Basic Applied Statistics
STAT 200

Fall 2004, CRN 12504 4 credits
Department of Statistics
University of Pittsburgh

News

• 10-6-03 Midterm 2 scores had mean 73% solutions provided here.
• 10-6-03 Midterm 2 scores had mean 73% solutions provided here.
• Additional Office Hours during finals week: Dr. Pfenning: Monday, December 13th from 12:00 to 1:30; Wednesday, December 15th from 9:00 to 11:00; Friday, December 17th from 9 to 12:00
• Margee's extra office hours: Friday, December 17th from 1:00 to 4:00
• 12/1/04 Practice Final handed out in class; here are the solutions
• 11/19/04 Midterm 2 scores had mean 72%, standard deviation 15%;
• 11/8/04 Practice Midterm 2 handed out in class; see solutions .
• 10-15-04 Normal Practice Exercises Solutions now available
• 10-11-04 Midterm 1 scores had mean 81%, standard deviation 10%; solutions handed out in lecture.
solutions provided here.
• 10-6-04 Practice Midterm 1 handed out in class; see solutions .
• 10-4-04 Read coincidence stories of our class members! or coincidence stories from the class of 2004 or coincidence stories from the class of 2003 coincidence stories from the class of 2002 or coincidence stories from the class of 2001 or coincidence stories from the class of 2000
• Fall 2004 Survey data: surveyf04.txt. a tab-delimited text file, is now available;
To download it into MINITAB, type ctrl A to highlight, ctrl C to copy, start up MINITAB, type ctrl V to paste it. If it asks about delimiters, click OK.
• Here is a brief guide to MINITAB 13 Basics , which includes examples of all the most commonly needed display, summary, data manipulation, and inference procedures. MINITAB 13 will remain in use in our Stat Lab 435 CL until April 2005.
• Here is a brief guide to MINITAB 14 Basics , which includes the same types of examples as those for MINITAB 13, just slightly different wording for many of the menu selections and procedure details. MINITAB 14 is used in other campus computing labs, and is featured on the student CD for $5.
• 8/30/04 MINITAB is available at all campus computing labs, such as Cathedral, Forbes Quad, Benedum, and of course the Stat Lab. If in addition you would like to have MINITAB on your PC, Pitt's Software Licensing Service at 105 Bellefield Hall (behind Heinz Chapel) is now offering MINITAB CDs for only $5 a copy (be sure to have your student ID with you)! Otherwise, a free fully functional demo can be downloaded from www.minitab.com BUT it will only run for 30 days, so consider waiting until later in the semester!
  
• All recitations will be held in the Stat Lab 435 CL (enter on Bigelow side of Cathedral, take steps up to 4th floor.
• Aug. 2004 Handout in recitation on MINITAB Basics to be used as a reference for all MINITAB work.

Description

This is a course for students who wish to learn basic methods in order to analyze simple studies and experiments. This course will present the basic methods of applied statistics, utilizing an easy-to-use interactive statistical computing package called MINITAB. Students will be provided with readily understandable and intuitive descriptions of statistical analyses. The topics to be covered include: basic descriptive statistics for univariate and bivariate data, very elementary probability theory, random samplings from populations and random allocation to experimental treatments, sampling distributions, concepts of confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, tests of means in one-sample, two-sample, paired-sample and standard analysis of variance contexts. Categorical data analysis will also be discussed. Most students taking this course will probably not pursue further formal undergraduate study in applied statistics.

Prerequisites

MATH 0031 (Algebra) or equivalent. No Comp. Sci. background needed.

Requirements

Homework,computer lab problems, quizzes, two midterms, and a comprehensive final exam.

Grading

Course Grade

90-100% A; 80-89% B; etc. Plusses are assigned to the students at the top of each grade range and minuses to the students at the bottom. None of us can know in advance if an individual student will be a "borderline case"; completing extra credit assignments (specified in lecture notes) throughout the semester can help you to optimize your chances for the best possible grade. These are to be handed in to me by the following lecture; no late homeworks or extra credits will be accepted.

Textbook

Utts and Heckard: Mind on Statistics, 2nd ed., Duxbury Press

Lecture Notes

Handed out weekly in class; also available for copying in Math/Stats library 4th floor Thackeray

Recitations

• Monday, 11:00-11:50 CL 435 [CRN 12514]
• Monday, 12:00-12:50 CL 435 [CRN 12519]
• Monday, 1:00-1:50 CL 435 [CRN 12523]
• Tuesday, 2:00-2:50 CL 435 [CRN 12509]

Instructor: Margaret Kerr mak24@pitt.edu Office Hours: Wednesdays 4:30-5:30, Thursdays 9:00-11:00 WWPH Sociology 2422

Recitations will concentrate on the use of MINITAB (our computer package) and on the clarification and review of lecture material. All quizzes except Quiz 11 will be administered in recitation. In addition, individual questions, especially those pertaining to the homework assignments, may be addressed.

Note: The material in this course is cumulative in nature. Thus, it is important not to fall behind in your reading or assignments or you will find yourself lost. If you are confused, see me or your recitation instructor for help.

Note to Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 216 WPU (412) 648-7890, as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. See their website www.drs.pitt.edu

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