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SYLLABUS FOR MATH 214 - MULTIVARIABLE STATISTICS

SPRING 2005 SEMESTER AT LYCOMING COLLEGE

IMPORTANT: A grade of C or better in Math 123 (Introduction to Statistics) or its equivalent is a prerequisite for this course; without this, your name will be removed from the roster!!!

Instructor

Name: Dr. Gene D. Sprechini

Office: Academic Center D311

Phone Number: (570) 321-4288

Office Hours: Go here to make an appointment to see me, or email me at sprgene@lycoming.edu.

Grading

The final grade depends on attendance, four semester exams, a project, and a final exam.

The final course grade percentage will be reduced by 4% for each unexcused absence beyond the 3rd unexcused absence.  An absence is considered to be excused only when (1) the student emails to the instructor an explanation (or submits a written explanation) of why class was missed, no later than two days after the absence, and (2) the instructor approves the explanation.  When absent from class for any reason, it is the student's responsibility to find out all that was missed and stay current with the coursework by consulting with a tutor or classmate; students can find out what was done in any class from the course schedule, which is available by clicking on the appropriate link below.

Each of the four semester exams is worth 200 points, but only 150 of these 200 points are from the exam administered in class; the remaining 50 points are from assignments leading up to the exam.  It is possible for a student to miss a few of the assignments leading up to an exam and still earn the maximum 50 points toward an exam; however, students are encouraged to complete all the assignments in order to be fully prepared for each exam.  Assignments are collected by the instructor in class on the due date.  Any student who does not submit an assignment when collected by the instructor (no matter what the reason) can still get credit for the assignment by having it checked by a tutor before the next class.  If a student does not submit an assignment when collected or does not get the assignment checked by a tutor before the next class, then it will NOT be possible to get credit for the assignment.  It is possible to miss a few assignments and still earn the entire 50 points; however, any student who misses submitting more than 15 assignments will automatically fail the course.  Students who do not receive credit a particular assignment (for whatever reason) should still make certain they stay current by submitting the next assignment and going over the missed assignment with a tutor or classmate.  For all missed in-class exams, a grade of zero is recorded, unless (1) arrangements to make up the exam are made within 24 hours of the originally scheduled time and (2) the instructor is presented with documented evidence of a medical reason for not completing the exam at the scheduled time.

The project is worth 200 points.  This project involves the formulation of a research question and the collection and analysis of relevant data. An exact description of the project is available by clicking on the appropriate link below.

The final exam is worth 400 points, but only 350 of these 400 points are from the exam administered during Final Exam Week; just as with each of the four semester exams, the remaining 50 points are from assignments (both in and out of class) leading up to the final exam.

The final course grade percentage is the percentage of points earned from the total possible points, and letter grades corresponding to the final course grade percentage are assigned according to the following:

A = above 93.33

A– = 90 to 93.33

B+ = 86.67 to 90

B = 83.33 to 86.67

B– = 80 to 83.33

C+ = 76.67 to 80

C = 73.33 to 76.67

C– = 70 to 73.33

D+ = 66.67 to 70

D = 63.33 to 66.67

D– = 60 to 63.33

F = below 60

However, any student who misses more than ten In-Class and Out-of-Class Assignments will automatically receive a course grade of F; also, the final course grade percentage will be reduced by 4% for each unexcused absence beyond the 3rd unexcused absence. An absence is considered to be excused only when (1) the student submits within one class day of the absence a written explanation of why class was missed and (2) the instructor approves the explanation.

Materials

Each student will need:

  • a copy of Multivariable Statistics by Dr. Gene Sprechini,
  • a notebook or folder containing all assignments completed both in and out of class
  • a calculator for assignments, both in and out of class, and for exams (A TI-83 or TI-83plus calculator is strongly recommended but not required.)
  • an account on the college network with access to the SPSS statistical package available on the network.

Topics

Chapter 1: Review of some Descriptive Statistics and Introduction to SPSS statistical software.

Chapter 2: Some Inferential Statistics with One and Two Sample Data

Chapter 3: Simple Linear Regression and Correlation

Chapter 4: Polynomial Regression

Chapter 5: Multiple Regression and Correlation

Chapter 6: One-Way Analysis of Variance

Chapter 7: Two-Way Analysis of Variance

Chapter 8: Analysis of Covariance

Chapter 9: Logistic Regression

Chapter 10: Choosing an Appropriate Statistical Analysis

Standards and Policies

Each student should bring to each class the notebook or folder containing all assignments completed, a calculator, and the textbook. Very often in class, the instructor will refer to previously completed assignments and various portions of the textbook and will demonstrate calculations involving the use of a calculator (in particular, a TI-83 or TI-83plus calculator).

Each section in the textbook includes homework exercises. You will be required to submit many of the even numbered exercises. Rarely, if ever will you be required to submit any of the odd numbered exercises. The odd numbered exercises are for you to do on your own while you are studying and preparing for exams; the answers to odd numbered exercises are available here. If you encounter a problem while working on homework, do not spend more than 20 or 30 minutes trying to solve the problem. If you cannot solve a problem in 20 or 30 minutes, even with the help of a tutor or lab monitor, work on something else and show the problem to one of the instructors of the course as soon as possible.

All work submitted must be of professional quality. All paper must be neat, without ragged edges, rips, tears, smudges, stains, etc. All answers must be clear, complete, and concise; handwriting must be legible. If the instructor can't read it, it's wrong. Assignments will be down-graded if these standards are not met.

It can be very helpful for some students to work together on daily assignments and to study together; this is encouraged when it does not result in one student simply copying another's work with no understanding. Acts of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of F for the course, and a letter to the Dean describing the circumstances. If you are having problems in the course, talk to the instructor, don't involve yourself in academic dishonesty. With each assignment submitted, students are expected to include a short paragraph indicated from whom help was received and to whom help was given (but this does not affect the grade for the assignment).

The major goal of this course is to provide the student with an understanding how some advanced descriptive and inferential statistical techniques are applied and interpreted in a variety of fields, such as business, psychology, sociology, science, etc. This course counts toward mathematics distribution requirement.

The following is from the FACULTY HANDBOOK in the section titled Student Course Load:

"It is expected that students will spend, in preparation for courses, two hours of study time outside the classroom for every hour of credit in the classroom."

This means that you should spend, on the average, 8 hours per week outside of class working on a four credit course. While this varies from student to student and from course to course, you should expect that this class will require at least 8 hours per week. Be prepared to spend 8 hours or more per week on this course! Your time will be spent reading the text, reviewing class notes, doing exercises, and using the SPSS software on the network.

Many of the exercises assigned both in and out of class will refer back to work done in one or more previous exercises; for this reason, it is important that your notebook or folder containing all assignments completed be kept up to date. The schedule of reading assignments and exam dates is shown in the table below; the written assignments due each day will be given in class and updated regularly in the table.

(Note: Whenever a lab corresponds to a text exercise, the due date to submit the output from the lab is at least a day or two before the due date to submit the text exercise. This allows you to make certain that your output is correct before using it with the text exercise.)

Due

Dates

Daily

Assignments

Reading

Assignments

01/12 W

#01 text 1-1, 1-4, 1-6, 1-8, 1-18,1-23, 1-24, 1-31

#02 lab 1-A

Chapter 1

01/17 M

#03 text 1-10, 1-17, 1-25, 1-30, 1-35, 1-36

#04 output from labs 1-11, 1-14

 

01/19 W

#05 text 1-26, 1-27

#06 labs 1-B, 1-C

 

01/24 M

#07 text 1-11(w/lab), 1-14(w/lab), 2-2a, 2-14, 2-18

#08 lab 1-D

#09 output from labs 2-12, 2-24

Chapter 2

01/26 W

#10 text 2-4b, 2-6, 2-8, 2-10, 2-16abcd, 2-22

#11 output from labs 2-20, 2-30, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C

 

01/31 M

#12 text 2-12(w/lab), 2-24(w/lab), 2-26, 2-28, 2-32

#13 output from labs 2-D, 2-E, 2-F

 

02/02 W

#14 text 2-2b, 2-20(w/lab), 2-30(w/lab), 2-34

#15 output from labs 2-G, 2-H, 2-I

Chapter 3

02/07 M

Exam #1 - Practice Text Exercises: 1-3, 1-5, 1-7, 1-9, 1-13, 1-27, 1-33, 2-1, 2-3, 2-5, 2-13, 2-19, 2-25, 2-30, 2-33 (Answers have been distributed in class)

02/09 W

#16 labs 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 2-D

#17 output from lab 3-A

 

02/14 M

#18 labs 2-E, 2-F, 2-G, 2-H, 2-I

#19 output from lab 3-5, 3-6, 3-9

 

02/16 W

#20 text 1-20, 3-2afhi, 3-8, lab 3-A

#21 output from lab 3-10, 3-11

 

02/21 M

#22 text 1-22, 3-2b, 3-4abcdefg, 3-6(w/lab)

#23 output from lab 4-4

 

02/23 W

#24 3-2cdegj, 3-4hijklmn, 3-10(w/lab)

#25 output from lab 4-1(part 1)

Chapter 4

03/07 M

#26 text 4-4(w/lab)

#27 output from labs 4-5, 4-6

 

03/09 W

Exam #2

03/14 M

#28 text 4-2

#29 output from labs 4-1(part 2), 5-1

(Start thinking about a research question for the Project.)

Chapter 5

03/16 W

#30 text 4-6(w/lab)

#31 output from labs 5-st1&2, 5-2, 5-4

 

03/21 M

#32 text 5-1abc(w/lab)

#33 output from labs 5-3, 6-2

Submission #1 of Project

 

03/23 W

#34 text 5-2(w/lab), 5-4(w/lab)

#35 output from labs 6-6, 6-10

#36 text 6-1

#37 output from labs 6-5, 6-7

Chapter 6

03/28 M

Exam #3

03/30 W

#38 text 6-2(w/lab), 6-4, 6-8

#39 output from labs 6-A, 6-11

Submission #2 of Project

 

04/04 M

#40 text 6-6(w/lab), 6-7c(w/lab), 6-10(w/lab)

#41 output from lab 7-6

Chapter 7

04/06 W

#42 text 7-1, 7-2, 7-4, lab 6-A

#43 output from labs 7-7, 8-3

Submission #3 of Project

 

04/11 M

#44 text 7-6(w/lab), 7-8

#45 output from lab 8-4

Chapter 8

04/13 W

Exam #4

04/18 M

#46 text 8-1, 8-3(w/lab), 8-4(w/lab)

#47 output from labs 8-5, 8-6, 9-1

 

04/20 W

#48 text 8-2, 8-6(w/lab), 9-2(w/lab)

#49 output from labs 9-2, 9-3

Final Draft of Project

Chapter 9

04/25 to 04/29

Exam #5 & Final Exam in the Final Exam Period