Statistics 220 syllabus and course information

Statistics 220 Syllabus and Course Information, Winter 2001

http://galton.uchicago.edu/~nicolae/stat220-01/

Instructor

Dan Nicolae	Office: Eckhart 127, Phone: 702-4827	Email: nicolae@galton.uchicago.edu	Schedule: Section 02: MWF 12:30P-1:20P Eckhart 133	Office Hours: Eckhart 127 Wednesday 1:30-2:30P And by appointment.
Zhengyuan Zhu	Office: Eckhart 107, Phone: 834-7479	Email: zhu@galton.uchicago.edu	Schedule: Section 01: MWF 10:30A-11:20A Eckhart 133	Office Hours: Eckhart 107 Wednesday 11:30-12:30P And by appointment.

Course Assistant

Discussions are TBA in Eckhart 133.


Course Assistant	Email	Office hour
Elliot Bernstein	bernstei@galton.uchicago.edu	Eckhart 131 Thursday 5:00-6:00P
Qi An	qan@galton.uchicago.edu	Eckhart 131 Wednesday 5:00-6:00P

Objectives and Prerequisites

The objectives of this course are:

to develop an understanding of the basic concepts of probability and statistics,
to help students to be informed and critical readers of quantitative arguments,
to provide sufficient skills to enable students to apply simple statistical techniques with the aid of a computer,
to help students appreciate the role of the field of statistics in empirical research and scientific study,
and to help students gain flexible problem-solving skills applicable to unfamiliar statistical settings.

Prerequisites: Math 132 or 152 (or equivalent) and completion of one of the Common Core sequences in the Biological or Physical Sciences, or permission from the instructor.

Discussion Sessions

One-hour weekly discussion meetings will begin during the second week and will complement the lecture with examples, activities, other illustrations of issues related to the course material. The course assistant also will have one office hour per week (beginning in the second week).

Textbooks and References

Required Texts
[IPS] David S. Moore and George P. McCabe (1998)Introduction to the practice of statistics, 3rd edition. W. H. Freeman.
[LH] Hamilton, Lawrence. (1998). Statistics with Stata 5, Duxbury Press.

Other References:
Statistics, by D. Freedman, R. Pisani, and R. Purves.
Statistics: The Exploration and Analysis of Data, by J. Devore and R. Peck.
Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown, by J. Tanur, et al. (full of examples).
Fundamentals of Biostatistics, by B. Rosner.
Introductory Statisticsfor Business and Economics, (1990), by Wonnacott and Wonnacott, 4th or 5th edition, Wiley, New York. The 4th edition includes extra chapters.

Grading

The final grade has the following components:

Homework (25%). Due at the beginning of class on Fridays. First assignment due Friday, January 12. You may drop one homework in case of emergency. You must have permission or OK from the instructor to drop the homework. Students are encouraged to do all homework assignments.
Midterm (30%). A two-hour closed-book exam to be given (time and place TBA). You can bring a single sheet of formulas (both sides). You may need a calculator. No makeup exam will be given.
Final (45%). Time and place TBA.

A P/F grade may be given upon written request to the instructor before the 10th week of the course. The grade of P will be awarded only for work of C- quality or better. The grade I will be given only in clear cases of emergency. The grade W must be requested before the start of the final examination. Getting a degree? If you are receiving a degree this quarter, please contact the instructor. You should read the assigned sections of the book before coming to class. The lecture, handouts, and textbook are intended to complement, not duplicate, each other.

Homework

Homeworks and other handouts may be downloaded from the course homepage.

There will be weekly homework assignments. Homework is due IN CLASS on the due date. Only legible, organized homework will be graded. Include your name, section number, date, and homework number on the first page of your assignment. Staple pages together.

You may discuss homework problems with other students (it is encouraged!) but should write them up independently . Please show your work. Duplication of homework solutions and computer output prepared in whole or in part by someone else is not permitted.

Solutions will be posted in the display cases outside the classroom shortly after the due date. Make a habit of consulting them and comparing them with your own, since there's only so much feedback you can get from the grader. The teaching assistants will be available during their office hours to discuss questions you may have about the homework.

THE OFFICIAL COURSE POLICY IS: NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. In cases with extenuating circumstances your section leader may agree to accept late work. You should be aware that if your teaching assistant does not agree to accept and grade a late assignment then you will receive a grade of zero on that assignment.

In return for your timely submission of homework, we will make every effort to return graded homework and examinations promptly. This rapid feedback should help you be aware of any problems in your own understanding of the material.

Computer

The home page for the class is http://galton.uchicago.edu/~nicolae/stat220-01. You should check the home page for announcements, assignments, and handouts.

Homework will include computer assignments to be done using Stata. Stata is available free to you on the university computer network. Do not hand in piles of computer paper with your homework; cut out the relevant pieces and paste them up in place in your written assignments (or incorporate them using your word processor), just as tables and graphs would be included in an article.

No prior computing experience is needed. You will be taught everything that you need to know. A handout describing how to use the computer and Stata will be forthcoming. Stata is quite simple to learn, but it is sufficiently powerful and versatile to be useful for real projects that you might carry out in this class or later. If you are majoring in Economics, you are very likely to see Stata in econometrics.

Dan Nicolae

Last modified: Thurs Sept 21 2000