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Honors Applied Statistical Methods
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| Instructor | Dr. Nancy Pfenning |
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| Office | Cathedral 2710 |
| Website | www.pitt.edu/~nancyp/stat-1000/index.html |
| nancypfenning@gmail.com | |
| 412-521-8349 (home, if urgent, before 10pm) | |
| 412-624-8336 (during office hours) | |
| Office Hrs. | Thurs. 10:00-11:45 or by appt. |
| Stat Lab | 435 CL (take stairs up from Bigelow side of Cathedral). For hours of operation and names of TAs on staff, see schedule but avoid times when it's been reserved (scroll down to their calendar). |
| Course Assistant | Alison Laessig AAL38@pitt.edu Office Hours Thurs 1:00-1:30 in CL 435 (Stat Lab) |
| Tutors | Contact the Academic Resource Center 648-7920 for free tutoring by undergrads or visit their website. |
This course is an intensive introduction to statistical methods which stresses the development of critical thinking skills and increased awareness of how these methods are applied in a variety of disciplines. It is designed for students who want to do data analysis and to study further ideas in applied statistics beyond this course. Students are encouraged to investigate applications in their own major or areas of personal interest. The topics covered include descriptive statistics, elementary probability, random sampling, controlled experiments, hypothesis testing, regression, chi-square, and the analysis of variance. In addition, students will be exposed to more advanced topics in modern statistical practice. Emphasis will be placed on the statistical reasoning underlying the methods. Students will also become proficient at the use of a statistical software package, MINITAB.
Mandatory for all recitations. Up to 3 absences tolerated for lectures.
MATH 0031 (Algebra) or equivalent. No Comp. Sci. background needed.
Homework assignments , computer lab problems, quizzes, two midterms, and a comprehensive final exam.
| 13 Homeworks | 300 |
| 12 Lab (Software) Problems | 50 |
| 2 Seminar Presentations | 30 |
| Seminar Questions/Comments | 20 |
| Midterm 1 | 150 |
| Midterm 2 | 150 |
| Final Exam | 300 |
| Total | 1000 |
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Note that for seminars involving the discussion of a news story or journal
article (1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35) all students must write up at least 2 questions/comments per article(s), which they have read in advance. They should refer to those questions/comments during discussion, then turn them in for credit at the end of class.
90-100% 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"; doing your best
throughout the semester can help you to optimize your
chances for the best possible grade.
Pfenning Elementary Statistics: Looking at the Big Picture (c)2011 Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, sold royalty-free at the University of Pittsburgh Book Center. Do not order the Instructor's Edition online. If you'd like to consult other statistics books for reference, ask me in office hours. A calculator (any kind) is needed.
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 our course assistant 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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