Course | Madison College Outline of Instruction

10102104Business Statistics

Course Information

Description

Introduces the theory of, and application to basic statistical methods. Emphasizes solving practical business problems. Topics include basic measures, probability, sampling, and time series analysis. Knowledge of Excel is strongly recommended.

Total Credits

Course Competencies

Employ appropriate language in describing research data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you distinguish between population and sample data

you explain the importance of statistics in modern life

you differentiate data as quantitative or qualitative

you identify numerical data as measuring at the normal, ordinal, interval or ratio level

you explain the importance of random sampling for making statistical inference

you compare different random sampling techniques identifying situations for which each is appropriate

you determine whether a study is observational or experimental and recognize different methods appropriate to each

you assess a given study as to the presence and likely importance of confounding variables
Employ appropriate representations of sample data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you generate frequency, relative frequency and cumulative frequency distributions from a given set of sample data

you construct a histogram to represent a distribution

you construct a frequency polygon to represent a distribution

you construct a scatter plot diagram of bi-variate data

you identify the most appropriate form for representing a distribution given the type of data and the questions being asked
Calculate measures of central tendency

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you calculate the mean of a data set

you calculate the median of a data set

you calculate the mode of a data set

you recognize variations in procedures for computing each of the measure given for specific circumstances

you evaluate the appropriateness of each measure of central tendency given the type of data and research concerns
Calculate measure of spread

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you calculate the quartile, decile and percentile ranks for a given data set

you interpret the quartile, decile and percentile ranks as measure of position

you calculate the range for a given data set

you calculate the population or sample standard deviation for a given set of data

you calculate the interquartile range for a given data set

you evaluate the appropriateness of the standard deviation, range and interquartile range as measures of spread given the type of data and research concerns
Compare and contrast distributions

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you compare two distributions with respect to central tendency

you compare two distributions with respect to spread

you calculate normal scores (z-scores) for given data values

you interpret normal scores appropriately

you construct a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plots to aid comparisons

you construct modified box-and-whiskers plots to aid comparisons

you interpret differences in center and spread of distributions in practical terms

you apply Chebyshev's theorem and the Empirical Rule to discuss limitations on variation and the meaning of 'unusual' as it applies to data values in a distribution
Assess relationship between variables in a bivariate data set

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you distinguish between dependence and independent variables

you calculate the correlation coefficient

you interpret correlation coefficient appropriately

you calculate constant and slop coefficient for linear regression line using the Ordinary Least Squares procedure

you use constant and slop coefficient to graph the 'best fitting' line to a set of sample data

you make reasonable predictions using the mean of the dependent variables or the least squares prediction equation, as appropriate

you assess the strength of the linear relationship between the variables in the sample
Employ general rules to compute probabilities of individual and joint probability events

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you identify probability experiments, their outcomes and random variables

you interpret probability by means of the classic, relative frequency and subjective understandings

you distinguish theoretical and empirical probabilities

you use combinatorics to compute number of outcomes in a given event

you represent sample space by listing all outcomes, using Venn diagrams, constructing tree diagrams or building tables

you use representation of the sample space and the basic definition of probability to compute probabilities of given events

you employ special and general rules of addition to compute probabilities of disjoint events

you recognize conditional probabilities

you use special and general rules of multiplication to compute probabilities of conjoint events

you distinguish between statistically dependent and independent events

you apply mathematical rules for computing probabilities to solve application
Assess probabilities of events using probability distributions for discrete random variables

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you generate a probability distribution for a discrete random variable from empirical data

you generate a binomial distribution for appropriate random variables using formulae and tables

you generate a multinomial distribution for appropriate random variables using formula and tables

you generate a hypergeometric distribution for appropriate random variables using formula and tables

you generate Poisson distribution for appropriate random variables using formula and tables

you calculate the mean of a given discrete distribution

you calculate the standard deviation and variance of a given discrete distribution

you compute expected values for a discrete random variable

you interpret expected value

you calculate probabilities of events based on the distribution of discrete random variables to solve application problems

you show all work in a clear and logical manner and verify solutions
Assess probabilities of events using probability distributions for continuous random variables

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you employ appropriate notation and accurate pictures when representing continuously distributed random variables

you calculate probabilities of events based on a uniform distribution for a continuous random variable given appropriate parameter values

you calculate probabilities of events based on a normal distribution for a continuous random variable given appropriate parameters

you employ the normal distribution to estimate binomial probabilities

you calculate probabilities of events based on the distribution of continuous random variables to solve application problems

you show all work in a clear and logical manner and verify solutions
Derive distributions for sample statistics

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you apply the central limit theorem to find the mean and variance of the sample average for a given distribution

you apply the central limit theorem to determine when the distribution of a sample average follows a normal of a student's t-distribution

you calculate the mean and variance of a sample proportion by applying the binomial distribution

you determine the normality of the distribution of sample proportions

you apply the chi-square distribution to describe the distribution of sample variance
Estimate population parameters using sample data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you construct confidence interval for the population mean given sample data selecting the appropriate procedure

you construct confidence interval for the population standard deviation given sample data

you construct confidence interval for a population proportion given sample data

you interpret confidence intervals appropriately

you calculate the minimum sample size necessary to estimate a population parameter to a given level of confidence
Estimate differences in population parameters using sample data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you construct confidence intervals for difference in population means given sample data selecting the appropriate procedure

you construct confidence intervals for differences in population standard deviations given sample data

you construct confidence intervals for differences in population proportions given sample data

you interpret confidence intervals appropriately
Assess the validity of statements about population parameters using sample data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you carry out hypothesis test for the population mean given sample data using appropriate parametric procedures

you carry out hypothesis test for the population mean given sample data using appropriate non-parametric procedures

you carry out hypothesis test for the population standard deviation given sample data

you carry out hypothesis test for a population proportion given sample data

you interpret hypothesis tests, drawing reasonable conclusions and stating them succinctly in standard English
Assess the validity of statements about differences in population parameters using sample data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you carry out hypothesis tests for differences in population means given sample data using appropriate parametric procedures

you carry out hypothesis tests for differences in population means given sample data using appropriate non-parametric procedures

you carry out hypothesis tests for differences in population variances given sample data using appropriate parametric procedures

you carry out hypothesis tests for differences in population variances given sample data using appropriate non-parametric procedures

you carry out hypothesis tests for differences in population proportions given sample data

you interpret hypothesis tests, drawing reasonable conclusions and expressing them succinctly in standard English
Assess the relationship between two variables in a population using bivariate sample data

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you compute the correlation coefficient for a set of bivariate data

you conduct a significance test on the sample correlation coefficient

you compute the constant and slope coefficients of a linear regression using the method of Ordinary Least Squares given sample data

you apply constant and slope coefficients from a linear regression to describe the relationship between variables in a bivariate sample

you construct confidence interval to estimate the expected value of the dependent variable in the population given sample data and a value of the independent variable

you construct a prediction interval to estimate the realized value of the dependent variable in the population given sample data and a value of the independent variable
Assess the 'goodness of fit' of a theoretical model

Assessment Strategies

in the solution on a quiz, homework, project or exam

Criteria

you apply an appropriate procedure to assess how well a given theoretical model fits a set of sample data

you interpret hypothesis tests, drawing reasonable conclusions, and expressing them succinctly in standard English