Syllabus Stat 202 Spring 2019
Basic Statistics (Stat 202) Spring 2019 (Sections 001 and 002) [Under Construction]
(For course materials, click here).
Instructor: Sean Carver, Ph.D., Professorial Lecturer, American University.
Contact:
- office location: Don Myers Technology and Innovation Building (DMTI, East Campus), Room 208F
- email: carver@american.edu
- office phone: 202-885-6629
Course Description (from department website): Data presentation, display, and summary, averages, dispersion, simple linear regression, and correlation, probability, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, and tests of significance. Use of statistical software both to analyze real data and to demonstrate and explore concepts. Four credit hours.
A Word of Warning: The Math/Stat Department at AU teaches STAT 202 to prepare students to use statistics in advanced courses required for many majors. Thus the STAT 202 instructor does not always have the luxury of setting the most comfortable and easy pace through the course material. The pace will be determined by what we need to cover for your future classes. There is a lot of material in the curriculum, so be prepared to work hard and spend a lot of time studying outside of class.
Another Word of Warning: The material gets progressively harder throughout the semester, and later topics build on earlier ones. Learn the foundations well, and don't fall behind, because it is hard to catch up.
Prerequisite: MATH-15x or higher, or permission of department. No prior knowledge of statistics is assumed.
Text for Class: Stats: Data & Models, Fourth Edition by Deveaux, Velleman, and Bock. Note the title of the text: there are two Statistics texts available with the same three authors, however the correct e-book comes free of charge with MyStatLab registration and registration for the course. A loose-leaf printed copy can be optionally purchased via MyStatLab for additional money. A bound copy can be optionally purchased separately, but this is expensive. Bound rental copies are available on-line for a very reasonable price.
Learning Management Software: MyStatLab from Pearson. Can be purchased from the bookstore and available as a free two week trial. Access instructions will be handed out on the first day of class. You must register for the section you belong to (001 or 002). You will need to upgrade your free access to full semester access. MyStatLab comes bundled with a subscription to the e-Textbook we will use for the course. You will need this bundle to complete and turn in the required homework.
Statistical Software: StatCrunch. StatCrunch is very easy to learn, and is a great pedagogical tool. StatCrunch (web-based software comes free with MyStatLab and is accessed through MyStatLab. You can also access StatCrunch from StatCrunch.Com but you may need to pay for access through this site.
Please Bring A Laptops To Class! I will be demonstrating software in class with the idea that you follow along with your own computer. Additionally, I will be giving problems to solve in class that require a computer. You may borrow a computer from the library if yours is temporarily unavailable.
Learning Outcomes: Learning objectives: At the end of this course you will be expected to
- understand the major concepts related to statistical reasoning and to statistical inferences for drawing such conclusions
- understand how these concepts are used in experiments and observational studies across many disciplines, and (3) implement the methods yourself in statistical analyses. Work will be a balance between understanding the concepts underlying a method, implementation of the method, and interpretation of the results.
This course is divided into four related areas of study:
- Data collection – the theory and practice of study design.
- Data summary and exploration – which illustrates to us how the data actually behave.
- Probability and sampling theory – from which we determine how we expect the data to behave.
- Data analysis – which allows us to reconcile our expectations with the actual data behavior so that we can make statistical inferences and drawing conclusions.
Office Hours: Students are strongly encouraged to come to office hours if they need or want help. My office hours are tentatively scheduled, as follows (days and times may be adjusted throughout the semester, please come talk to me if you want to come but can't make those times):
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 11:40 AM - 1:00 PM
- No office hours during MLK day or Spring Break.
- My office is DMTI 208F.
SI Leader: Abigail Danfora.
Tutoring through MATH/STAT tutoring center: Don Myers Building, Room 103, walk-ins welcome. See http://www.american.edu/cas/mathstat/tutoring.cfm
Past tutoring lab hours were (check on-line for current schedule):
- Monday - Thursday: 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- Friday: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
- Sunday: 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Contact: Dr. Behzad Jalali
- Phone: 202-885-3154
- Alt Phone: 202-885-3120
- E-mail: bjalali@american.edu
- STAT Tutoring through AU's Academic Support and Access Center is now done through the Math/Stat department. See https://www.american.edu/provost/academic-access/mathstat.cfm
Class times and locations:
- Section 001: Monday, Wednesday*, Thursday 8:10 AM - 9:25 AM, DMTI 119
- Section 002: Monday, Wednesday*, Thursday 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM, DMTI 119
- *Wednesday classes dismiss 15 minutes earlier.
Temp Plan
Tentative Weekly Plan:
| WEEK | FIRST DAY OF WEEK | PLAN |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Jan 14 | Chapter 1: Introduction, STATS Starts Here.
Chapter 2: Displaying and Describing Categorical Data.
Chapter 3: Displaying and Summarizing Quantitative Data.
|
| Week 2 | Jan 21 | Chapter 3: Displaying and Summarizing Quantitative Data.
|
| Week 3 | Jan 28 | Chapter 4: Understanding and Comparing Distributions.
Chapter 5: The Standard Deviation as Ruler and the Normal Model.
|
| Week 4 | Feb 4 | Chapter 6: Scatterplots, Association and Correlation.
|
| Week 5: Exam Wed | Feb 11 | Chapter 7: Linear Regression.
|
| Feb 18 | Chapter 8. Regression Wisdom.
|
Temp 2
Important Dates:
- Monday, January 14: First day of class.
- Monday, January 21: Martin Luther King, Jr. day, no class or office hours.
- Wednesday, February 13: Midterm Exam 1.
- Week of March 10: Spring Break. No class or office hours.
- Friday, March 22: Last Day to Drop Class.
- Wednesday, March 27: Midterm Exam 2.
- Monday, April 29: Last Day of Class.
- Early May: Final Exams (see below for specifics).
Final Exams:
- Please note that I will not be able to accommodate students who wish to switch their exam time with another slot that I am proctoring the exam.
- Please note that inconvenience with travel plans is NOT a valid excuse for not taking the final as scheduled.
- If you miss the final or any exam, you will need an excuse through the Dean of Students.
- With an excused absence, the make up may not be until next semester (June or September)...in the meantime you will get an incomplete.
- Section 001 (usually meets at 8:10 AM), your final exam: Monday, May 6, 8:10 AM - 10:40 AM
- Section 002 (usually meets at 9:45 AM), your final exam: Thursday, May 2, 8:10 AM - 10:40 AM (NOTE Start time change!)
Tentative grading scheme:
| ITEM | PERCENT |
|---|---|
| Homework | 25% |
| Midterm Exam 1 | 20% |
| Midterm Exam 2 | 20% |
| Final Exam | 25% |
| Attendance and Participation | 10% |
Homework Problems: I currently plan to assign all graded homework through MyStatLab. This plan may change. We may work on homework problems in class, but assignments may require time outside of class for completion. Please keep me updated about how long these assignments take, and if there are any problems with using the software.
Exams: You will use the lab computer if one is available. Otherwise, you will need your computer. You can borrow a computer from the library, if needed. You will have access to StatCrunch. You will not be able to do Google searches, access this website, or use your computer in any other way, unless cleared by instructor. Absences on exam days must be excused through the Dean of Students, who needs to send a letter to me indicating that they excuse your absence. If excused through the Dean of Students, you do not need to disclose the reason to me.
Attendance: You are expected to attend every class. However, there can be compelling reasons why you may need to miss class, once in a while. You must email me if you are not going to attend within 24 hours after the class. Please indicate the reason, unless your absence is being excused by the Dean of Students---in which case, let me know this. Absences are OK only occasionally and only for good reasons (such as sick, religious holidays for faith you practice, varsity meets for a team you are on, etc---not a complete list). If you need to miss more than occasionally, even if it's for good a good reason, please consider dropping the class. If you miss one or more times unexcused, or more than occasionally excused (not counting those excused through official channels) you may receive an "early warning." After your warning you are in danger of losing all credit in the attendance and participation category. Every day builds upon the material previously covered, and missing class puts you at a disadvantage, even if it is for a good reason.
Class Etiquette: Please participate in class by asking questions when you do not understand something. Invariably other students benefit from these questions. Please engage in discussions, and please engage with the class, generally. I find it easier to give good lectures when students are asking questions, and engaging with the material.
Please give the class your full attention and refrain from talking, texting, surfing the web, and similar distractions. If it is clear to other students that you are not paying attention, it will be harder for them to pay attention to me. This statement is true in general, but it is especially true if you are talking. Also, it can also be harder for me to give good lectures, when it is clear that not everyone is paying attention. Like you, your classmates are paying a lot of money to be here. Please have some respect for the others in the room. If you need to attend to something urgently, it is OK to excuse yourself from the classroom. Please be warned that if people are not following this request, I may reread this statement to the class.
Academic Integrity: Cheating is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Consider this: in subtle ways, cheating to get a better grade on an exam can result in lowering the grades of some of your classmates. Certainly this is true when a specific curve is used to assign grades. Even when I don't use curves explicitly, they can be implicit in decisions about writing and grading exams. I will handle all cases of suspected cheating according to the policies of American University. Cheating is giving or receiving unauthorized assistance on quizzes or exams, from other students or other people, from notes, from books, or from the web. When inappropriate copying between students is caught, both parties may be culpable.
Public Service Announcement: A representative of AU's Students Against Sexual Violence (SASV) approached me and asked me to include on my syllabi a list of resources available for survivors of sexual assault and their friends. While sexual violence is by no means the only challenge faced by students, I agree that this issue merits particular attention, so I am honoring her request by attaching the list she gave me:
Sexual Assault Resources
- It’s never the survivor’s fault. There are many people you can talk to if you or someone you care about has been sexually assaulted:
- AU's Office of Advocacy Services for Interpersonal and Sexual Violence (OASIS): http://www.american.edu/ocl/wellness/sexual-assault-resources.cfm
- AU's Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator Daniel Rappaport (rappapor@american.edu)
- AU's Coordinator for Victim Advocacy Sara Yzaguirre (sarayza@american.edu)
- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE and https://ohl.rainn.org/online/
- DC SANE Program (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) 1-800-641-4028
- The only hospital in DC area that gives Physical Evidence Recover Kits (rape kits) is Medstar Washington Hospital
- DC Rape Crisis Center: 202-333-7273
- Students found responsible for sexual misconduct can be sanctioned with penalties that include suspension or expulsion from American University, and they may be subject to criminal charges
- If you want to submit a formal complaint against someone who has sexually assaulted you, harassed you, or discriminated against you based on your gender identity or sexual orientation, you can do so online at http://www.american.edu/ocl/dos/, or contact the Dean of Students at dos@american.edu or 202-885-3300. These are Title IX violations, and universities are legally required to prohibit these actions.
- Resources on campus that are required to keep what you tell them confidential are Daniel Rappaport, Sara Yzaguirre, ordained chaplains in Kay, and counselors at the counseling center. (OASIS may also belong here but it didn't exist when this list was created.)
