STA442: Methods of Applied Statistics, Winter 2004
University of Toronto at Mississauga
http://www.utm.toronto.edu/~jbrunner/442s04
Lecture: Monday and Wednesday, 10:10 - 11:00 am, Room 139, North Building
Tutorials: Room 3093 in the South Building is reserved for tutorials on Fridays, from 10:10 to 11:00 am. This time will be used for giving term tests on January 30, Feb. 27 and March 26. Otherwise, the time is reserved for supplemental lectures and review sessions as needed. Term tests will be administered by Christine Lim, but she is not the TA in this course. She has no office hours for this course. She is not responsible for any of the assignments, and she is not expected to answer any questions.
Text: Class notes available online. Lectures and published class notes will overlap, but are not identical; you are responsible for both.
Topics: Basics of research design and significance testing, Elementary significance tests, A bit of unix, Introduction to SAS, Multiple regression, Categorical independent variables, Interactions, Factorial ANOVA, Random effects models, Multivariate analysis of variance, Repeated measures, Applied time series analysis.
Grading: There will be three term tests, all given on Fridays during the tutorial time. Test dates are January 30, Feb. 27 and March 26. The term tests are worth 25% each. The final examination is also worth 25%. Each term test (and the final exam) will be based on lectures, assigned reqading, and several assignments -- about three assignments for each test. Some of the assignments include a computer part. Students will bring printouts to class and answer questions based on the printout. In some cases, printouts will be handed in. The non-computer parts of the assignments are just to prepare you for the tests; they will never be handed in.
Plagiarism: It is academic dishonesty to present someone else's work as your own, or to allow your work to be copied for this purpose. To repeat: the person who allows her/his work to be copied is equally guilty, and subject to disciplinary action by the university.
Note that if I catch you, I am not allowed to impose some reasonable penalty (like a zero on the assignment). I am required to pass it on to higher authorities. In the past I have done this, even though I liked the students involved. The penalties were harsh.
Here are some guidelines. It is fine to discuss the assignments and to learn from each other, but don't copy. Never look at anyone else's work or show anyone your work before the test or exam when time when it might be handed in. Do not give anyone a copy of your program file before a computer assignment is due, and do not look at anyone else's.
For each test and for the final exam, you will be asked to bring your printout to class; maybe you will hand part of it in, and maybe you will use it to answer some questions. Never, ever, bring a copy of somebody else's printout, or allow anyone to have a copy of yours.
Don't copy. If we catch you, you will get in big trouble. And even if we do not catch you, after you die you will be reincarnated as a tadpole in a polluted stream.
A final note: You must use your own computer account, and only your own computer account to do the work for this course. If you use the account of another student -- or allow your account to be used by another student in this class -- your computer account will be cancelled, and so will your friend's. This will make it very difficult for you to pass this course (and possibly others). The reason for this seemingly insane rule is to prevent the following well-worn defense for having identical printouts: "I was using my friend's account and I accidentally printed the wrong file." No one ever believes this, and the students are always surprised, because they think it sounds good.