Instructor: Dr. Alan T. Arnholt
Office: Walker Hall 237
Office Hours: 10-11:30am M, W, and F
Make an appointment to see me by clicking https://arnholtat.youcanbook.me/.
Teaching Assistant:
Course Description:
This course provides an overview of modern statistical data analysis. Programming with data, including simulations and bootstrapping, will be an integral part of the course. Techniques for parsing univariate and multivariate data sets will be examined. Coverage of probability, random variables, standard probability distributions and statistical sampling distributions will be sufficient to prepare the student for statistical inference. Inferential topics will include parameter estimation, hypothesis testing for proportions, means and medians, goodness of fit tests, and tests for independence. Standard and computationally intensive regression techniques will may also be covered. (NUMERICAL DATA; COMPUTER) — Prerequisite: MAT 1110
Course Objectives:
Course Text:
Chihara, L. and Hesterberg, T. (2011). Mathematical Statistics with Resampling and R. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Text book web site contains errata, solutions, datasets, and R scripts. Other materials are available from the course webpage and AsULearn.
Course Grading & Assessment:
The only way to learn statistics is to DO statistics, which includes statistical software. Reading the textbook, learning the language, and practicing exercises using real data are critical to your learning and success. Class activities and assessments have been structured with these principles in mind.
You should read assigned textbook content and read/watch supplemental materials prior to coming to class. It will be easier to participate if you acquire some familiarity with the vocabulary and methods before we start to discuss and use them. You must “speak the language” (both statistics and R) to effectively demonstrate your knowledge.
Appalachian students are expected to make intensive engagement with courses their first priority. Practically speaking, students should spend about 1-3 hours on coursework outside of class for every hour they spend in class. For this four-hour course, you you should anticipate 2-6 hours per meeting period of outside work.
40% of the course grade will come from the eleven DataCamp assignments
15% of the course grade will come from weekly quizzes
15% of the course grade will come from the midterm exam
10% of the course grade will come from five graded homework assignments
20% of the course grade will come from the comprehensive final exam
Grades will be kept on AsULearn. You should monitor your grades throughout the term to make sure they appear to be correct and complete. Feel free to inquire about your grades at any time.
How To Get Unstuck
Well constructed questions will elicit answers more rapidly than poorly constructed questions. This video provides some background on asking questions. This stackoverflow thread details how to create a minimal R reproducible example. Please read How To Ask Questions The Smart Way by Eric Raymond and Rick Moen and heed their advice.
Please ask your well worded questions on piazza. Piazza will allow your fellow students to follow and answer questions quite possibly before the instructor or a TA has the chance to provide an answer. Piazza also allows the user to format code and write mathematics with LaTeX.
University Policies
This course conforms with all Appalachian State University policies with respect to academic integrity, disability services, and class attendance. The details of the policies may be found at http://academicaffairs.appstate.edu/resources/syllabi.
Computers and Software
This course will use the RStudio server (https://mathr.math.appstate.edu/) that has the programs listed below and more installed.
You must have an active internet connection and be registered in the course to access the server. To access the server, point any web browser to https://mathr.math.appstate.edu/. You will need to acknowledge the connection is unsecure and possibly add a security exception to your web browser. Use your Appstate Username and Password to access the server. A screen shot of the RStudio server is shown below.
If you have problems with your Appstate Username or Password visit IT Support Services or call 262-6266.
Required Technology
Note: All technology used in the class is either open source (free) or will be accessible to students enrolled in the course for no cost.
Assignments
The CoursePacing guide has all course assignments and due dates.