Basic Applied Statistics
STAT 200

Spring 2007, Mon.Wed.Fri. CL G8 CRN 11480 (10:00) or CL 332 CRN 11505 (12:00), 4 credits
Department of Statistics
University of Pittsburgh

Instructor Dr. Nancy Pfenning
Office Cathedral 2710
Website www.pitt.edu/~nancyp
E-mail nancyp+@pitt.edu
Phone 624-8729 (statistics office, leave message with secretary)
  521-8349 (home, if urgent, before 10pm)
  624-8336 (during office hours)
Office Hrs. Mon. Wed. 3:00-3:50, Thurs. 3:00-3:50 or by appt.
Stat Lab For hours of operation and names of TAs on staff, see schedule. Lab is in 435 Cathedral (take stairs up from Bigelow side of Cathedral).
  Avoid times when the lab is reserved.
 
Free Tutors Contact the Academic Support Center 648-7920 or visit their website and refer to tutoring, which links to a pdf file of their walk-in tutoring hours.

News

  • 4/12/07 Practice Final handed out in class; here are the solutions
  • Ela's Office Hours cancelled for Thursday, April 19
  • Michael's Office Hours reduced for Thursday, April 19: 1:30-3:00
  • 3/27/07 Practice Midterm 2 handed out in class; see solutions .
  • 2-3-06 Practice Midterm 1 handed out in class; see solutions .
  • Recitations on the following dates will be held in the Stat Lab 435 CL (enter on Bigelow side of Cathedral, take steps up to 4th floor): Jan.9-12, Feb.6-9, Feb.13-16, Apr.3-6, Apr.17-20
  • Last year's survey data file to be opened for use in lab problems. 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 14 Basics , used in this course, available in campus computing labs, and featured on the student CD for $5.
  • 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!

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

13 Homeworks 350
12 Lab Problems 50
Best 10 of 11 Quizzes 100
Midterm 1 150
Midterm 2 150
Final Exam 250
Total 1050
Course % Total divided by 10

Course Grade

90-105% 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 all the assignments throughout the semester can help you to optimize your chances for the best possible grade; no late homeworks will be accepted.

Textbook

Pfenning--- Statistics: Looking at the Big Picture, manuscript for future publication by Duxbury/Thomson, available in bookstore.

Recitations

10:00 Lecture
  • Tuesday, 9:00-9:50 CL 229 [CRN 11495]
  • Tuesday, 10:00-10:50 CL 204 [CRN 11496]
  • Tuesday, 11:00-11:50 CL 218 [CRN 11497]
  • Tuesday, 2:00-2:50 CL 352 [CRN 11494]

Instructor: Michael Menietti --email mem78@pitt.edu or hw.stat0200@gmail.com Office Hours: Thursdays 12:00 to 3:00 4524 Posvar Hall.

12:00 Lecture
  • Thursday, 4:00-4:50 CL 227 [CRN 11506]
  • Friday, 9:00-9:50 CL 229 [CRN 11507]
  • Friday, 10:00-10:50 CL 216 [CRN 11969]
  • Friday, 11:00-11:50 CL 236 [CRN 11508]
  • Instructor: Ela Obreja --email mio8@pitt.edu Office Hours: TBA Wednesdays 9:00 to 11:00 and Thursdays 5:00-6:00 in CL 2617

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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