1. Stat 217 - Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Methods
Introductions

2. Syllabus Notes
Please bring text (or relevant pages) and calculator to every class
HW assignments generally due on Tuesdays
Will also be collecting in-class work (credit for participating, providing feedback)
Tuesdays and Thursdays will meet in computer lab
Expected to bring USB drive to complete work outside of class (Thursdays)
Blackboard
Lecture Notes page

3. Calendars
Last page of syllabus
Calendar/Lecture Notes page

4. Syllabus Notes, cont. Graded work Getting help In Class Activities
Weekly homeworks (individual write-ups)
One free drop
Weekly lab assignments (with partner)
Pre-lab assignments
Start in lab and finish outside of class
Two exams, cumulative final (mon or wed)
Getting help
Office hours
(me, course listserv)
Discussion Boards in Blackboard
Stat Club free tutoring

5. Office Hours

6. Why should I take Stat 217?

7. What is Stat 217 all about?
Roper Poll: Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the … never happened
22% said “it seemed possible” that it never happened
Gallup Poll:
… did the Holocaust: definitely happen, probably happen, probably not happen, or definitely not happen?
“One in five people in the United States is open to the idea that the Holocaust is a myth.” – USA Today
83% said the Holocaust definitely happened
13% said it probably happened
“Figure one out of five Americans could be willfully stupid” –San Francisco Examiner

8. What should I take Stat 217? a Washington Post-ABC News poll indicates
a Washington Post-ABC News survey

9. Why should I take Stat 217?
Parade Magazine, 9/20/2009

10. What is this course about and why do I have to take it?
“Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is the only leading cold cereal clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that eating two 1½ cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol1 link
1Johnston L, et al. cholesterol-lowering benefits of a whole grain oat ready-to-eat cereal. Nutr Clin Care, 1998; 1-6, 12.

11. Why should I take Stat 217?
Parade Magazine, 1/3/2010

12. What will you learn in this class?
Determine reasonable ways to collect data
Make sense of numbers
Evaluate claims
Make comparisons
Draw conclusions
Support arguments
Monitor trends

13. What you will be asked to do
Interpret, explain, justify, communicate
Use algebra and computer as tools
Practice developing and using tools
Try things on your own
Work together
Ask questions

14. What you will not be asked to do
Memorize formulas
Manipulate equations without understanding where they came from, what they mean, or why they are used
Repeat back what I say to you
Model: learning a foreign language

15. Advice Actively participate Work together Ask questions
Review along the way
Start assignments early
Take the course seriously
Have fun!
Think!

16. P. 3, Preliminary 2
Telephone companies constantly collect data on cell phone calls in an effort to detect anomalies that might indicate fraud. What information should you record about each cell phone call, in order to develop a profile for the cell phone owner so that you could then monitor calls for anomalies?

17. Definitions (p. 4, 5) Data = numbers in a context
Variable = any characteristic of a person or thing that can be assigned a number of category
Observational unit = the person or thing being measured
Variability = variables take on different values from observational unit to observational unit

18. Activity 1-3 (p. 6)
For each cell phone call, the researchers recorded information on its direction (incoming or outgoing), location (local or roaming), duration, time of day, day of week, and whether the call took place on a weekend or weekday.
(a) Observational units
(b) Categorical variables, binary
(c) Quantitative variables

19. Continuation What percentage of the class has used their phone today?
Obs units?
Variable?
Any measurement issues?
Other variables?
Research questions
What conclusions would you like to draw?
What are some comparisons you would like to make between groups of students in this class?

20. Activity 1-2 (p. 6) Obs units = 50 states Gender of state’s governor
Number of states that have a female governor
Percentage of the state’s residents older than 65
Highest speed limit in the state
Whether or not the state’s name contains one word
Average income of the adult residents of the state
How many states were settled before 1865

21. Coming up this week Topics 1, 3 Lots of terminology
Review 1-1, 1-4, 1-6 (solutions under “Toolkit”)
Begin class with review/questions
Lots of terminology
Very critical for rest of term
Practice, practice, practice
Issues in collecting data and drawing conclusions from a study
What population can I generalize the results to?
Would it be reasonable to say a change in one variable is causing a change in the other variable?
HW 1

22. Introductions