This course has been designed to teach statistical reasoning. The required textbook is Gary Smith, Introduction to Statistical Reasoning (available through Amazon and other online sellers), plus the supplemental chapters on Probability and Multiple Regression that will be distributed in class.

User-friendly computational software (Mac or Windows) is available from my statistics web site. Alternatively, you can use a commercial statistical package, such as STATA, or a spreadsheet program, like Excel. Also try my StatQuiz and StatGames software at my statistics web site. The course web site also has a large collection of old tests (and answers). Please e-mail me with any and all questions, but assignments cannot be submitted electronically, for example, as e-mail attachments.

The class schedule is below. Please read each assigned chapter before class and please come to every class. Class discussions will assume that you have read the assigned chapter beforehand. If you miss more than one class, your numerical score for the course will be reduced by 1% for each additional class you miss.

This course must be taken for a letter grade. Course grades will be based on the following:

20% term paper Original research term paper, 10-15 pages in length. On Monday, April 9, hand in a 1-2 page description of your project, including your research hypothesis, the variables you will use, the sources for your data, and the statistical tests you will use. The first draft is due at the beginning of class on Monday, April 23; the final draft is due at the beginning of class on Monday, April 30. Half your grade on this paper will be based on the first draft; half will be based on the final draft. For each draft, your grade will be reduced by one letter grade for every day (or fraction of a day) the paper is late; for example, if your first draft is handed in 2 days late and receives a B grade, the grade will be reduced to a D. I will select some papers for presentation in class on Wednesday, May 2. Here are some possible topics; other possibilities are at the end of each chapter of the textbook and at my statistics web site.

20% textbook exercises Five assigned exercises from each textbook chapter; you may discuss the general material with other students and with me, but the specific work must be your own. Your answers must be completely legible—written cleanly and clearly—and are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will not be accepted. Answers will be posted on this web site after class on the day the assignment is due.

20% midterm The midterm examination, covering Chapters 1 through 5, plus the supplementary probability material, will be in class on Monday, March 5. This will be a closed-book test emphasizing concepts, understanding, and applications.

40% final exam The final examination will cover all of the course material and will be similar to the midterm in structure, but 2 1/2 hours long, on Monday, May 7, from 9:00 - 11:30 in the mornng.

If you want extra time on a test, you can buy time at a price of 1 point a minute; for example, if a test is handed in 10 minutes after the scheduled finish time, 10 points will be subtracted from the test score.