Overview of Statistics 101-103, Introduction to Statistics

The textbook for the course is Introduction to the Practice of Statistics by David S. Moore and George P. McCabe, with The Minitab Guide to Accompany Introduction to the Practice of Statistics by Betsy Greenberg and Mark Serva. They are available together with the "student version" of Minitab from Barnes and Noble (now) and at the Yale Co-op (hopefully later this week) -- the Yale Co-op currently has used copies of the textbook at a discount. Minitab is also available at the Statlab (Social Science Statistical Laboratory), located at 140 Prospect St. The course covers most of the material in the first nine chapters of Moore and McCabe, supplemented from time to time by additional material in each of the three classes.

The three classes Statistics 101, 102, and 103 (with crosslistings as shown in the "blue book" course descriptions) meet together for Tuesday afternoon lectures, 1:00 - 2:15 PM. These lectures cover general topics and methods of statistics. Thursdays the three classes meet separately for lectures and discussion to develop concepts through examples and applications.

The first meeting of the course (Thursday, September 4th) and all Tuesday lectures will be held in Dunham 220. Section lectures will be held in the following locations:

Life Sciences (101a): Bass 305
Social Sciences: Political Science(102a -1): Becton C031
Social Sciences: Political Psychology (102a - 2): 140 Prospect St, Room 102a
Social Sciences: Data Analysis (102a - 3): 140 Prospect St, Statlab
Environmental Sciences (103a): Luce 202

The graduate Social Sciences section (513) will meet Thursdays 10:30 - 11:45 AM in the Seminar Room at 70 Sachem St.

Weekly homework will be assigned on Thursdays. Homework assignments consist of problems taken from the end of each chapter in Moore and McCabe, together with a few problems relevant to each class chosen by the respective faculty. Each week some of the problems are most easily completed by hand (with the help of a calculator) and some are designed to be done in Minitab. You will find similar computer exercises in the Minitab Guide. Homework assignments will count towards approximately 25% of the final grade awarded.

Teaching assistants and some faculty will be available in the Statlab on Mondays 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (primarily for students in Mr. Gilens' sections), Mondays 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (primarily for students in Mr. Hartigan and Mr. Green's sections), Mondays 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM (primarily for students in Mr. Kim's section), Mondays 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (general session for all students), and Wednesdays 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (primarily for students in Mr. Carling's section) to answer questions and help with weekly assignments. Additional office hours will be arranged at the discretion of the faculty.

There will be an in-class midterm exam on Thursday, October 30th, which will count towards approximately 30% of the final grade. A comprehensive final exam will be given on December 18th at 9:00 AM, and will count towards approximately 45% of the final grade.

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