Math 425/525: Statistical Methods I

Homework Lecture Notes Calculator Instruction
Minitab Instruction Review for Midterm Review for Final Exam
The emphasis of the course is on statistical reasoning: interpretation of and critical thinking about statistical information. The main concepts will be illustrated by a variety of interesting and important real world examples. These will include issues under current discussion in society that have a statistical component, in particular clinical trials, political polling, and various studies in the social sciences.

Grading Policy

Your course grade is a weighted average of the following performance scores: homework (15%), midterm exam (35%), and final exam (50%).

Exams

There will be one midterm during the term. It is scheduled for Friday, February 11 . The final is scheduled for Friday, March 18 . All the exams will be in Deady 209. For each exam, you may bring two formula sheets, i.e., two 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper with whatever formulas and notes you would find useful.

Homework

Homework is due WEEKLY in class on Mondays. No homework will be accepted late. You may drop ONE homework. If a situation develops in which you need more than one homework dropped, such as a prolonged illness, you should notify me as soon as possible verbally and in writing. You may turn in homework early, of course, if you know in advance that you will have to miss class. Please do homework on 8.5 by 11 paper, folded once the long way. Put your name on the front, but don't write your student ID number on any homework paper.

Attendance:

You are responsible for all the announcements, changes, course information, and topics that I cover in class.

Videos

There's an excellent set of videos, Against All Odds, available at Media Services in the Library. The 26 half-hour programs of this public television series present some fascinating real-world applications of statistics while at the same time focusing on the essential features of statistics. Suggested videos are indicated with the assignments. They have to be watched at the Media center, and you will need an ID to check them out. The Media center is open 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Fridays.
Tips: There's only one copy of each video, but groups of students can watch a video at once. Two students can watch a single monitor. Between 3 and 8 can watch in a small room. Larger rooms are available for larger groups, but arrangements must be made in advance and would probably need my intervention. As noted below, there are two videos on each cassette. If you want to view the second video, Fast Forward for 45-50 seconds before pressing Play. Be considerate of the next viewers: Rewind the cassette. When you check out the video, if you sign a waiver other students can join you.

1-2 What is statistics?/Picturing distribution
3-4 Describing distributions/Normal distributions
5-6 Normal calculations/Time series
7-8 Models for growth/Describing relationships
9-10 Correlation/Multidimensional data analysis
11-12 Question of causation/Experimental design
13-14 Blocking and sampling/Samples and surveys
15-16 What is probability?/Random variables
17-18 Binomial distributions/Sample means
19-20 Confidence intervals/Significance tests
21-22 Inference for one mean/Comparing two means
23-24 Inference for proportions/Inference for two proportions
25-26 Inference for relationships/Case study

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