Unit convenor and teaching staff | Unit convenor and teaching staff |
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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:
Students are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, i.e. the final day of the official examination period.
The only excuse for not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these special circumstances you may apply for Disruption to Studies via ask.mq.edu.au. A supplementary examination will only be granted if the student has been found to have had a significant disruption to studies. If a supplementary examination is granted as a result of the disruption to studies process, the examination will be scheduled approximately two weeks after the conclusion of the official examination period.
Note that there is a University policy regarding requests for special consideration for examinations and the granting of supplementary examinations, which can be found at: http://students.mq.edu.au/student_admin/exams/disruption_to_studies/.
Students can submit disruption to studies request(s) through the following link: https://ask.mq.edu.au/
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Assignment 1 | 10% | No | Sunday midnight Week 3 |
Mid-semester exam | 20% | No | Week 7 |
Assignment 2 | 20% | No | Friday Week 12 by 5pm |
Final Examination | 50% | No | University Examination Period |
Due: Sunday midnight Week 3
Weighting: 10%
The assignment provides students with an opportunity to develop and to apply sound statistical practice.
The assignment will assess:
The assignment will be made available on iLearn one week prior to the due date. Submission is to be made through the iLearn turnitin link before the due date and time. More details will be made available in the assignment paper.
In the case of the late submission of an assignment, if no special consideration has been granted, 10% of the earned mark will be deducted for each day that the assignment is late, up to a maximum of 50%. After 5 days, including weekends and public holidays, a mark of 0% will be awarded for the assignment. NOTE: It is not the intention of this late penalty policy to cause a student to fail the unit when they have submitted their assignment no more than 5 days after the due date and they would have otherwise passed. In this case, if deductions for late assignments result in the final unit mark for a student being less than 50, when otherwise it would have been 50 or greater, the student's final mark will be exactly 50.
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 20%
The mid-semester exam is a take-home exam and will be made available on iLearn in week 7. The start time will be from Thursday 12 April at 5pm (week 7) to Wednesday 18 April at 11pm (semester break). From the moment students start the exam, they will have 45 minutes to:
It is the student's responsibility to find a appropriate location with a reliable internet connection where they can complete the exam. It is advisable to plan in advance.
The exam will assess:
The requirements will be similar to those of the final exam:
As the exam is not supervised, the requirements cannot be enforced by the teaching staff. It is advisable though that students choose to comply with them as this is a general test that will give students clear indications on the opportunity to withdraw without academic penalty (the last date to withdraw without academic penalty is 28 April).
Due: Friday Week 12 by 5pm
Weighting: 20%
The assignment provides students with an opportunity to develop and to apply sound statistical practice.
The assignment will assess:
The assignment will be made available on iLearn one week prior to the due date. Submission is to be made through the iLearn turnitin link before the due date and time. More details will be made available in the assignment paper.
In the case of the late submission of an assignment, if no special consideration has been granted, 10% of the earned mark will be deducted for each day that the assignment is late, up to a maximum of 50%. After 5 days, including weekends and public holidays, a mark of 0% will be awarded for the assignment. NOTE: It is not the intention of this late penalty policy to cause a student to fail the unit when they have submitted their assignment no more than 5 days after the due date and they would have otherwise passed. In this case, if deductions for late assignments result in the final unit mark for a student being less than 50, when otherwise it would have been 50 or greater, the student's final mark will be exactly 50.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 50%
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 interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session. 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 tutorial classes, but students are expected to work trough the practical and tutorial notes, asking for assistance when this is needed.
Administrative Assistance
For help with STAT170 related administrative matters, students should contact the STAT170 admin officer at 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 |
Assignment 1 [10 marks]
Mid-semester exam [20 marks]
|
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 | |||
Tests | 3 |
7
8 |
One sample hypothesis test for a population mean 2 wks break Hypothesis tests for comparing population means |
Assignment 2 [20 marks]
|
4 |
9 10 |
Simple linear regression (Part 1) Simple linear regression (Part 2) |
||
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 |
Tutorial and practical activities by week:
WEEK | LECTURE | TUTORIAL | PRACTICAL |
1 | L1 | T1: Intro | P1: Intro |
2 | L2 | T2: on L1 | P2: on L1 |
3 | L3 | T3: on L2 | P3: on L2 + Assignment 1 |
4 | L4 | T4: on L3 | P4: on L3 |
5 | L5 | T5: on L4 | P5, on L4 |
6 | L6 | T6: on L5 | P6: on L5 |
7 | L7 | T7: on L6 | P7: None (Mid-Semester 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 + Assignment 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 shown in iLearn, 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.
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
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:
None in 2018.
In 2017: