STATISTICS 4P03/6P03

Advanced Applied Statistics

Course Outline 1997-98

INSTRUCTOR

Dr P. D. M. Macdonald

Office:

BSB-202G

Telephone:

525-9140 x 23423 (24-hour Voice Mail)

e-mail:

pdmmac@mcmaster.ca

OFFICE HOURS

Tuesday 13:30, Wednesday 13:30, Friday 10:30.

Please come at the start of the hour. Other times by appointment.

Don't hesitate to contact me by telephone, voice mail, or e-mail any time you need help. If you need to see me at any time and my office door is open, I will see you then if I can, or arrange a time to meet later.

OBJECTIVES

Learn statistical software packages, beginning with S-Plus and continuing with SAS and any other systems the students wish to work with.

Learn exploratory data analysis, learn how to approach a large and complex data set.

Develop analytical skills using a broad range of statistical methods. Integrate and apply the techniques of statistical analysis learned in other courses. Improve understanding of linear and non-linear models.

Learn how to document your work and write a report.

CASE STUDIES

We will work with the data sets chosen for the Case Studies Session at the Statistical Society of Canada 1998 Annual Meeting to be held at the Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, 31 May - 3 June 1998. We hope that this year, as in all past years, some Statistics 4P03 students will be able to attend the meeting and present their results in the Case Studies Session. The Case Studies are now available from the Statistical Society of Canada web site.

TEXTS AND REFERENCE BOOKS

This book is more suited to self-study than lecturing, but we will be discussing assigned readings. There are good examples showing how to begin analyzing different kinds of data sets. There is good advice on report preparation.

Also Recommended:

You will need to refer to other manuals for S, S-Plus, SAS and any other software packages you may be using. There are SAS manuals in BSB-102.

One data set will be chosen from the following text. The larger data sets from the text are included on a disk as MINITAB Portable files.

TOPICS

Statistical computing, statistical software packages, working with large data sets, exploratory data analysis, graphical methods, statistical consulting practice, linear and non-linear models, report writing.

CLASSES

The class will meet once a week for two hours (Friday 8:30-10:20 in BSB-101). Some of that time will be spent in the computer room in a workshop format. Students will also be expected to devote time each week to independent study.

ASSIGNMENTS

The assignments for 1997-98 will be developed in class, in consultation with the students. The Case Studies will be the 1998 SSC Case Studies "Habitat Usage of Cutthroat Trout" and "Effects of Effluents on the Kapuskasing River."

The four assignments listed below are from 1996-97. They are listed here only as examples. This year's assignments will be similar.

  1. Choose one or both of the Case Studies prepared for the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Statistical Society of Canada, "Seal Vocalizations" and "Remote Sensing of Forest Crown Cover". Using S, apply EDA and submit a report showing what you have learned about the data. Your report should include a variety of graphs.
  2. Repeat your preliminary analysis of the SSC Case Studies, this time using SAS. Your first report will probably have indicated a number of directions worthy of further study and you should be able to improve on your earlier analysis in a number of ways. You may also be ready to try some model-fitting or multivariate analysis, if you consider it appropriate. Detail your results in a written report.
  3. Treat the crayfish size-frequency data introduced in class as a consulting experience. Write a plain-language report suitable for submission to the client.
  4. Use the HORMONE data set from Rosner. Apply linear and logistic regressions, as suggested in Problems 11.51-11.56, pp 545-546. Submit a written report.

All written reports must be submitted by the end of the regular undergraduate examination period.

COMPUTERS

Students will have access to the Departmental computer room (BSB-102) and will have accounts on three of the Departmental UNIX machines: icarus, hydra, and data. Other software is available on the Macintosh in BSB-102 (GLMStat, Systat, ClarisWorks) and in the BSB Windows computer lab (MINITAB, SPSS, Quattro Pro).

GRADING SCHEME

There will be no written tests or final examination.

The four assignments will be worth 20 marks each. All will be judged on content, creativity, validity and accuracy. Assignments 3 and 4 will also be judged on the quality of writing (5 marks out of 20).

Students may work in pairs and submit assignments jointly, in which case each student will receive the same mark on the assignment.

The remaining 20 marks will be awarded for class participation; a student who attends all classes and contributes regularly to class discussion will receive full marks.

I will review all "borderline" marks and possibly make further adjustments.

ACADEMIC ETHICS AND DISHONESTY

We remind you of the "Statement on Academic Ethics" and the "Senate resolution on Academic Dishonesty" as found in the Senate Policy Statements distributed at registration and available in the Senate Office.


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Last modified 1998-01-07