MIS 24056 Fall 2011 Shanker

M&IS 24056:Fundamentals of Business Statistics

Fall 2011

Course Description

This course is an introduction to concepts in statistical methods and their applications to real-world problems. This course will examine both the theoretical and practical side of the different methods. Students will be given ample opportunities to apply the techniques to different problems. The goal of the course is for students to understand fundamental statistical concepts and methods, and their applications.

Course Requirements

Last day to withdraw from a course:  Sunday, 6 November 2011

Prerequisites: Math 11011 (Algebra).  Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

Enrollment: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should

you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 11, 2011 to

correct the error. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to

attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now

that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you

are not properly registered.

Students With Disabilities: University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Disability Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability for more information on registration procedures).

Class Time

Class time will devoted to lectures, problem solving, statistical software, and testing. As we will make extensive use of statistical software, and interactive technology, please bring your laptop and clickers to class.

As with any new subject, comprehension improves with greater exposure. To facilitate this, I will be providing online access to every class lecture in multimedia format. Students, in most cases, will be able to listen to these lectures remotely at the same time as the class, and also review the lectures after class time. These multimedia lectures will duplicate each lecture that I give in class, including the overhead presentation, any notations that I make on these slides, and the audio explaining the slides.

Quizzes and Examinations

There will be 6 quizzes, 3 examinations, 1 project, and several in-class assignments. 

All quizzes and examinations will be taken online, and are best taken using a standards-compliant web browser like Mozilla Firefox. Examinations and quizzes will consist of multiple choice, true or false, fill-in-the blanks, short-answer, matching, and calculation type questions. All online testing material can be found at the course web site on Blackboard 9 (this is the latest version at https://learn.kent.edu), and can be taken from anywhere (home, work, school, BSA computer labs, in the airport, from a hammock sipping Mango juice, etc.) the student has access to the Web. All tests are open-book, open notes, but before taking any test, the student will be asked to indicate his/her agreement to an Academic Honesty Statement. This statement will certify that the student agrees to abide by university rules on cheating, and any failure to do so will result in a failing grade. Thus, for example, while you are allowed to use books and notes for the tests, it is cheating if you ask other students to help you while taking the tests. This statement is available online at your course website. Do this first before doing anything else.

Quizzes: There are 6 quizzes for this class. Each quiz is worth 10 points. The amount of time allotted for each quiz may vary, but will typically be around 25 minutes. You will have two attempts to take each quiz. The average result of the two attempts will be your score for that quiz. If you are happy with your first attempt, there is no need to take the second attempt.  Results for the quizzes will be known immediately. Only the best 5 quizzes will be considered for your grade. Thus, the maximum points from quizzes is 50.

Examinations: There will be 3 examinations. Each examination is worth 25 points. Each exam (including the final) will take approximately 75 minutes. All examinations are cumulative. You will have only one attempt to take each examination. Results for the examination will be known only after the examination closes for all students. From the first two examinations, Exams 1, and 2, only the best examination score will be considered. Exam 3 (Final Exam) is required for all students. Students will receive a score of 0 for any missed examination. Thus, the maximum score from examinations is 50.

Projects: The project will be assigned in class. This project will be done in groups, and will involve the student in all aspects of statistical data analysis. The project will be graded at each milestone, and the final score for the project for the group will be a cumulative total of the scores at each milestone. Individual student scores for the project will depend on the final project score for the group, and peer evaluation. The project is worth 50 points.

In-Class Assignments and Tests: As this class is built on data exploration and interactivity, frequently, you will be asked short questions in class. The frequency, time, and format of these questions will depend on the subject matter. You will require the use of Clickers, and in some cases, the use of a laptop to run statistical analysis, before you can answer these questions. As such, ensure that each group has a working laptop with JMP installed, and that you all have your clickers handy. In-class assignments and tests are worth a maximum of 50 points.

Attendance: While no attendance is taken, you are nevertheless  responsible for all content, including projects and assignments, presented in class. Any missed assessments cannot be made up.

Dates and Timings: Approximate test (quizzes, and examinations) dates are posted at your course website, and also given below. Tests can be taken at any time during which they are available. As a warning, please do not wait until the last minute to take your tests. As you must realize in dealing with technology, several things can and will go wrong. The only condition under which I will extend the due dates is if the Blackboard server goes down on the last available day. Any problems with your computer will not change the due date. As such, it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete the tasks in a timely fashion. You will get zero (0) points for all missed tests. Please ensure that your tests have been graded correctly, and notify the instructor immediately of any concerns. Specifically, you will have one week after the test scores are posted to notify the instructor of any errors. Projects will be assigned in class. Due dates for project milestones will also be specified in class.

Extra Credit: Periodically, you may be given additional homework / quizzes in class or online, each of which will count as extra credit towards your final grade. As missed quizzes / examinations cannot be made up, it is in your best interest to attend class regularly. Please check your electronic calendar regularly for any announcements about quizzes, etc.

Academic dishonesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, cases, online quizzes) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University. Students must indicate their acceptance to this policy before they are allowed to take any quiz or exam. As soon as you log into your Blackboard course website, please take the Academic Honesty Statement quiz first. You will not have access to any other quiz or exam until you do so.

Class Materials

As this class makes extensive use of statistical software, and interactivity, the first two items below are required.

JMP statistical software. This is required software. Please go to http://www.kent.edu/is/helpdesk/sas.cfm to get your software. Note that Univesity licensing provides this software at no cost to you.

Clickers. The university has adopted  clickers from Turning Point. I will be using this in class for both assessment and learning. If you don’t have one already, there are several options to purchase this.

a.       Go to https://store.turningtechnologies.com/index.cfm for the Kent State Store. When prompted for school code, type SUQ5

b.      A new clicker that you can use in all your classes cost approximately $45. You can also buy used clickers at the bookstore for $33.75. When you are ready to sell it, the bookstore will be buying back used clickers from students for $22.50. Note that is a one-time cost, and the clicker can be used in any class that uses that system for however long you remain at Kent.

c.       If you have a web-enabled device, like a laptop, or a smart phone, you can instead buy a responseware license for $15 / year, or $32 / 4 years. This allows you to use the technology using your preferred device like an iPhone or laptop. The session ID to use this in our class is FLI2U6CE. It is important that before you buy this option, you ensure that you are able to connect to the Internet in the classrooms where you have classes. Most rooms at Kent have an acceptable WiFi connection, but please ensure your device can use them, or your cell phone plans allow data access. Note that not all instructors may support this web-enabled approach. Please check with your other classes to determine your most cost effective solution.

Register your clicker on the Blackboard Course Page under Clicker Information.  FAQ about clickers can be found at http://www.kent.edu/fpdc/technology/clickers/faq.cfm

Book. There are no required books for this class. I will be using “Introduction to the Practice of Statistics,” by David Moore and George McCabe, as the guide for the materials in class. Versions 6 and 5 are equally suitable, though the latest version is the 7th.  This is not a required book, and most students have done well in my classes without a book. But, if you do want to get a book, here are some cost-effective options:

1. The latest edition is the 7th, so the 6th edition is available cheaply. http://www.chegg.com/details/introduction-to-the-practice-of-statistics/1429216220/ .
2. You can buy the 5th edition if that works out better.
3. Ultimately, whether you want to buy a book, and which edition you want, is up to you. The book is not required.
4. If you want to borrow a book for a few days, I will be happy to lend you mine.

Laptops. I will be making extensive use of JMP in class, and many of the assessments will also require the use of JMP. In class, as such, I will require each group to have access to at least one laptop.

Lecture Notes. I will post lectures notes for each class on the Blackboard website. Please download them before class. After class, I will also post a multimedia lecture of that day's class. You can review them at any point.

Grades

The maximum points for this course is 200 (50 quizzes + 50 examinations + 50 project + 50 in-class). The grading scale for this class is as follows

1. None of the assessments, examinations, quizzes, projects, or in-class assignments, can be made up. You will receive a score of zero (0) for any missed assessment.
2. Please print and keep a copy of your tests after each exam or quiz. That will be the proof I will require if there are any disputes about test scores. 
3. You will have one week after receiving the score for each assessment to request any corrections.

How to Access and Use Your Course Web Site 

1. To ensure that the content appears correctly on your browser, please use a standards-compliant browser like Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/) rather than Internet Explorer.
2. The central website to access your course is through Blackboard 9. This is the new course management software for Kent State University. You can access your course in two ways.

1. Log into Flashline. Click on Student Tools and Courses tab, and then Blackboard Single Signon. Next, choose Log in to LEARN.

1. Or, you can log in by going directly to https://learn.kent.edu. Log in with your Kent username and password.

Please Do The Following Immediately

1. Log into Blackboard, and answer the quiz on Academic Honesty. 
2. Register your clickers at the class Blackboard site.

Course Schedule

The following tables contains the class schedule. Note that all online tests (except Exam 3) begin on the Tuesday of the week they are assigned, and are available until Monday 11:50 p.m. (ET) of the following week.