A. Introduction:
This course is a general introduction to the field of statistics and its application to business, engineering, the sciences, economics, and education. A study of methods of data collection and interpretation, frequency distributions, probability theory, hypothesis testing, and correlation/regression.

B. Prerequisites:
None (for in class students). A basic knowledge of mathematics and a willingness to learn are required.

NOTICE: The above statement DOES NOT APPLY TO INTERNET-BASED Students.  I assume that internet based students are fully self-sufficient it algebra.  In fact, I assume that you are highly adept at algebra. Past experience has taught me that it is impossible for me to provide remedial instruction in basic algebraic concepts.  Actually, as an internet based student, you must be aware that I expect you to essentially be your own instructor.  This material often calls for highly graphics oriented explanation (i.e. I can't tell you how to do this without drawing it on a chalkboard).  Therefore, it is incumbent upon the internet student to really 'do your homework' and learn this for yourself. This will call for additional self-discipline on your part, and  may cause you to look for (and borrow/buy) other statistics study guides that will help you.  If you feel that this is not a realistic expectation for you, then please contact Ms. Laura Roberts at the Offutt AFB Peru State office at (402) 293-1764.  Her email is: lroberts@bobcat.peru.edu

C. Method of Instruction:
A combination of lecture and question-and-answer sessions will be used to cover the majority of the material. I welcome students to ask questions during class, and highly encourage reading ahead as much as possible. Weekly assignments will be given to reinforce concepts presented during class. These will be reviewed at the beginning of the following class, when questions covering the assignment or the previous weeks’ lessons are answered. Short quizzes covering the material will be given frequently throughout the class.
 

For internet based students:  The above statement is clearly intended for 'in-class' conventional students. There will not be regularly scheduled class meeting times for internet students. I will attempt to answer your questions as best as I can. Realize that it is difficult to provide instruction on this material over the internet.  Please be sure to use my class notes on this web page. REMEMBER: you are responsible to teach yourself. I am here to give you guidance, answer SPECIFIC questions, administer tests, and grade them.

D. Course Objectives:
 

•  To introduce basic concepts of descriptive and inferential statistics
•  Provide the means to more critically view statistical studies
•  Encourage a better understanding of the laws of probability
•  Show the importance of statistics, used by research personnel, quality control, administration, and others.

F. Attendance Policy:
I am required to take attendance at each class meeting. Therefore, I highly encourage all students to attend all scheduled classes. For military and civil service members, I will attempt to work with you as best as possible in the event of unavoidable Temporary Duty (TDY) situations. Please speak to me about these on a case-by-case basis. If you know of a TDY in advance, then let me know ASAP, so we can work out a plan. Quizzes are given periodically throughout the course, and I do not plan to give make-up quizzes. In the event of TDY, I will not count such a quiz against your final grade. All quizzes will be based on lecture, homework, and assigned readings.  Ultimately, whether you attend is up to you, however, I will hold you responsible for ALL the material I cover in class.

Course Material

Textbooks: Elementary Statistics, 5th Edition  By Allan G. Bluman, 1999  In-class students will use the same text ------- , ------- Web based students will use the Bluman text ONLY! Website: http://www.mccrones.com/statistics/index.html Computational Equipment: You are encouraged to use calculators and Personal Computers (with MS Excel, etc. to complete your homework. Calculators are permitted during quizzes and exams. No PC’s during quizzes or exams! A good calculator to buy is the TI-30xa Calculator (I prefer the solar kind) from Texas Instruments, although any good scientific calculator should perform well instead of the TI-30xa.  I found this calculator for sale at approximately $19.00 at K-mart.  You will find it difficult to excel in this class without a calculator. Software: MS Excel is a good software package to use.   If you have MS Works, you will also find that this package can perform many of these functions as well.  YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO USE COMPUTER SOFTWARE AT ALL!  Everything can be done by hand with a calculator.

NOTICE: THESE ARE ONLY RECOMMENDATIONS. ANY AND ALL REFERENCES TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS ARE JUST PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS AN OFFICIAL  PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT, EITHER BY ME OR PERU STATE COLLEGE.

Course Calendar
Here’s what I currently plan to cover in this course. INTERNET STUDENTS should use this as a guide so that you know that you are keeping up with required readings, quizzes, and the two exams.

NOTE:
All references to the Bluman ("MM")  text are in BLACK (All statistics students)
Disregard References to any other text books
 

Dates (approx.)	Lesson	Lesson Topic(s)	Resources/Notes
May, 2007	Introduction-  MM Chapters  1 & 3  Smith Chapters  1 & 2	Terminology  Data types & collection Measurement levels Sampling techniques Organizing data Frequency distributions, histograms, & ogives	Lesson 1 Lesson 2
May, 2007	MM Chapter 1 Smith  Chapter 3	Measures of Central Tendency (mean, median, mode, & midrange) Measures of variation (range, variance, and standard deviation) Measures of position (percentiles, deciles, and quartiles) Techniques of exploratory data analysis, box plots	Lesson 3
May, 2007 November 08, 2000	MM Chapter 4 No Reading in the  SMITH TEXT (This text does not cover probabilty at  all). See my web site for guidance	Tree diagrams, multiplication rules for counting, permutation, & combinations Sample spaces & probability, addition rules for probability, multiplication rules & conditional probability, probability & counting techniques.	Lesson 4
June, 2007	MIDTERM EXAM	A special video tape can be made available upon student request to help with study.
June, 2007	MM Chapter 5 MM Chapter 1,  Section 1.3 SMITH  Chapter 5	Probability distributions Mean, Variance, & Expectation Binomial distributions. Properties of the normal distribution The standard normal distribution Applications Central Limit theorem Normal approximation to the Binomial distribution	Lesson 5
June, 2007	MM Chapter 6 SMITH  Chapter 6	Confidence intervals sample size for proportions confidence intervals for variances and standards deviations	Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8
June, 2007	MM Chapter 2 SMITH  Chapter 11	Scatter plots Correlation and regression Correlation of determination Standard error estimate	NO LINK READ THE TEXT
Late June, 2007	Any left over items	Any left over items - Review for Final Exam	To be Determined
July, 2007	Review/Final Exam	Review/Final Exam  (EXAM DUE TODAY!)	Review/Final Exam

Grading Philosophy and Expectations:

Course Grading -

What will be the basis for your final grade?

1. Exams: There will be two exams during the course: a midterm and a final. Although the final will not be comprehensive per se (it will focus on that material covered after the midterm), you will need to be familiar with everything you learn in this class to pass the final. Each exam will receive equal weight.
 

• INTERNET STUDENT POLICY ON TESTS: The tests will be hosted on the blackboard system at www.blackboard.com

 
• INTERNET STUDENT POLICY ON QUIZZES: The tests will be hosted on the blackboard system at http://blackboard.psc.sdsmt.edu/

 

QUIZ #1  QUIZ #2  QUIZ #3  QUIZ #4

• INTERNET STUDENT POLICY ON HOMEWORK: It will be too difficult to manage the internet student homework problem sets, so I will not assign problems. I will expect you to read the textbook and the associated web pages.

• INTERNET STUDENTS TAKE NOTICE: On a separate, but related topic, I intend to place new sample tests on this web site for your practice (these will have the answers). They are not going to be graded,  but will be available for you to see if you understand everything. THESE ARE STRICLY for you own use.  The links are below:

 

Percent:	Grade:
90 to 100	A
85 to 89	B+
80 to 84	B
75 to 79	C+
70 to 74	C
65 to 69	D+
60 to 64	D
59 and below	F

Grades will be computed from quiz and exam grades on the following scale:  

Quizzes:	33.333...%
Midterm:	33.333...%
Final:	33.333...%
TOTAL:	100%

INTERNET STUDENT POLICY ON TEST FEEDBACK: Since many of you have diverse needs and varying scedule conflicts, I have developed the following policy of feedback: I will not tell you the grades of your tests right away.  This is done in order to protect.the integrity of the exams/quizzes.  In reality, anyone could send me a quiz, get a score back, then "copy/paste" those answers into an email to a friend who is also taking the class.   This is, of course, a violation of the Academic Integrity standards for Peru State (see reference below).  As a result, I will only give you feedback if you are struggling with your tests (i.e. getting less than a "B").  I will give you feedback after all the midterms are in, so that you will have a clearer picture of your performance to that point in th class. This has been pre-coordinated with Peru State.  We are aware that this makes your learning experience more difficult, and we are working on a better way to give tests via the internet. Until then, this will have to be the way we proceed.

Academic Integrity Statement:

The Policy initiated by Peru State College concerning academicdishonesty will be followed in this class.  Please refer to the Academic Dishonesty section of your catalog on pages 68-69.

Disability Policy

Students with special needs are encouraged to make needs known to the instructor during the first week. Please refer to the Students with Disabilities Section of your catalog on pages 50-51.