Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer and convenor
David Bulger
Contact via Email
12 Wally's Walk Office 5.30
Mondays 12 – 2pm
Frank Schoenig
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides a broad introduction to statistical concepts and data analysis techniques, providing basic statistical knowledge. The unit is concerned with the development of an understanding of statistical practice and is illustrated by a study of those techniques most commonly used in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. The aim of statistical practice is to make the scientific research process efficient; for this reason statistics is used in disciplines ranging from accountancy to zoology.
Topics covered in this unit include: data collection methods; data quality; data summarisation; and statistical models like the normal distribution, followed by sampling distributions and statistical inferences about means, proportions and quantiles. Also studied are methods of analysis relating to comparisons, counted data and relationships, including regression and correlation. Statistical computer packages are used for handling and analysing data along with word processing for reporting the results. However, no prior computing knowledge is assumed. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
HURDLES: You must pass the mid-semester online exam to pass this unit. This is a hurdle requirement.
IMPORTANT: If you apply for Special Consideration for the final examination, you must make yourself available for the Supplementary Examination as organised by the Faculty of Science & Engineering. If you are not available at that time, there is no guarantee that an additional examination time will be offered. Specific examination dates and times will be determined at a later date.
LATE SUBMISSION OF WORK: All assessment tasks must be submitted by the official due date and time. No marks will be given for late work unless an extension has been granted following a successful application for Special Consideration. Please contact the unit convenor for advice as soon as you become aware that you may have difficulty meeting any of the assessment deadlines.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Online Test 1 | 10% | No | Week 4 |
Mid-semester exam | 25% | Yes | Week 7 |
Online Test 2 | 25% | No | Week 12 |
Final Examination | 40% | No | University Examination Period |
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 10%
The first Online Test will be held in Week 4. Students will complete the test online, at a time they choose, during Week 4. The test must be completed within 40 minutes, once it is begun. Each student will need access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and Minitab installed. Minitab should be used to answer the questions of the test.
The test will assess:
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 25%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Warning: this is a hurdle assessment. To pass the unit, students need to achieve 50% or more in this assessment task.
The mid-semester exam will be held in Week 7. Students will complete the exam online, at a time they choose, during Week 7. The exam must be completed within 40 minutes, once it is begun. Each student will need access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and a scientific calculator. A document containing formulae and statistical tables will be provided before the exam for students' reference; you may wish to print a copy before beginning the exam.
The exam will assess:
As the mid-semester exam is a hurdle assessment, if students fail but have made a serious first attempt, they will be given one more opportunity. A serious first attempt in a hurdle assessment is defined in STAT170 as the achievement of a mark of 30% or greater. The 30% threshold is firm and cannot be changed or relaxed.
Students will be able to re-sit the exam during the semester break. This will allow time for failing students to withdraw without academic penalty.
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 25%
The second Online Test will be held in Week 12. Students will complete the test online, at a time they choose, during Week 12. The test must be completed within 40 minutes, once it is begun. Each student will need access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and Minitab installed. Minitab should be used to answer the questions of the test.
The test will assess:
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 40%
The Final Examination will be a two-hour written exam (plus ten minutes' reading time) and will be held during the examination period. A page of formulae and relevant statistical tables will be attached to the final examination. Students will be permitted to take one A4 sheet (any colour), handwritten on both sides (using pens and/or pencils) into the final examination. This sheet must be submitted with your final exam paper at the conclusion of the exam. A statistics calculator may also be taken into the final examination. See additional information posted on iLearn for more details on preparing for the final exam.
The exam will assess:
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The University Examination timetable will be available in draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/.
Important:
If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the supplementary examination period. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. You can check the supplementary exam information page on FSE101 in iLearn (bit.ly/FSESupp) for dates, and approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.
STAT170-EXT will be delivered remotely, and no classes are scheduled.
Students will be given the opportunity to watch STAT170-INT lecture recordings on iLearn.
Please note: there are no practical and SGTA classes, but students are expected to work through the practical and SGTA notes, asking for assistance when this is needed.
Administrative Assistance
For help with STAT170-related administrative matters, students should contact the STAT170 admin officer, via stat170.admin@mq.edu.au.
Recommended textbook used in this unit:
Other recommended reading:
iLearn (which is a version of Moodle) is used for delivery of STAT170 course material and can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au.
Don McNeil Prize for Introductory Statistics is named in honour of the foundation Professor of Statistics at Macquarie University. The prize is awarded twice a year to the student with the best overall performance in a first-year statistics unit.
PART | MODULE | WEEK | LECTURE TOPIC | IN-CLASS ASSESSMENT |
Basics | 1 |
1 2 |
Introduction to statistics; Graphing data Numerical summaries |
Online Test 1 [10 marks]
Mid-semester online exam [25 marks]
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2 |
3 4 5 |
The Normal distribution Distribution of means and proportions Confidence intervals |
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6 | More on populations and samples; Review of Modules 1, 2 | |||
Hypothesis testing | 3 |
7
8 |
One-sample hypothesis test for a population mean 2 wks break Hypothesis tests for comparing population means |
Online Test 2 [25 marks]
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4 |
9 10 |
Simple linear regression (Part 1) Simple linear regression (Part 2) |
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5 |
11 12 |
Hypothesis tests for a population proportion: z-test and chi-squared goodness-of-fit Chi-squared test of independence |
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13 | Review of STAT170 |
SGTA and practical activities by week:
WEEK | LECTURE | SGTA | PRACTICAL |
1 | L1 | T1: Intro | P1: Intro |
2 | L2 | T2: on L1 | P2: on L1 |
3 | L3 | T3: on L2 | P3: on L2 |
4 | L4 | T4: on L3 | P4: on L3 + Online Test 1 |
5 | L5 | T5: on L4 | P5, on L4 |
6 | L6 | T6: on L5 | P6: on L5 |
7 | L7 | T7: on L6 | P7: Mid-Semester Online Exam |
8 | L8 | T8: on L7 | P8: on L7 |
9 | L9 | T9: on L8 | P9: on L8 |
10 | L10 | T10: on L9 | P10: on L9 |
11 | L11 | T11: on L10 | P11: on L10 |
12 | L12 | T12: on L11 | P12: on L11 + Online Test 2 |
13 | L13 | T13: on L12 | P13: on L12 |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
No substantial changes are planned for Session 1, 2019. One cosmetic change is that the classes previously called "tutorials" are now called "SGTAs" ("small-group teaching activities") throughout the Faculty of Science and Engineering.