Swarthmore College, Spring 2008
Stat 11 - Statistical Methods

This is the home page for Statistics 11 (Section 3, Stromquist 9:55).

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Textbook website: http://www.whfreeman.com/ips or try this URL.

4/18/08 - Solutions to the first two problems (the one-way problem) of homework 9 are posted below. So is the the six-page handout of sample exam problems from class yesterday.

Here is homework 10. It consists of three problems: (1) turn in homework 9, problem 3 IF you didn't turn it in last time (2) re-do homework 9, problem 2 IF you inadvertantly used percentages in the chi-square formula instead of counts and (3) do a computer exercise: carry out a t-test for comparison of means in JMP, copy the results to the PowerPoint template we're using for the projects, and email the result to me.
Here are the files you'll need:
11homework10-2008.doc - the homework sheet
jan-dec.JMP - a JMP data table, with two columns of data you'll need for the exercise
11template.ppt - the template file for the projects, also needed for the exercise

This is the last assignment to turn in. Homework is winding down because you have the projects. But this computer exercise is worth doing because it (a) gives you a few minutes experience with JMP, so you'll have a shot at being able to use it when you need it in some other class and (b) forces you to look at the project template before the last minute.

Also note: I didn't manage to print and distribute homework 10 yesterday, so it's only being distributed via the web. So, it will be due on Thursday (April 24), NOT Tuesday April 22.

4/8/08 - Homework 9 is posted below; it consists of two one-way chi-square problems, and one two-way chi-square problem. Also posted is Ed Capen's paper on assessing risk, which is fun to read. (It's the paper about that 10-question confidence-interval quiz.)

4/3/08 - "Solutions 7" is posted under "course documents." I don't expect get "solutions 6" posted in time for the exam.

The exam is tonight at 7pm in Science Center 101 (the giant lecture hall). You may bring one sheet of notes, with content prepared by yourself, on one or both sides of the standard-sized paper. You'll have access to a normal distribution table (the usual one) and a "t" table copied from the inside back cover of the text. You may use a calculator, but not other references. The test is designed to last perhaps an hour, but there is no time limit.

4/1/08 - Here's the "What's on the Exam" sheet: 11preexam2-2008.doc
...and here's the solution sheet for homework 8 (due today): 11solutions8-2008.doc.
Also, here is a link to the NEJM paper on Vytorin and an example of the reaction to it. NEJM also had an editorial of its own.

3/25/08 - A few more documents are posted under "course documents" below, including homeworks 7 and 8 (#8 is the one due April 1), the "CI" and "HT" Powerpoint presentations, and the "techniques" handout from today.

3/20/08 - ci.ppt - slides for confidence intervals
also...
ht.ppt - slides for hypothesis tests
(both subject to revision)

2/19/08 - Also solutions #4, and homework #5 (due Tue. 2/26).

2/17/08 - Finally the solution sheet for homework 3 is posted below.

2/14/08 - Homework 4 is posted below, along with the "projects" assignment sheet and the "what's on the exam" sheet for exam 1. (That last is still subject to change, depending on how far we get.) There is also a template you can use for electronic posters (although that's a long way off, still.) Keep watching for the solutions to homework 3 and maybe some documents or links from class.

2/7/08 - Homework 3 and today's regression slides are posted below. The "r=-0.03" picture that might make us all rich isn't there; you'll just have to remember how worthless it looked.

2/6/08 - Various things from class Tuesday are posted below (under "course documents"):
(1) solutions to homework 2
(2) examples of correlations in scatterplots (e.g., +0.90 or -0.90 is pretty strong looking; +0.50 or -0.50 is weak-looking but pretty clear; +0.20 or -0.20 is too weak to see in the plots with any confidence)
(3) a cleaned-up version of the spreadsheet from class, showing how to make normal quantile plots in Excel.

Thursday we'll look at linear regressions (Section 2.3). We'll probably have a chance to come back to this topic at the end of the semester, but for now we'll just see how far we can get to at the end of the semester.

2/3/08 - Finally added more documents to the list below: The Z-table, homework 2, the solutions to homework 1, and the PowerPoint slides from last Tuesday and Thursday.

1/29/08 - The solutions for homework#1 are posted below. So are the improved list of polls (including polls for today's Florida primary) and the PowerPoint slides from today.

1/24/08 - Here's the homework for Tuesday...
11homework1-2008.doc (1-page WORD document)
...and here's the Excel spreadsheet mentioned in problem 1:
11exercise.xls
The "descriptive statistics" handout from today is under "course documents" below, along with a list of poll results and the PowerPoint slides used in class Tuesday and today.

1/22/08 - There's a Cookie Friday this week! Friday, 3:30-4:30, within sight of the math common room. You're invited!

1/22/08 - Optional homework for Thursday: Bring in any published graphic describing a single variable, especially if it's (a) interesting or (b) seriously confusing or misleading.

1/18/08 - Here's the text:
Moore and McCabe, Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, 5th edition, W. H. Freeman, ISBN 0-7167-6400-8.
We'll start at the beginning. The bookstore has plenty of new and used copies. The book comes with a CD, but you might be able to get away without it.

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