Syllabus for STA 2023 - Introduction to Statistics
Fall 2008
Please refer to this document whenever you have a question about the
course.
Updates and changes will be posted on the website.
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Course Coordinator: Megan Mocko |
Lab Coordinator: Maria Ripol |
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office: |
office: |
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phone: (352)273-2975 |
phone: (352)273-2976 |
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email: mmeece AT stat.ufl.edu |
email: mripol AT stat.ufl.edu |
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Office Hours: MWF 10 to 11:30am Or by appointment |
Office Hours: MW 11:45 – 12:35
& 3-4pm F 11:45 – 12:35 Or by appointment |
Teaching Assistant
Information:
2. General Course
Information
THIS COURSE SATISFIES GENERAL EDUCATION CREDITS IN THE
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES. STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO SUMMARIZE DATA AND HOW TO
MAKE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS BASED ON DATA. (This course is the general education
category of M.)
Course Description
STA 2023 is an introductory course that assumes no prior knowledge of
statistics but does assume some knowledge of high school algebra. Basic
statistical concepts and methods are presented in a manner that emphasizes
understanding the principles of data collection and analysis rather than
theory. Much of the course will be devoted to discussions of how
statistics is commonly used in the real world. There are two major parts
to this course:
I Data – which includes graphical and numerical summaries to describe the distribution of a variable, or the relationship between two variables (chapters 1, 2 and 3, approximately 4 weeks), and data production to learn how to design good surveys and experiments, collect data from samples that are representative of the whole population, and avoid common sources of biases (chapter 4, 1 week.)
II Probability and Inference – using the language of probability and the properties of numerical summaries computed from a random samples (chapters 5 and 6, 3 weeks), we learn to draw conclusions about the population of interest, based on our random sample, and attach a measure of reliability to them (chapters 7, 8, 9 approximately 8 weeks).
Course Objective
The primary goal of the course is to help students understand how the process
of posing a question, collecting data relevant to that question, analyzing
data, and interpreting data can help them find answers to real problems from
their world.
3.
Required Materials
1. The course will use the following
webpage for announcements for the first few weeks of classes: http://www.stat.ufl.edu/~mmeece/sta2023.html .
2. After the first couple of weeks, we will move completed to a password protected website inside E-Learning, an integrated, Web based classroom management tool. Instructions will appear on the course website on how to access it. For more information on E-learning, go to their homepage at: http://lss.at.ufl.edu/.
In E-Learning you will be able to:
§ check the announcement page
§ find any updates to this Handbook
§ check the calendar for upcoming quiz, exam or lab dates
§ watch the lectures as streaming video
§ take the online quizzes
§ check your grades
Live Lectures
Lectures are delivered live MWF 9th period in New Physics Building 1001. The lectures will also be videotaped and available to view online. Students can choose to attend these live lectures, or to view the lectures online, regardless of which section they are registered for.
|
Period |
Lecture |
Room |
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MWF 9 |
live |
New |
|
MWF 7 |
videotaping |
Norman G 520 |
Online Lectures
Links to the videotaped lectures will be found at the course
website. You can watch the videos through Internet Explorer only at
this time. You can also watch the
lectures from any computer on campus (CIRCA labs or libraries) using your Gatorlink account and stereo mini headphones. Information
about the CIRCA labs can be found at this link: http://labs.circa.ufl.edu/ .
IMPORTANT - We cannot guarantee that the online lectures will work well for each of you. Be prepared to attend the live lectures if that turns out to be the case. Some students find that the online lectures are too slow, or they are frequently interrupted by "internet congestion". These problems are worse if your internet connection is slow, or if you try to watch them during very busy times - between noon and midnight. If you have difficulty watching the lectures online from home, try watching them from a computer on campus. Also remember that everyone is welcome to attend the live lectures, regardless of which section they are registered for.
Link to Lab Schedule
-- Lab Schedule
Starting the first week of classes, students are
required to attend Lab once a week, according to the section for which they are
registered. In Lab, groups of around 40 students will meet with a TA to
work on a simple, hands-on activity related to the material being covered in
class. Labs will meet in Building 105, room 220 (CBD 220). The building is
located directly north of (behind) the empty parking lot across the street from
Library West on
Lab Attendance and Policies:
NOTE: If you are registered for a lab section that conflicts with another class, or with several night assembly exams for other classes, you MUST CHANGE LAB SECTIONS IMMEDIATELY. STA 2023 Labs will never meet on the days we have an exam. There are usually plenty of opportunities to change sections during Drop/Add period. After Drop/Add is over, you will need to contact the Lab Coordinator to see if any changes are possible - see the Instructional Team section of this Handbook for the Lab Coordinator's contact information.
We work very hard to make sure that lab grades are recorded accurately. If you feel that there is a discrepancy, you will need to show your TA the grade lab. This must be done by the last day of classes.
· Time: We will have online quizzes most weeks. The quizzes run from Monday morning to Thursday night.
· Material Covered: These quizzes will cover a small amount of material, and are designed primarily to encourage you to keep up with the lectures (particularly if you choose to watch them on the web at your own pace).
· Three attempts: You will be allowed three attempts for each quiz – each randomly generated, so the questions won't be identical. The highest grade is counted. Given all these opportunities, all students should do extremely well on the quizzes. Hopefully they will serve the purpose of improving your grade in the class, as well as be an important tool in learning the material for the course. To see your grade, click on “My Grades”.
· No makeups. There will be no makeup quizzes for any reason. Instead, we will drop the lowest three grades for all labs and quizzes combined.
· If you have questions, you are allowed to ask teaching assistants and the instructor questions about submitted attempts on the quiz only. For example, you can take the quiz one time, submit the quiz for grading, and then print out the quiz. You can then bring this printout with you to the tutoring room. The teaching assistants can help you with the problems with which you had questions. You can then go and try attempt 2 on your own.
· Place: You can take the quiz on any computer that has internet access. If you are having trouble with your computer, you can do the quizzes from any computer that has internet access. There are computers available in the libraries and in the circa labs (http://labs.circa.ufl.edu/ ) or you could use a friend’s computer –but make sure to log in to your own account. You cannot take quizzes in the tutoring room.
· Popup Blockers: If you have a pop-up blocker activated on your machine, you need to allow pop-ups for this page. If you click on the quiz and nothing happens, you need to allow pop-ups for this website. If you need help to do this, contact the CIRCA help desk at 392-HELP.
· Technical Problems: If you have problems with E-Learning, please contact the CIRCA help desk at 392-HELP for assistance.
· Computer crashes in the middle of the quiz or electricity goes out? Restart the computer and re-log into webct. Webct should let you continue the quiz. It may give you messages about your time being expired. Ignore them, finish the quiz and submit the quiz. If for some reason, webct does not let you back into the quiz, email the instructor at mmeece@stat.ufl.edu.
· Time expiration error: Sometimes, when submitting one try of the quiz you accidentally open the quiz again and that starts your next trial of the quiz. This can happen if you use the "back" button on your browser instead of WebCT's links. When you come in hours later, it says your time has expired. You are still allowed to save the questions and submit the quiz, even if the time is up, but you get very annoying messages.
There will be three assembly exams, two night exams given during the term (each worth 100 points), and the last one during final exam week (worth 100 points). All of the exams will be completely in Multiple Choice format. There will be 33 multiple choice questions, each worth 3 points a piece. This will total 99 points. You can earn the remaining point by bringing a picture ID to the exam and by bubbling in your name, UF ID# and test code(listed on the front page of the exam) correctly. Exams will cover a larger amount of material than the quizzes and will also place more emphasis in the understanding of concepts and ideas behind the formulas. Room assignments for each exam will be announced in class and on the website. The class will be divided up by section. Graphing calculators may be used during the exam, but only for programs native to the calculator when you purchased it. Notes for the course and formulas for the course should not be typed into your calculator. Accessing notes and formulas from the course on your calculator during the exam is cheating. Academic dishonesty on any exam will result in a grade of zero on that exam.
Assembly Exam Dates
|
Exams |
Date |
Time |
Chapters in Book |
Handbook Pages |
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Exam 1 |
Tues., Oct. 7th, 2008 |
8:20 pm – 10: 00 pm |
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1 - 50 |
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Exam 2 |
Thurs. Nov. 13th , 2008 |
8:20 pm – 10:00 pm |
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51 - 86 |
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Exam 3 |
Sat., Dec. 13th , 2008 |
8 to 10 pm |
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78 - 121 |
Makeup Exam Policy
Students are required to bring to each exam:
The notes in the Lab Workbook will be used in class. When you are following
the lectures, whether live or on the web, you should always have the lecture
notes in front of you. The instructor will go over the definitions and theory,
and work out the examples on the spaces provided.
10. Homework and
Practice Questions
·
Homework
On the homepage in E-Learning, you will find a list of suggested homework
problems from the text, by section. These problems are assigned to help
you master the material and will not be collected. You can get help with these
problems from the tutors in the Tutoring Room. Doing the homework is essential
step in succeeding in this class.
·
Answers to odd numbered problems are available in the back of
the text. An Instructor's Guide with Solutions to all homework
problems is available on Reserve at Marston Science Library and in the Tutoring
Room.
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Doing homework problems using Minitab
Students also have the option to answer certain homework questions from the
textbook using Minitab, a statistical computer program. Information about
Minitab appears in the next section. The data sets for most homework
problems are included in the data disk that comes with the textbook.
Minitab is a very easy to use
and powerful statistical computer package. It is used by colleges, universities
and businesses around the world, and runs on most computer platforms, including
Windows and Macintosh. We will use Minitab in several of our Labs - the
teaching assistant will give you directions on how to use it. You can also
use Minitab to solve some of the homework problems assigned from the
book. The data sets for most homework problems are included in the data
disk that comes with the textbook Minitab is available at all the CIRCA Labs on
campus. You can also buy it for your home computer (or download the demo
version - free for 30 days) at the Minitab website at www.minitab.com, or
rent a copy of the software for a semester for $29.99 at www.e-academy.com/minitab.
Link to Tutoring Room Schedule -- Tutoring Room Schedule
The TA's for the class will be available to
answer questions about the material covered in class, homework problems, etc,
in the Tutoring Room located in Griffin Floyd 104. It will be open
approximately 40 hours a week - the exact hours of operation will be announced
on the website. There is no need to make an appointment, just go whenever
it is convenient for you and the TA on duty will help answer your questions.
Please be respectful of other students while in the tutoring room by not
talking on your cell phone. Please put your phone on silent mode and leave the
room if you wish to answer the call.
13.
Course Assessment
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Grade Structure |
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Grading Scale |
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Exam 1 |
100 points |
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A |
358 – 400 points |
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Exam 2 |
100 points |
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B+ |
342 – 358 points |
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Exam 3 |
100 points |
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B |
318 – 342 points |
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Labs and Quizzes |
100 points |
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C+ |
302 – 318 points |
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C |
258 – 302 points |
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TOTAL |
400 points |
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D |
240 – 258
points (No D+ given) |
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E |
239 points and below |
Much
of the fall semester overlaps with the hurricane season.
·
If a hurricane
approaches the coast of
15.
Course Policies
·
Privacy
Policies: Student
records are confidential. Only information designated “UF directory
information” may be released without your written consent. UF views each
student as the primary contact for all communication. If your parents contact
me about your grade, attendance or other information that is not “UF directory
information”, I will ask them to contact you.
·
Email
Email relating to information about the class should be sent to your TA emails
listed at the top of document or to the instructor at mmeece@stat.ufl.edu. Your
message will be answered within two working days, in most cases. However, we
ask you to please refer to this Handbook and the course website to try to find
the answers for yourself. Questions regarding the material covered in class,
homework problems, or Lab should be asked in person, in the Tutoring Room, in
Lab or in class. Statistical questions often require formulas or pictures,
which can make it very hard to communicate by email. Emails should include your
full name and section number. If you are referring to a quiz, refer to it by
quiz number, attempt number and question number.
·
Instructor's
Honor Code
We the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves
and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
·
Academic
Dishonesty
We adhere to the University of Florida rules and guidelines for handling
instances of academic dishonesty. Please refer to the Office for Student
Services for detailed information about the current policies.
·
Students with
Disabilities
Students who require special accommodations in class or during exams should
follow the procedures outlined by the Disability Resources Program (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/ ) Please bring the course coordinator(Megan
Mocko) your letter of accommodations in the first two weeks of classes, during
office hours, or make an appointment if you cannot make it during those hours. This
letter must be discussed with the course coordinator directly, not with the lab
TA, for accommodations on exams to be made.
·
Class
Attendance and Behavior
Attendance in class is not mandatory, since you will be able to watch the
lectures online. Attendance in Lab, however, is mandatory, and you are required
to attend the Lab section for which you are registered. For both Labs and
lectures, we ask that you arrive on time, and to behave in a respectful manner
towards the instructors and your fellow students. In fact, no one will be
allowed in Lab if they are more than five minutes late. Please turn your
off cellular phones and refrain from eating, drinking, reading newspapers,
working on a laptop, doing homework for other classes, and excessive talking.
·
Makeup Quizzes
and Labs
There will be NO makeup labs or quizzes under any circumstances - instead, we
will drop the lowest three grades for all labs and quizzes combined.
These three drops are meant to allow for missed labs or quizzes due to illness,
personal or family emergency, personal or University sanctioned travel,
religious observance, tardiness, laziness, and all other reasons. Do not
abuse your drops - you never know if you will need them later.
·
Makeup Exams
See the section on Exams for exam makeup policy.
·
Grading
Grades will be changed only when an error has been made; negotiation is not
appropriate.
·
Incompletes
Incompletes are only assigned when extraordinary circumstances (such as an
accident, or extended hospitalization), arising after the date for dropping the
course, prevent the student from completing the course requirements.
Having a failing grade in the course is not a valid reason for requesting an
Incomplete.
16. Where to Get Help for this course:
17. How to do well in the course: