Instructor: Dr. Scott Richter
Hours: TTh - 8:30-9:30; 2:00-3:30; or by appointment. MWF - By appointment. *Feel free to drop in any time the door is open. |
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About the course
STA 552 is the second
course of a two-semester sequence covering concepts of probability and
mathematical statistics. Topics include sampling distributions, central
limit theorem, discrete approximations, properties of estimators, confidence
intervals for means, proportions and variances, sample size for estimation,
significance tests for means and proportions, power and sample size for
testing, simple linear regression, analysis of contingency tables. After
completing the course, students will understand the theory and practice
of point and interval estimation, significance testing, and simple linear
regression.
Prerequisite: A grade of at least "C" in STA 551. Students should be be familiar with multivariate differentiation and integration. For graduate students, a previous mathematics course involving proofs is helpful.
We will use the text: Probability and Statistical Inference, 6th edition by Hogg & Tanis, and will cover material in Chapters 6 through 9. We will also use excerpts from the text Mathematical Statistics with Applications, 5th edition, by Wackerly/Mendenhall/Schaeffer. (ISBN: 0534209165). This edition can generally be purchased online for less than $20. Alternatively, I can make copies of the relevent sections available to any student who do not wish to purchase the text.
Assignments and class participation
Exercises from the text and supplementary materials will be assigned
regularly. These are designed to provide practice and to help synthesize
readings, class discussions, and lectures. The exercises will not be collected,
but periodically students will be asked to present
solutions to selected exercises. The class participation grade will be
based on, 1) the quality of the presented solutions; and 2) presenting
the required number of solutions throughout the semester. "Additional"
exercises, which are those assigned only to STA 552 students, are to be
submitted to be graded. Graduate students will have further additional
exercises that will also be collected and graded.
Tests
Tests will be administered periodically throughout the term. All tests
will be cumulative in the sense that students will be expected to apply
previous concepts in answering questions about more recent material. Most
of the test questions will be completed during the class time designated
for the test, but some will be submitted at the beginning of the next class
meeting. The tentative test dates are:
| Test 1 | February 19 |
| Test 2 | April 8 |
| Test 3 | May 6 (8:00) |
Projects
Finally, several projects
will be assigned, collected and graded. These will consist of more in-depth
exercises, applied problems, and computer assignments.
Determination of
course grade
| Test 1: 15% of course
grade
Test 2: 15% of course grade Test 3: 20% of course grade (STA 551: Each test is weighted 70% in-class, 30% take-home) Mean of all Projects: 30% of course grade (each weighted equally) Assignments: 10% of course grade Class participation: 10% of course grade |
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Graduate students will be expected to demonstrate a deeper understanding
of concepts and methods, and will be required to complete additional exercises
on projects and tests.
Academic Integrity
Students are encouraged
to discuss solutions to assignments, but each student is expected to write-up
his or her solutions independently. Copying other people's work is plagiarism
and is an Honor Code violation. You are responsible for
knowing and abiding
by the UNCG Honor
Code.
Disabilities
If you have a documented
disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact
me as soon as possible.