0 to Statistics in One High-Velocity Semester
0 to Statistics in One High-Velocity Semester
**WARNING! WARNING!**
Do not over-schedule! This course requires more of your time than a traditional lecture-driven course. Do NOT assume that it can be ignored in your time-management plans for the semester just because it is a distance education class. Be realistic in your planning; for example, you probably cannot take 16 hours and work 2 part-time jobs just because this course constitutes 3 of the 16 hours. As we work our way through the semester, keep in mind that procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
Student Survival: Top Ten List of What to Know to Pass Introductory Statistics
COMPLETE COURSE INFORMATION Click here
Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.In the fields of observation chance favors only those minds which are prepared.If a man will begin with certainties he will end with doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.If you don't believe in random sampling, the next time you have a blood test tell the doctor to take it all.Don't give up, don't ever give up!   Statistics myths this course will disprove: Myth1: "If I had one hour left to live, I would live it in statistics class because it would seem to last forever!" Myth 2: "If it moves, it's biology; if it changes color, it'schemistry; if it breaks, it's physics; if it puts you to sleep, it's statistics. Myth 3: Math class is tough! |
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...and positively impact your future
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Summer 2013
Welcome to ST 311 Section 601/651!!
"But where shall I begin?"asked Alice. "Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely, "and go on till you come to the end; then stop."Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland So, What Is (Are) Statistics?
Q: What is Statistics?A: Statistics is a way of reasoning, along with a collection of tools and methods, to help us understand the world.
Q: What are statistics?
A: Statistics (plural) are particular calculations made from data.
Q: What are data?
A: Data (singular form is datum) are values along with their context.
"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time."
T.S. Eliot
ST 311-601/651 is NOT a math course. The central theme of the course is to help you learn to understand the world from data. Specifically, the course will enable you to:
i) incorporate statistical thinking into your everyday lives;
ii) acquire the necessary data-gathering, data-analysis, and interpretation/communication expertise to meet the challenges of a more demanding cognitive global environment.
iii) intelligently use appropriate data-gathering and data-analysis techniques in other courses and in your professional work.
Students will learn how data are produced, how they may be displayed and summarized, both numerically and graphically, and to be alert to the existence of and problems created by outliers. Students will grasp the logical and probabilistic reasoning behind statistical inference and learn to apply common statistical methods within this context. Interesting examples to convey the broad applicability of statistical methods will be provided, but the principal emphasis throughout the course will be the logic of scientific inference from experimental/observed data.
The course is elementary in mathematical level but conceptually rich in statistical ideas and serious in its aim to help you think about data and use statistical methods with understanding. It requires more intellectual effort than the elementary mathematical level suggests.
Modern statistics is computer intensive and involves a great deal of graphing and calculating. You will use computer software to automate most calculations and the creation of data-descriptive graphics. This will enable us to analyze sizeable, interesting, and realistic data sets and move quickly to an understanding of the big ideas and the beginning of good judgment in working with data that emphasizes understanding, analysis and interpretation. Calculating answers by hand will be almost nonexistent; for a very small number of homework problems a calculator will be suitable, but not necessary since you can use your favorite software if you wish.
Stats: Data and Models has short, teachable chapters and an approachable, colloquial style that makes the text very readable. The organization, notation and content of the ActivStats DVD exactly match the Stats: Data and Models text. Each lesson on the DVD consists of a rich, multimedia presentation that enables the student to interact with the examples and ideas as they are presented. The high-quality interactive nature of the DVD allows the student to tailor each lesson to suit his or her learning style. The online version of the text at our course content web site is very interactive and includes links to many types of multimedia learning aids.
Important NCSU Academic Calendar Dates Summer 2013
