Difference between revisions of "Syllabus: Stat 202 Spring 2015"

Revision as of 18:03, 8 January 2015

Basic Statistics (Stat 202) Section 004

Instructor: Sean Carver, Ph.D., Professorial Lecturer, American University.

Contact:

• office location: 107 Gray Hall
• email: carver@american.edu
• office phone: 202-885-6629

Course Description (from department website): Data presentation, display, and summary, averages, dispersion, simple linear regression, and correlation, probability, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, and tests of significance. Use of statistical software both to analyze real data and to demonstrate and explore concepts. Four credit hours.

Prerequisite: MATH-15x or higher, or permission of department. No prior knowledge of statistics is assumed.

Learning Outcomes: [Credit Emmanuel Addo, Spring 2013]. By the end of the course, the student should be able to:

• Use and understand common statistical terminology.
• Understand data collection methods including designed experiments and sampling methods.
• Know when to use stemplot, histograms, pie charts, bar charts, and box plots to describe a given distribution.
• Calculate and interpret the measures of center and spread.
• Understand the concepts of correlation and linear regression.
• Understand the concepts of randomness and probability.
• Understand and interpret probability distributions such as the normal, student's t- and chi-square distributions.
• State the central limit theorem and understand the concept of a sampling distribution.
• Calculate confidence intervals for means and proportions--one sample.
• Use sampling techniques to test hypotheses for means and proportions--one and two samples, contingency table, and goodness-of-fit.

Office Hours: Gray Hall, Room 107. Tentatively scheduled as follows: (may be adjusted throughout the semester)

• 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Wednesday
• 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Thursday
• 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Friday.

Tutoring through MATH/STAT tutoring center: Gray Hall, Room 110, Hours:

• Sunday, 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Monday - Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Class times and locations:

• Monday: 04:00PM - 05:15PM, ANDERSON HALL, Room B-14
• Wednesday: 04:00PM - 05:00PM, WARD BUILDING, Room 201
• Thursday: 04:00PM - 05:15PM, ANDERSON HALL, Room B-14

Important Dates:

• September 1 (Monday): Labor Day, No Class
• September 25 (Thursday): EXAM 1, during class, in our classroom
• October 30 (Thursday): EXAM 2, during class, in our classroom
• November 26-30 (Wednesday-Sunday): Thanksgiving, No Class
• December 11 (Thursday), 2:35PM - 5:05PM: FINAL EXAM In SPA Lab (WARD ST-01)

Text: David Moore, George McCabe, and Bruce A. Craig, Introduction to the Practice of Statistics (Seventh Edition), W. H. Freeman and Company.

Software: StatCrunch (web-based software), use this link: http://statcrunch.american.edu/ For use off campus, set up VPN; see http://www.american.edu/oit/network/VPN.cfm

Tentative grading scheme:

Homework Policy: Will be discussed in class.

Academic Integrity: To the extent that grades are based on a curve, cheating to get a better grade on an assignment or exam can result in lowering the grades of some of your classmates. This is not acceptable and cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. As required by American University, I will report all suspected cases of cheating and plagiarism to the Dean's office who will proceed to investigate and adjudicate the issues.

What is considered cheating?

• Cheating is copying work from another source without giving attribution.
• Cheating is copying problem(s) from a classmate.
• It is OK (and, in fact, it is encouraged) to work with other students on homework as long as you write up the solutions yourself and your solutions reflect your own understanding of the problems.
• When inappropriate copying between students is caught, both parties are culpable.
• When in doubt, if you are not sure if help you have given or received is appropriate, disclose what you have done. You may not get full credit for the problem but you won't be charged for academic misconduct.

Public Service Annoucement: A representative of AU's Students Against Sexual Violence (SASV) approached me and asked me to include on my syllabi a list of resources available for survivors and their friends. While sexual violence is by no means the only challenge faced by students, I feel that this issue merits particular attention because the full extent of the problem may not be realized by everyone. While I am not trained to provide assistance myself, if you are going through something that is affecting your academic performance (be it sexual violence or otherwise), I can help connect you to people who can help you. I can also work with you or your councillors to find reasonable and appropriate accomondations. I will keep anything you tell me in strict confidence.

Sexual Assault Resources

• It’s never the survivor’s fault. There are many people you can talk to if you or someone you care about have been sexually assaulted including our Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator Daniel Rappaport (rappapor@american.edu) and our Coordinator for Victim Advocacy Sara Yzaguirre (sarayza@american.edu)

• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE and https://ohl.rainn.org/online/

• DC SANE Program (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) 1-800-641-4028

• The only hospital in DC area that gives Physical Evidence Recover Kits (rape kits) is Medstar Washington Hospital

• DC Rape Crisis Center: 202-333-7273

• Students found responsible for sexual misconduct can be sanctioned with penalties that include suspension or expulsion from American University, and they may be subject to criminal charges

• If you want to submit a formal complaint against someone who has sexually assaulted you, harassed you, or discriminated against you based on your gender identity or sexual orientation, you can do so online at http://www.american.edu/ocl/dos/, or contact the Dean of Students at dos@american.edu or 202-885-3300. These are Title IX violations, and universities are legally required to prohibit these actions.

• Resources on campus that are required to keep what you tell them confidential are Daniel Rappaport, Sara Yzaguirre, ordained chaplains in Kay, and counselors at the counseling center