STAT 554: Applied Statistics

Instructor: Clifton D. Sutton

Texts:

• Beyond ANOVA: Basics of Applied Statistics, Reissue edition, by R. G. Miller, Jr. (Chapman & Hall, 1996)
• Statistical Concepts and Methods, by G. K. Bhattacharyya and R. A. Johnson (Wiley, 1977)
• Fundamentals of Modern Statistical Methods: Substantially Improving Power and Accuracy by R. R. Wilcox (Springer, 2001)
• Biostatistical Analysis, 4th ed., by J. H. Zar (Prentice Hall, 1999)

Prerequisite: STAT 344 or MATH 351

Description:

(Approximate) Class-by-Class Content:

[1] Jan. 28:

introduction to estimation and hypothesis testing, making inferences with a sample proportion

[2] Feb. 4:

estimation and testing of the mean in a one sample problem, using Minitab.

[3] Feb. 11:

theoretical considerations for inferential statistics, power of tests

[4] Feb. 18:

a closer look at making inferences about a proportion problem, the runs test, simple random samples, a closer look at the t test

[5] Feb. 25:

diagnostic tools, paired comparisons, nonparametric procedures for the mean and median

[6] Mar. 3:

more on nonparametric procedures, robust estimation, estimation of quantiles

[**] Mar. 10:

(No class due to Spring Break)

[7] Mar. 17:

more on estimation of quantiles and means, robust methods for testing hypotheses, transformations

[8] Mar. 24:

inferences based on two samples, nonparametric methods for the general two-sample problem

[9] Mar. 31:

more nonparametric methods, the Behrens-Fisher problem

[10] Apr. 7:

one-way analysis of variance and other techniques for dealing with testing the equality of three or more distributions, simultaneous confidence intervals

[11] Apr. 14:

nonparametric methods for the k-sample problem, the random effects model

[12] Apr. 21:

two-way ANOVA, Friedman's rank test, randomized block design & additional designs

[13] Apr. 28:

goodness-of-fit tests, categorical data analysis, contingency tables

[14] May 5:

bivariate data, correlation and measures of association, simple linear regression, possibly a very brief discussion of polynomial regression, multiple regression, nonlinear regression, robust regression, & nonparametric regression

[**] May 12:

Final Exam (note: exam period is from 7:30 to 10:15 PM)

Grading:

• 50% for homework assignments
• 50% for final exam (open book and notes)

Additional Comments:

• it is necessary that each student buy a set of lecture notes from the bookstore (but I'll supply you with notes to cover the first two weeks of the semester); these notes are considered to be required in that I will feel free to refer to them often and so I expect that you will want to have them with you during each class meeting (the notes may not be available in the bookstore until the second week of classes (but again, I will give you notes in class to cover the first two lectures))
• be sure to note that a class meeting is not scheduled for March 10 due to Spring Break --- however, if any class meetings prior to Spring Break are canceled due to bad weather (or for any other reason), the missed class may be made up on March 10
• I can possibly make arrangements to meet with you outside of my scheduled hours, but I tend to have little time for meetings on Fridays due to two seminars; on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I like to end meetings by 6:30 PM (although sometimes on Wednesdays and Thursdays I might be willing to meet until 7 PM), and on Mondays I do not like to be bothered (right before class) from 7:00 to 7:17
• you may want to get yourself an account on the mason/osf1 cluster (I'll show you how to do the necessary computer work using Minitab on the mason/osf1 cluster but you can do the computer work any way you want to as long as the results are acceptably accurate; the latest version of Student Minitab for Windows is pretty powerful and in the past many students have been quite happy using it --- go here for additional information about the computing for STAT 554, Minitab, and the mason/osf1 cluster)
• none of the material marked as recommended in the bookstore is required; it is there for your convenience if you choose to buy any of it (optional would be a more accurate term to use than recommended, but the bookstore uses the term recommended for items that are not required)
• (very important) put STAT 554 in the subject line when you send me e-mail (due to spam, I delete some messages without reading them based on the subject line)
• please do not leave long messages on my voice-mail, and since I often do not get around to returning calls until the evening, you should state what time you plan to go to sleep (and always leave both your day and evening phone numbers, speaking slowly, even though you may have given them to me previously); I much prefer to communicate in person or via e-mail than over the phone (phone tag gets frustrating, and I've experienced problems with the reliability of the GMU voice-mail system --- but I will try to return your calls if you're unable to communicate via e-mail when you're off campus)
• please abide by the university policy that cell phone ringers be turned off while class is in session
• please do not make a lot of noise eating during class --- if you feel that you must eat during class, please choose a soft candy bar rather than a bag of potato chips (since both the chips and the bag they come in tend to make too much noise when eaten and handled)
• you are expected to familiarize yourself with the George Mason University honor code and abide by it; although it is perfectly okay to seek limited assistance from others on most of the homework problems, it will be considered to be a violation of the honor code if you give or receive unauthorized aid on certain specified homework problems or the final (for ordinary homework, being allowed to get limited assistance means that you can discuss the problems with other students --- but you should not copy answers from anyone else, you should not turn in computer output that you did not generate, and you should be prepared to explain your answers to me should you be asked to do so)
• you are expected to take the final exam during the designated time slot; Incompletes will not be granted except under very unusual circumstances (and it may also be difficult to convince me to give you the final exam early)
• any class meetings canceled by the university due to snow, sleet, power outage, bombing, etc. will be made up if possible (perhaps during Spring Break); with regard to bad weather, I plan to teach class if the university is open and not teach it if the university is closed, so instead of calling me if it snows, simply check to determine if the university is open or closed
• caveat: the schedule and procedures described here for this course are subject to change (it is the responsibility of students to attend all class meetings, and to check this web site regularly, in order to keep themselves informed of any changes)