Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Stat 2000, Section LI1, Spring 2004

Introduction to Statistical Methods - International Program

Syllabus
USU Catalog Description

QI 2000. Statistical Methods. Introduction to statistical concepts, graphical techniques, probability, distributions, estimation, one and two sample testing, chi-square tests, and simple linear regression. Prerequisite: Math 1050. (3 Cr - F, Sp, Su)

USU Instructor

Dr. Jürgen Symanzik
Assistant Professor
Utah State University
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
3900 Old Main Hill
Logan, Utah 84322-3900
USA
e-mail: symanzik@math.usu.edu

Local Instructor

Alex Cheng
Institute of Advanced Learning
Tsim Sha Tsui Center
Hong Kong
e-mail: alex_cheng_@hotmail.com (note the two underscores in alex_cheng_)

Textbook

We will use the electronic textbook CyberStats. Please go to http://cyberk.com and register for course ID # 767 (Standard - Utah State University - Juergen Symanzik - Stat 2000, Section LI1 - International) at a cost of US-$ 30. This will give you access to CyberStats for one semester. Please do NOT register for course ID # 233 - a course I previously taught using CyberStats. It is your responsibility to pay the CyberStats publisher directly. If you do not submit your payment, your access to the electronic textbook will be denied after the initial trial period.

There exists an optional print companion to CyberStats at an additional cost. In case you would like to obtain the printed version of the course material, please contact the CyberStat publisher directly. It may be beneficial if a small group of students jointly orders several copies of the print companion.

Please check the message board of CyberStats frequently for announcements, discussions, etc.

Lessons / Homework Assignments

CyberStats allows you to work at your own speed, at times most convenient to you. There is a weekly meeting, administered by the local instructor. The confirmed time and location for the course are as follow: 5/F, Institute of Advanced Learning Tsim Sha Tsui Center (IAL TST center).

These meetings are no regular lectures. Instead, the local instructor will help with technical problems, summarize answers to frequently asked questions, and emphasize important points of the course material assigned for reading each week.

CyberStats consist of 7 main units and more than 40 subunits: We will study the following subunits, following a schedule that addresses 2 subunits each week (i.e., 30 subunits overall): You should work independently on these subunits, reading the main parts, checking your progress via the self-assessment tests, and work on as many of the homework assignments as possible. You are always allowed to work ahead, but you should not fall behind this schedule.

The first set of exercises in each CyberStats subunit is the assigned set of homework assignments. You have to submit your answers electronically via CyberStats by the end of a week. This means, answers to the exercises in set 1 of subunits A-1 and A-2 are due on Sun 1/18/04, 23:59 (11:59pm)

There will be 15 sets of homework assignments, each worth 10 points. Your local instructor will randomly select a subset of questions and grade these in detail. For those questions not selected, you will get credit based on whether you have done/not done a question (independenly from correctness).

Exams

There are two midterms and one final exam. The midterms are worth 200 points each. The final exam is worth 450 points.

All exams are open-book, open-notes, open-computer (i.e., you have full access to CyberStats and all its tools, calculators, etc.). The two midterms should be completed in 60 min (1 hour) and the final in 180 min (3 hours). You are expected to use the CyberStats tools, calculators, etc. efficiently. If you rarely looked at the CyberStats tools and only read the main text, you will most likely fail the exams.

Midterm 1 will be given in week 7 (Monday 2/23/04) and will cover the following 11 subunits: A1-A8, and B1-B3. Exact rooms and times for Midterm 1 will be posted early in the semester.

Midterm 2 will be given in week 11 (Monday 3/22/04) and will cover the following 9 subunits: B5-B7, B-9, B11-B13, and C1-C2. Exact rooms and times for Midterm 2 will be posted early in the semester.

The final exam will be given in week 15 (Monday 4/19/04) and will cover the following 28 subunits: A1-A8, B1-B3, B5-B7, B-9, B11-B13, C1-C4, C6-C8, C10, and D1-D2 (i.e., the final is comprehensive). Subunits D-3 and E-1 will not be assessed in the final exam although they are part of the overall course and the corresponding homework solutions have to be turned in by the end of week 15. Exact rooms and times for the final exam will be posted early in the semester.

Exam questions will be at the same difficulty level as the exercises from the homework assignments. In fact, some exam questions will be drawn from the remaining exercise sets (2, 3, ...). The final exam will consist of regular questions and a data part where you are given a real data set and are required to answer questions using the CyberStats tools. The two midterms and the final exam will be graded by your US instructor. Sample questions (with answers) will be provided later in the semester.

Grading Policy

Overall, there will be 1000 points: 150 for homework assignments, 200 for Midterm 1, 200 for Midterm 2, and 450 for the final. An approximate grade distribution is given below. Plus minus grades are not indicated.