The overall goal of this class is to introduce you to the discipline of statistics as a science of understanding and analyzing data and not as a branch of mathematics. This class is designed to provide you with the tools you need for solving real world problems using statistics and a better understanding of the process of scientific research and statistical inference.
By the end of this class you should be able to interpret statistical results in context and critique news stories and journal articles that include statistical information. We expect you to be comfortable with concepts such as association and causation, random sampling and random assignment, statistical bias and statistical significance, and to understand and appreciate why real data beats anecdotes.
We plan to achieve these goals by introducing you to the relevant statistical knowledge, teaching you how to use an open source (i.e. free!) statistical software called RStudio to perform data analysis, and having you engage in problem solving, application, analysis, and synthesis of statistical information through homework, labs, quizzes and exams.
Please see the syllabus for detailed information on the course, policies, and grading. All course materials are posted on the schedule page (lecture notes, labs, assignments, etc.).