STA312 Applied Statistical Modeling: Categorical Data Analysis

University of Toronto at Mississauga, Fall 2010

http://fisher.utstat.toronto.edu/~brunner/312f10

Lecture: Tuesday 10:10-12:00 in Room 172 North Building, and Thursday 11:10-12:00 in Room 1104, South Building 129,

Tutorials: Friday 11:10 - 12:00 noon, Room 2074, South Building. The first tutorial is Sept. 17th.

Text: S. Feinberg: The analysis of cross-classified categorical data (2nd ed.). Springer. This book will be available at the bookstore and on 2-hour reserve at the library.

Topics: Introduction and review of the multinomial distribution, Two-dimensional tables, Three-dimensional tables, Model selection, Higher-dimensional tables, Fixed margins and logit models, Fixed and structural zeros, Logistic regression, Logistic regression with 3 or more outcomes if time allows.

Prerequisites: STA331 or ECO327.

Grading: There will be 10 regular quizzes on Fridays in tutorial, worth 6% each, a final exam worth 30%, and an unknown number of unannounced pop quizzes given during lecture, worth a total of 10%. The number of pop quizzes is unknown, but the lowest mark will be dropped. They will be much easier than the regular quizzes.

Dates for the regular quizzes given in tutorial are Sept. 17, 24, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26. That's eleven quizzes; the best ten will count. There will be a homework assignment for each regular quiz. On each regular quiz, you are responsible for the ideas and techniques needed to do the corresponding homework assignment. If you can do the homework assignment, you will do well on the quiz.

Some of the assignments include a computer part. Students will bring printouts to the quiz 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.

Policy for missed work: If you miss a regular quiz or pop quiz, the mark is zero. However, your lowest quiz mark of each type will be dropped. If you miss a regular quiz with a valid excuse, the final exam will count for an additional 6% of your mark, and the lowest remaining mark will still be dropped. A similar rule applies to the pop quizzes. If your believe you have a valid excuse for missing term work, please see Jerry (not Christine) in person during office hours or before or after class.

According to university policy, your absence must be declared on ROSI on the day of the absence if your excuse is to be considered. So a suggestion is that if you miss any lecture for a valid reason, you should declare it on ROSI. That way you will be eligible for that mark to go on the final rather than being a zero -- assuming your excuse is valid.

But what is a valid excuse? Here are some guidelines. If you miss a quiz for medical reasons, the medical certificate or doctor's note must include the statement that you were unable to write the test or quiz for medical reasons. If the documentation 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 not acceptable.

On the other extreme, 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, 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 work.

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.

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 may be handed in. It is fine to discuss the assignments and to learn from each other, but don't copy. Never look at anyone else's printouts or show anyone yours before the quiz or exam when they might be handed in. Above all, do not allow to see your program file before a computer assignment is due, and do not look at anyone else's.

For some quizzes, you will be asked to bring your printouts to class; maybe you will hand part of 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.

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.

If this is not clear enough, 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 UTM Calendar or on the web at http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/regcal/WEBGEN124.html.