Introduction to Statistics 1: Inference for a Single Variable

Dr. Dennis Roberts

Aim of Course:

To provide an easy introduction to statistical inference for a single variable. Once you have completed this course you will be able to apply statistically valid designs to basic studies, and test hypotheses regarding proportions and means.

Note: This is the first of a two course sequence, part two being Introduction to Statistics 2: Working with Bivariate Data. For those with little or no prior exposure to basic probability and descriptive stats, see also the companion preliminary course, Introduction to Statistics for Beginners, or, alternately, Survey of Statistics for Beginners.

Teaching statistics, especially AP statistics? The summer session of this course is especially suited to AP stats teachers who need to tune up their statistical skills.

Who Should Take This Course:

Anyone who encounters statistics in their work. The only mathematics you need is arithmetic (see below for basic prerequisites).

Course Program:

The course is structured as follows:

The Instructor:

Dr. Dennis Roberts is Emeritus Professor at Penn State and has spent over 35 years teaching in the areas of statistics and measurement/assessment, including courses in basic and intermediate statistics, educational assessment and psychological testing. His professional career was spent (3 years) at The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, (3 years) in Psychology at East Carolina University, and since 1973 (until retirement as Emeritus Professor) in the Educational Psychology program at Penn State University. Over the years, Dr. Roberts published dozens of empirical articles in journals, directed a Correspondence Course in Basic Statistics for 20 years and revised the study guide several times, revised his own introductory statistics book 3 times, and made numerous presentations at conferences of the American Educational Research Association and other professional societies.

Organization of the Course:

The course takes place over the internet, at statistics.com. During each course week, you participate at times of your own choosing - there are no set times when you must be online. Course participants will be given access to a private discussion board. In class discussions led by the instructor, you can post questions, seek clarification, and interact with your fellow students and the instructor. The course is scheduled to take place over 3 weeks, and typically requires 15 hours per week. At the beginning of each week, you receive the relevant material, in addition to answers to exercises from the previous session. During the week, you are expected to go over the course materials and work through exercises. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments.

Certificates and Grades:

You may be interested only in learning the material presented, and not be concerned with marks or certificates. Or you may be seeking college credit (via the ACE College Credit Recommendation Service), in which case your work will be assessed for purposes of issuing a grade. Or you may require only a "Certificate of Course Completion," along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU's). As you begin the class, you will be asked to specify your category.

For those seeking academic credit recommendation through ACE, there is a final exam on the Wednesday after the end of the Intro 2 course.

Credit:

Academic credit is available via the American Council on Education (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service for this course, when taken together with Introduction to Statistics 2 (3.0 semester hours for the two together) . Click here for details. This course also offers continuing education units (CEU's). For those successfully completing the course (generally this means marks of 50% or better on the homework), 3.75 CEU's and a certificate will be issued by statistics.com, upon request.

Dates:

Aug. 6 - Aug. 27, 2010
Oct. 1 - Oct. 22, 2010
Dec. 3 - Dec. 29, 2010
Click here to be notified of future course offerings.

Participants gain access to the online materials on the first day of the course, and typically spend about 15 hours per week (at their convenience). You retain full access to course materials, including discussion board, for two weeks after the course closing date.

Level:

Novice/Refresher

Prerequisite:

You should be familiar with the material covered in either Introduction to Statistics for Beginners, or, alternately, Survey of Statistics for Beginners. You should also be familiar with the use of a statistical software package of your choice -- please review the software section below.

Course Text:

The course text is Stats: Data and Models, by De Veaux, Velleman and Bock, with ActivStats CD. You can purchase it directly from the publisher here (if you buy it elsewhere, it may not come with a valid copy of ActivStats).

Addison Wesley/Pearson offers a 15% discount on this book (and all other statistics titles): enter the code STATSMPS in the Promotion Code field when prompted during checkout and click the Apply Discount button. Questions about US orders use this phone number (800-947-7700) to contact Pearson.

Special note for Canadian customers: If you are located in Canada, place your order on myPearsonStore.ca site. Unfortunately, the publisher does not currently extend this discount to Canada (you might try requesting this from the publisher's Canadian office directly). The offer for free shipping applies only to orders shipping within the US. The US website will not let you choose "Canada" as a ship-to country Please order your text in time to have it in hand by the course starting date!

Software:

Students should have access to a software package that can perform basic statistical analysis. A variety of affordable options are available--Click here for our general advice about the suitability of various popular software packages. If you are unfamiliar with statistical software and are concerned about your ability to get up to speed quickly, we recommend you first take "Introduction to Statistics for Beginners," where more time is spent on this.

Registration:

Register Online - $399
Register Online (academic) - $299 (you must be affiliated with a college, university or high school)

Add $50 service fee if you require a prior invoice, or if you need to submit a purchase order or voucher, pay by wire transfer or EFT, or refund and reprocess a prior payment. Please use this printed registration form, for these and other special orders.

Note: See our Introduction to Statistics course packages to save money on Introduction to Statistics for Beginners, Introduction to Statistics 1, Introduction to Statistics 2 and Introduction to Statistics 3.

Note: Courses may fill up at any time and registrations are processed in the order in which they are received.

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