Basic Applied Statistics
STAT 200

Fall 2007, Mon.Wed.Fri. 10:00 CL 332 CRN 11338, 4 credits
Department of Statistics
University of Pittsburgh

or by appt.
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 1:00-2:30, Wed 1:00-2:30, Thurs 1:00-2:00
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). While the online reservations schedule is under construction, you can email the lab coordinator (specified in the above schedule) to find out what times the lab has been reserved.
 
Free Tutors Contact the Academic Resource Center 648-7920 or visit their website .

News

  • 12-4-07 Practice Final handed out in class; here are the solutions
  • Finals Week Office Hours: Pawan on Friday, Dec. 7 from 1:00 to 3:00, Dr. Pfenning on Tuesday, Dec. 11 from 12:00 to 1:45
  • 10/16 Midterm 2 solutions .
  • Powerpoint Lecture Slides
  • Practice Quizzes and Solutions
  • 10/06 Practice Midterm 2 handed out in class; see solutions .
  • 10-01-07 Practice Midterm 1 handed out in class; see solutions .
  • Songs that ask questions (open or closed)
  • 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): Aug.27-28, Sep.4(Make-up only, if you didn't attend Aug.27-28), Sep.24-25, Oct.8-9, Nov.19-20, Dec.3-4
  • Last semester'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 15 Basics , used in this course, available in campus computing labs, and featured on the student CD for $5. MINITAB 14 Basics , which is quite similar, may also be available in some labs.
  • 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.

Homework

  • 8/30/2007 Homework Assignments available as pdf
  • Grading

    12 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. Previous editions may be purchased used.

    Recitations

    • Monday, 11:00-11:50 CL 149 [CRN 11340]
    • Monday, 12:00-12:50 CL 230 [CRN 11341]
    • Monday, 1:00-1:50 CL 219 [CRN 11342]
    • Tuesday, 2:00-2:50 CL 236 [CRN 11339]

    Instructor: Pawan Chabra email psc4@pitt.edu Office Hours: Thursdays 2:00-4:00 Cathedral Commons Room

    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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