A ST 505: Statistical Inference I, Section 1, Spring 2012
Business Complex 247 TU, TH 10:20-11:35, BC 204 Wed 3:30-5:20
Instructor: Dr. Bill Gould, Office: Guthrie 211, Phone: 646-3986
My Office Hours (GU 211): 1:00-3:00 Wed OR by appointment
Required Text: Statistics for Research Shirley Dowdy, S. Weardon, D. Chilko, Third Edition
______
Purpose: Statistical science enables one to make inductive inferences and for estimating uncertainty in those inferences. The course is an introductory statistics course at the graduate level in which we will learn logical and probabilistic reasoning within the framework of formal estimation and inferential procedures. Proper techniques for data collection (sampling and experimental design) will be emphasized (beyond that in the text) as will some discussion on hypothesis testing versus information theoretic approaches. Critical thinking skills will be emphasized.
Exams: There will be three exams, each will be weighted as 25% of your grade. The third exam is scheduled during finals week (10:30am, Thursday, May 8th). If you have a university-excused absence, you must notify the professor at least one week in advance so that proper arrangements for taking tests early can be made. All grades on tests and quizzes must be contested within one week of reception.
Homework & Quizzes: I will assign homework every week, usually twice a week. I encourage you to start on it right away, when the material is still fresh in your mind. Homework will be graded according to your attempt to complete every assigned problem. Homeworks will count for 15% of your grade. Although the homework does not appear to contribute much to your grade, they will greatly influence how well you perform on the quizzes and tests. Homework will be collected at the BEGINNING of class. You cannot complete it during class and submit it afterwards. If you cannot attend a particular class, give your homework to someone who will be there. I will not accept late homework! Occasionally, I will give short quizzes to catch any major lacks in understanding of the material (worth 10% of your grade).
Please show your work on the homework, quizzes, and tests so that you receive all the credit you deserve! Homework and quiz solutions will be available electronically, using the same instructions provided for accessing journal articles that I am requiring you to read.
Labs: The lab will be used as part recitation, part help session. I will go over previously submitted homework and/or work new examples during the lab. Quizzes and Exams will also be held during scheduled lab days to allow for more time.
Final grades will be assigned on the scale: 90 - 100: A; 80-89: B; 70-79: C; 60-69: D; below 60: F
Note: The last day to drop is February 1; the last day to withdraw (W) is March 10.
Expectations: The schedule of material to be covered this semester is located on a separate sheet. This schedule lists the chapters and sections to be covered and the homework that will be assigned. The text is the foundation of the course. Please read the sections prior to class. The lectures will be more interesting and helpful if you have already read the material. It is your responsibility to read the material! I will also provide a listing of learning objectives as we progress throughout the course. These will be instrumental in guiding you as to what material is most important and what level of learning is expected of you.
ADA statement: If you have or think you may have a disability that interferes with your academic progress, you are encouraged to contact the Services for Students with Disabilities at 646-6840 (V) or 646-1918 (TTY) or to discuss this on a confidential basis with your instructor. Services for students with disabilities are located in Garcia Annex, Room 102. Current and appropriate documentation will be required in order to receive services. It is your responsibility to inform either your instructor or SSD representative in a timely manner if services/accommodations provided are not meeting your needs.
If you have a condition which may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency or which may cause an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss any concerns with the instructor and/or Michael Armendariz, SSD Coordinator. Feel free to call Ms. Angela Velasco, Interim EEO/ADA and Employee Relations Director at 646-3333 with any questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All medical information will be treated confidentially.
Academic Misconduct is not tolerated and will be subject to disciplinary action (see guidelines in student handbook). Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to cheating or knowingly assisting another student in committing an act of cheating or plagiarism. This does not mean you cannot work on homework together, but copying is not allowed. A grade of zero will be assigned to any persons/assignments resulting from academic misconduct. (Refer to the guidelines for academic misconduct in the Student Handbook for further details)
Attendance: EXPECTED, STRONGLY ADVISABLE,... but not required.
If you miss class, you are responsible for obtaining notes, assignments, etc., from other students. You will NOT be allowed to make up scheduled quizzes or exams if you miss class those days. Supplemental material will be given in lectures that may not appear in the text. I reserve the right to adjust reading assignments, homework, etc., based on the progress of the class. Announcements will be made in class detailing any changes. If you miss class, it is YOUR responsibility to inquire about possible changes from a fellow student.
Study Skills: Reading the text prior to class, effective note-taking and regular completion of homework problems are essential for performing well. You are expected to spend about 12 hours outside of class per week on this class. If needed, the Center for Learning Assistance (646-3136) can help you develop study skills for your college education.
Class Participation: Lastly, your comments and questions are encouraged during class. Answering my questions in class will be a welcome break from listening to me all of the time. Questions alert me to any misunderstandings that you have as a class. If something is not clear to you, it probably isn't clear to others either, so please Speak Up!
E ST 505 COURSE OUTLINE (Dr. Gould’s)
(This is intended as an outline; I reserve the right to alter any assignments, dates or exam coverage)
Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2: Course overview, scientific method, population, samples and simple random sampling, levels of data measurement, random variables (discrete vs. continuous), probability distributions
HW: 1.1.3, 1.1.4 | 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.2.4, handout | HW: 2.3.1, 2.3.4, handout | HW: 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.3 |
Quiz#1 (Chapter 1&2; January 30th)
Binomial Distributions, Chapter 3: sections 1- 3, probability, hypothesis testing procedure, terminology, statistical vs. practical significance
HW: 3.1.1, 3.1.3, 3.1.4, 3.1.7, 3.1.10a&b, 3.1.11(b) | HW: 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.8, 3.2.11
Exam #1 (Chap.1,2,3; February 13)
Chi–Square Distributions, Chapter 5: section 1, 2, 3 Multinomial, Goodness of Fit test, Contingency Table Analysis; Tests for Homogeneity, Independence
HW: 5.1.1, 5.1.7, 5.1.8 | HW: 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3 | HW: 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.3, 5.3.4
Quiz #2 (Chap. 5.1, 5.2; Feb 27)
Normal Distribution, Chapter 7: section 1, 6.3&7.3, 7.4 Normal distribution, (add in empirical rule), sampling distribution of, central limit theorem
HW: 7.1.2, 7.1.4, 7.1.5 | HW: 6.3.5, 7.3.1, 7.4.2
t-distributions, Chapter 8: section 1, 2, 3
Single mean, matched pairs t-test, comparing 2 means (pooled and unequal variance)
HW: 8.1.2, 8.1.3 | HW: 8.2.1, 8.2.3, 8.2.6, 8.2.9 | HW: 8.3.1, 8.3.4, 8.3.6, 8.3.7 | 8.4.1, 8.4.3, 8.4.4
Exam #2 (Chapter 5, 6.3, Chap 7, 8; March 19th)
One-Way Analysis of Variance Chapter 10: sections 1, 3, 4
Sums of squares, F statistic and test, equal and unequal sample sizes, multiple comparisons, single df contrasts, mention Kruskal-Wallis
HW: 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3 | HW: 10.3.1, 10.3.4, | 10.4.1, 10.4.3a,b,c(1st 2 contrasts)
Quiz #3 (Chap 10.1, 10.3; April 9th)
Simple Linear Regression and Correlation, Chapter 9: sections 1, 2, 4
Principle of least squares, residuals, hypothesis testing, prediction, correlation coefficient
HW: 9.1.1, 9.1.2, 9.1.3, 9.1.8, 9.1.10 | HW: 9.2.1, 9.2.2, 9.2.4, 9.2.6 (use a = 0.05) | HW: 9.4.1, 9.4.5
May 1st- Nonparametric method presentation.
Exam #3: Wednesday, April 30th
Reading assignments
In addition to reading the required textbook, I have placed several articles on reserve for you to read. The articles are available electronically. You can access them by connecting to the Web and going to the html address: http://liberes.nmsu.edu, then select ‘Look up Electronic Reserves and Course Materials’. Then select my name as the instructor (Gould, William) and then select EST 505. At this point, you enter a password: 505505 and click ‘Accept’. There is a folder labeled ‘Journal articles’ you must select, and then you will see the articles listed.
You may have to rotate the articles in the reader for them to be displayed correctly and of course, you can print them out for reading as well. It is recommended that you use Internet Explorer (as opposed to Netscape) to access files via the Web. A free copy (on a burned CD) is available from the Computer Center (ICT) rm. 143- Note I have not had problems with these files using Netscape Navigator.
Please read the first article by Wednesday, February 20th, for discussion in lab.
The other articles will be assigned for reading at a later date TBA.