Module Information

Module Identifier
MA00910
Module Title
Introduction to Statistics
Academic Year
2016/2017
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 2
Exclusive (Any Acad Year)
Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 22 x 1 Hour Lectures
Practical 2 x 1 Hour Practicals
Tutorial 2 x 1 Hour Tutorials
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Exam 1.5 Hours   1.5 hours written examination  80%
Semester Assessment Continuous assessment  20%
Supplementary Exam 2 Hours   Two hour written examination  100%

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. summarise and present a data set;
2. calculate various summary measures for grouped and ungrouped data;
3. construct and interpret statistical diagrams;
4. fit a straight line to suitable data;
5. calculate and interpret correlations;
6. describe and illustrate basic probability concepts;
7. use statistical tables;
8. carry out and interpret the results of basic statistical tests;
9. use and interpret the output from statistical software.

Brief description

This module introduces statistical methods and their application, together with the use of statistical computer software. The software package MINITAB is used in practical classes.

Aims

To introduce students to statistical methods and to appreciate their importance.

Content

1. STATISTICAL DIAGRAMS. Pie charts; simple multiple and stacked barcharts; histograms; cumulative polygons; stem and leaf diagrams.
2. SUMMARY MEASURES. Minimum, maximum, median, quartiles, percentiles; five number summaries and box-and-whisker plots; mean and mode; variance and standard deviation; calculations from grouped data.
3. SCATTERPOLTS, REGRESSION AND CORRELATION. Scatterplots; the idea of a line of best fit; importance of the mean point; least squares regression; the existence of two regression lines for bivariate data; correlation and its measurement; the (product moment) correlation coefficient; Spearman’s rank correlation.
4. PROBABILITY. Definition and properties; unions and intersections; mutually exclusive events; the addition law; independent events; the multiplication law; equally likely outcomes; conditional probability; Bayes’s theorem; the Central Limit theorem; the Normal distribution.
5. STATISTICAL INFERENCE. Basic ideas; informal inference based on two standard deviations; formal p-values; goodness of fit; the idea of a confidence interval.
6. TIME SERIES DATA. Plotting time series; the idea of a moving average; smoothing.
The computer package MINITAB: introduction, producing and interpreting diagrams and tables, producing and interpreting summary measures; regression and correlation; output from formal procedures such as z-,t-,chi-squared- and F-tests.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number Required throughout the course.
Communication Written answers to exercises must be clear and well structured.
Improving own Learning and Performance Students are expected to develop their own approach to time-management regarding the completion of assignments on time and preparation between lectures.
Information Technology Use of Blackboard and Minitab.
Personal Development and Career planning Completion of task (assignments) to set deadlines will aid personal development.
Problem solving The assignments will give the students opportunities to show creativity in finding solutions and develop their problem solving skills.
Research skills N/A
Subject Specific Skills Broadens exposure of students to topics in mathematics.
Team work Students will be encouraged to work together on questions during tutorials and computer practicals.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 3