the Wix lab website. Please read all documents and study all videos — it's a good idea to follow along and practice what each video demonstrates. It is your responsibility to keep up with the class schedule and to check your UA Little Rock email regularly.

Meeting with Your Tutors

This lab has 2 tutors. Their names and contact information are listed at the top of this page. You can see their available times and schedule an appointment through the Wix lab website.

We may be training a new tutor this semester — announcements will follow. Tutoring sessions may be recorded for the purpose of training, and these recordings can be made available to the student.

Tutoring appointments are held over Google Meet. Log in using your @ualr.edu email. If Google Meet asks the tutor to let you in, that usually means you're signed into a personal Gmail account by mistake — leave the meeting, log out of that account, and rejoin using your UA Little Rock email.

Please plan to arrive on time — tutors can only wait 10 minutes for you to join a session.

Don't wait until the last minute to schedule help — appointment times fill up, and you may need time afterward to apply what you learned.

When you email a tutor, include enough detail so they can help you on the first try. A message like “I don't understand the assignment” usually leads to several back-and-forth emails before the tutor understands the problem. Include screenshots of any error messages you see in Wix, Python, or Excel — this helps the tutor see exactly what you're seeing.

Technology Requirements

Some students try to complete this lab entirely on a cellphone. While you can view some material this way, the lab is designed for an up-to-date desktop or laptop computer. Students who rely on a phone often have trouble viewing videos and opening documents made with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. A Chromebook will not work for this lab either, since it cannot install the required software.

Setting Up Your Wix Account

Detailed instructions are available under the “Getting Started” tab on the Wix lab website.

• Sign up for the Wix lab website using your UA Little Rock email address. If you sign up with a different email, you may miss important messages and may not be able to access assignments.

• After you request to join, your enrollment in PSYC 33554 will be confirmed and your membership approved. Once approved, you'll be able to see the lab assignments. Always log in when you visit the site — the login button is in the top right corner of the Wix homepage.

Grading

To earn the 4 credits for PSYC 33554, you must pass both the course (non-lab) and the lab. Your course grade counts for 75% of your final grade, and your lab grade counts for 25%.

If you fail either part, you will not pass the course: your final grade will be a D or F, depending on how you did in the non-lab part — even if you earned an A in the other part — and you must repeat both.

How Your Lab Grade Is Calculated

There are 8 lab assignments, worth 10 points each (80 points total). To find your percentage at any point in the semester, divide the points you've earned by the points possible, then multiply by 100.

Example: If you earn 70 points out of 80 possible points, your grade is (70 ÷ 80) × 100 = 87.5%, which rounds to 88% — a “B.”

Grading Scale

A = 89.5 – 100%

B = 79.5 – 89.4%

C = 69.5 – 79.4%

D = 59.5 – 69.4%

F = below 59.5%

Grades are rounded to the nearest whole number. For example, an 89.5% rounds up to 90% (an “A”), while an 89.4% stays at 89% (a “B”).

Feedback on Assignments and Grades

Feedback and grades will be sent to your @ualr.edu email. Your course instructor will also post grades on Blackboard.

Late Work and Make-Up Policy

This lab runs on a steady, predictable schedule, so deadlines are not flexible. Start each assignment well before it's due — waiting until the last day leaves no room for the unexpected. A missed deadline results in a zero for that assignment, and there is no opportunity to submit late work.

An assignment is considered late if it is not fully uploaded, submitted, or delivered by the deadline. Starting the submission process before the deadline is not the same as completing it — if the file has not finished uploading, or the system has not confirmed your submission, by 4:00 p.m., the assignment is late. You are responsible for allowing enough time for uploading, slow internet connections, file conversion, and other technical issues.

All lab assignments are submitted by uploading them to the Wix lab website. Your work must be fully uploaded there — not just started — by the deadline.

Extra Credit

There is one extra-credit opportunity this semester. It involves completing a question using whichever software you don't normally use — Excel if you usually use Python, or Python if you usually use Excel. Details will be posted on the lab website. No other extra credit will be offered.

Academic Integrity and Use of AI

This lab follows the same Academic Integrity policy described in your course syllabus (Academic Offenses Policy, LR 501.13), and the same generative AI policy required by UA Little Rock's AI — Acceptable Use Policy (LR 405.7). A few points apply specifically to the lab:

• Cheating — including plagiarizing and self-plagiarizing (resubmitting your own work from a previous course or a previous attempt at this course) — will result in a zero on the assignment in question. Repeated instances of cheating may result in a grade of “F” in the lab.

• Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are not permitted on any lab assignment.

• Your instructor or a tutor may require you to meet in a recorded virtual session, with your camera on, to answer questions about your work.

• If you do not attend that meeting at the scheduled time, you will receive a zero for the assignment.

• If you cannot adequately explain your own work, you may be reported to the Dean of Students in addition to receiving a failing grade on the assignment. Withdrawing from the lab or the course does not stop this process.

• You must always complete your own assignments. Tutors will help you work through a problem, but they will not do the assignment for you or list the steps — you'll need to share your work and ask specific questions.

• Keep a backup copy of your assignments as you work, and avoid changing the file name partway through, or you may lose track of your most recent version.

General University Policies

The policies below apply to this lab the same way they apply to your PSYC 33554 non-lab part of the course. For full details, see your course syllabus.

• Attendance and Withdrawal — see your course syllabus for the full policy. If you decide to drop this lab, it is your responsibility to officially drop it. If you don't, you will receive a zero on any work you don't complete.

• Inclement Weather — the University follows the Inclement Weather and Emergency Closures Policy (215.1); see your course syllabus for the full policy. Because this lab is fully online, campus closures do not change lab deadlines.

• Nondiscrimination — UA Little Rock works to keep every classroom and lab free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability. Any student, faculty, or staff member who violates this policy may face disciplinary action.

Students with Disabilities — the university's official statement (Faculty Senate legislation FS_2024_12) applies to this lab:

If you are a student with a disability, or if you simply want to discuss resources that might help you learn more effectively, you can contact the Disability Resource Center at any time. You are welcome to drop in or call 501-916-3143 to make an appointment. Their staff will work with you to discuss accommodations and identify resources on campus or in the community that might be helpful for you. Accommodations are established through an interactive process. For more information, visit the DRC website (ualr.edu/disability) or review the steps to request accommodations. We want you to know you are valued, welcome, and wanted at UA Little Rock.

Communication and Academic Etiquette

Emails and Blackboard messages are answered within 24 hours. Messages sent after 5 p.m. on Friday will be answered by 5 p.m. Monday. For urgent matters, email your instructor directly. This communication policy meets the university's Regular and Substantive Contact requirement (Policy LR 404.8).

• Be respectful and professional in all communication with tutors, your instructor, and classmates. If you make a misstep, a simple apology goes a long way.

• Address emails to the specific person you need a response from — general messages sent to a large group may not get a reply.

• Remember this is college-level work: avoid text-message-style language, think critically, cite your sources, and proofread before you send or submit anything.

Lab Assignment Schedule — Fall 2026

All assignments are due at 4:00 p.m. on their due date.

Assignment #1 — Friday, 9/4/2026

Assignment #2 — Friday, 9/18/2026

Assignment #3 — Friday, 10/2/2026

Assignment #4 — Friday, 10/16/2026

Assignment #5 — Friday, 10/23/2026

Assignment #6 — Friday, 11/6/2026

Assignment #7 — Friday, 11/20/2026

Assignment #8 — Friday, 12/4/2026