The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the tools necessary for basic data analysis. The course will emphasize how to obtain information and draw inferences from data to answer research questions in the social sciences. The course will cover such topics as good data collection methods including an introduction to experimental design, basic probability and probability distributions with emphasis on the normal and t-distributions, hypothesis testing and confidence intervals for one and two sample problems, simple linear regression, and chi-square tests for independence and homogeneity. Time permitting, introductions to multiple linear regression and bayesian inference will also be presented.
The required course textbook is Statistics by Freedman, Pisani, and Purves. This book can be obtained in the bookstore or via the internet. Course lectures, while based out of Statistics, will not be given in the order presented in the book but rather in a manner suitable to the instructor. Lecture notes for material not covered in the book will be available under the lecture schedule page on the course web site.
This course has an assigned lab time of Tuesday through Thursday from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Due to the intense nature of summer courses, lab assignments will only be given once a week and are due in lab on Thursday by 3:00 of that week. The instructor reserves the right to make lab attendance required at any time during the semester.
Grading will be based on student performance in five areas: (1) quizzes given regularly in class, (2) lab assignments, (3) homework problems designated by the instructor, (4) two midterm exams, and (5) a final examination. The grading weights for each area are:
Homework will be due in class on Tuesday and/or Friday each week. HOMEWORKS TURNED IN AFTER CLASS ON THE DUE DATE WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT. If a student will miss class the day a homework assignment is due, that student is expected to turn the homework in early. Due to extrenuating circumstances that arise, the lowest homework grade will be dropped from the students final grade. Homework assignments are to be completed individually but students are encouraged to work in groups. Homework solutions will be posted the day after the homework is due. Homework assignments will available on the course website under the homework tab.
Two midterm exams will be given in class throughout the semester. For students who will be absent during a scheduled exam time, accommodations can be made but that student MUST discuss with the professor IN ADVANCE of the exam time. All exams will be comprehensive.
The final exam will be given during the university scheduled exam time
which is: Wednesday June 25 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Students must be present for the final exam and no accommodations will be made for students not present during the final exam time.
Quizzes will be given daily in class. Quizzes are open note, open book, and open neighbor but NOT open instructor.
Students are expected to honor the Duke University honor code in completing all homework assignments, labs, and exams. Any crude or inappropriate language or actions that are suggestive of racism, sexism, or sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
Eating is permitted to an extent in the classroom. Students are simply asked to be respectful of other students in their choice of food eaten during class. PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELL PHONES BEFORE CLASS BEGINS.