STA 305: Experimental Design

University of Toronto Mississauga, Winter/Spring 2014

http://utstat.toronto.edu/~brunner/305s14

Lecture: Monday 11:10-1:00 and Wednesday 11:10-12:00 in Room 1142, Davis Building

• Instructor: Jerry Brunner
• Office: 4059c, Davis Building
• Phone: 905-828-3816
• email: brunner[at]utstat.toronto.edu
• Office Hours: Monday 1:10-2:00 and Wednesday 12:10-2:00

Note: Jerry does not read his email every day. It is much more efficient to talk with him before or after class, or during office hours.

Tutorials are Friday in the North Building: 10:10-11:00 in NE 174, and 12:10-1:00 in NE 140.

• Instructor: Lingling Fan
• Office: 1160, Davis Building
• email: linglingmun[at]gmail.com
• Office Hours: Friday 11:10-12:00 and 1:10-2:00 p.m.

Text: There is no textbook for this course at the bookstore. Free online material will be available on the course home page.

Topics: Completely randomized design, Randomization tests and the normal linear model, Analysis of variance, Contrasts, Multiple comparisons, Factorial experiments, Dummy variable coding schemes, Blocking, Confounding, Power and sample size, Response surfaces, Nesting, Random effects and mixed models, Repeated measures. SAS will be used for the calculations.

Prerequisites: STA302 or ECO327 (Linear regression)

Accessibility Needs: We are committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact Jerry or Accessibility Services (visit http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/accessability or email accessconfirm.utm@utoronto.ca) as soon as possible.

Grading: Marks will be based on two term tests, eight quizzes on computer assignments, and a comprehensive final exam. Quizzes and term tests will be given on Mondays in lecture, starting the third Monday. Here are details:

Component	When	Percentage of Mark
Term test one	Feb. 3d	25%
Term test two	March 10th	25%
Computer quizzes	Jan. 20, 27, Feb. 10, 24,	14% (drop lowest)
	March 3, 17, 24, 31
Final exam		36%

There will be two types of assignment: computer assignments and regular assignments. The regular assignments will never be handed in. They are preparation for the term tests and the final exam. The computer assignments will require you to analyze data with SAS. You will bring your SAS log and procedure output files to the quiz. The quiz will consist of answering a few brief questions, and handing in the answers along with your printouts. There will be eight computer quizzes; your seven highest marks will count, so they are worth 2% each.

Policy for missed work: If you miss a computer quiz or term test without a valid excuse, the mark is zero. However, your lowest computer quiz mark will be dropped. If you believe you have a valid excuse for missing term work, please see Jerry (not the TA) in person during office hours or before or after class.

Even with a valid excuse, no makeup tests will be given, and no late computer assignments will be accepted. Your final exam will just count more.

If you miss a quiz or test for medical reasons, you must submit a University of Toronto Medical Certificate (not just a note), available at

http://www.illnessverification.utoronto.ca.

The certificate must include the statement that you were unable to write the test or quiz for medical reasons. If the certificate does not clearly state that you were unable to function, the excuse will not be accepted. Documentation must show that the physician was consulted on the day of the quiz, or on the next day. A statement merely confirming a report of illness made by the student is unacceptable.

Here are more examples of excuses that are not acceptable. Automotive breakdown or other transportation problems are never valid excuses. If you miss term work because you are taking another class at the same time as this one, that is not a valid excuse. The printer jammed (but I have an electronic copy on my computer), my dog ate it, etc. fall into the same category. If the University is officially open, weather is a valid excuse only if more than 50% of the class miss the quiz or test.

Academic Honesty: Obviously, it is an academic offence to use or provide other students with unauthorized aids during quizzes and term tests. Unauthorized aids include but are not limited to: notes, cell phones, another student's paper (direct copying), whispering answers, and so on.

Especially note that it is an academic offence to present someone else's work as your own, or to allow your work to be presented 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.

Here are some guidelines that apply to the computer assignments. If there is a problem with plagiarism, it will probably happen here, since computer assignments will be handed in.

• It is permitted to copy from me. If your work is very similar to what is presented in lecture, office hours or suggested readings, that is okay. Copy parts of it or use it any other way you like; you are responsible for the results.
• If two students have computer work that is excessively similar to each other, but not similar to what was presented in lecture or office hours, that is evidence of cheating. Of course it's easier to detect if the work is also wrong.
• If you allow anyone to have an electronic copy of your computer work, for any reason, you are not only guilty of an academic offence, you have lost your mind.
• Direct copying of computer code from the internet is prohibited. You are expected to do the work yourself.
• The biggest danger is copying from other students in the class. It is fine to discuss the assignments and to learn from each other, but don't copy SAS code from anyone, or allow your SAS code to be copied.
• Suppose you have finished the assignment, and a friend who has not started yet asks you for help. This "friend" is out of line. He or she is expected to give the assignment assignment a serious try before seeking help.
• But you don't have to be rude. If you want to help, you can start by finding out if the person knows what the computer assignment is asking students to do. You may find that the person has not even read the question yet.
• Once the meaning of the assignment is clear, you might try walking the person through a set of overheads that is similar to the assignment (there will surely be one). You can ask things like "Do we really need to do this part," and "Well, what does the question say?"
• Some more things are okay. Short of doing the typing yourself, you can provide almost any help you wish with linux, emacs, PuTTY, WinSCP and the like.
• It is also okay to compare numerical answers. Questions like "What did you get for beta-hat-4? I got -7.23" are perfectly acceptable. It is even all right to look at one another's procedure output files to compare answers.
• But never, ever give an electronic copy of your procedure output file to anyone before the quiz. The danger that it will be directly turned in (or transmitted to someone else who will turn it in) is too great. Nobody will believe it was an accident or misunderstanding. The response will be that you should have known it might be used as an unauthorized aid. That's in the academic code.
• Comparing procedure output files is acceptable, but comparing log files and program files is not permitted! To avoid being charged with an academic offence, do not allow anyone in the class to see your log file or SAS program file before a computer assignment is due, and do not look at anyone else's. This includes a quick peek at your computer screen. Some people have fantastic memories.
• Here is a partial exception to the rule above. Suppose one person has completely finished a computer assignment, and a friend is struggling with an error message that suggests a mistake in computer syntax -- not an answer that is different, but a language error. It's okay for the person who has finished to look at the code and say something like "Oh, you forgot the semi-colon, right here." This is the kind of thing I would do in office hours, and it's okay if you do it for each other. But this is a little risky, because if the helper then changes his code based on what he's seen, both parties are guilty of an academic offence.
• For the quizzes on computer assignments, you will be asked to bring printouts of your log and procedure output files to class; you will hand them in, and maybe you will use them to answer some questions. Never, ever, bring a copy of somebody else's printout, or allow anyone to have a copy of yours. Your "friends" may ask you. You are expected to refuse.
• It is acceptable to get help with your assignments from someone outside the class, but the help must be limited to general discussion and examples that are not the same as the assignment. As soon as you get an outside person to actually start working on one of your assignments, you have committed an academic offence.

Above all, don't copy, and don't let anyone else copy from you. You are expected to do the work yourself, and then perhaps compare answers after you have done so.

For more detail, the latest version of the student handout "How not to Plagiarize" is available at http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize The Academic Regulations of the University are outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic matters, which can be found in the Arts and Science Calendar or on the web at http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm.

More rules about the computer assignments. Marks will be deducted for not following these.

• The log and procedure output files you turn in with the computer quizzes must be complete and unedited. We need all the information.
• The log and procedure output files you turn in together must be produced by the same run of SAS. This rule helps us to track down errors as well as to detect copying.
• Marks will be deducted for log files with errors. Even warnings are to be avoided unless you know what caused the warning and you can explain why it's okay.
• You must use your own computer account, and only your own computer account on tuzo to do the assignments. You are not allowed to let a classmate use your account on tuzo, regardless of technical difficulties. Students using the PC version of SAS may not use the same computer. The purpose of these seemingly insane rules is to prevent the well-worn excuse (never believed) that two people turned in the same output by accident. If two people use the same tuzo account, not only will both quizzes receive a zero, but the infraction will be reported to Computing Services. They will likely cancel the account, and you will need to purchase a license for the Windows version of SAS from the Information Commons.
• You will bring hard copy of your SAS log files and procedure output files to the computer quizzes. You may not write anything on the files before the quiz except possibly your name and student number, and you are asked to put your name and student number in a title statement rather than writing it by hand.
• Finally, comment statements and other typed material that would help with interpretation of the computer output are expressly forbidden. For example, you may not type answers to the assignment questions into your code, or otherwise cause them to appear on your log file or procedure output file. Any such material is an unauthorized aid for the purposes of this course, and if you use or possess an unauthorized aid, you will be charged with an academic offence.