Statistics 597c
Statistical Computing in S-PLUS
Fall 2000

Lecture notes

• Lecture 1 given Thursday, September 7.
• Lecture 2 given Thursday, September 14. Homework assignment 1 due in class on 9/21, with correction to problem 1 (a).
• Lecture 3 given Thursday, September 21. Homework assignment 2 due in class on 9/28.
• Lecture 4 given Thursday, September 28. Homework assignment 3 due in class on 10/5.
• Lecture 5 given Thursday, October 5.
• Lecture 6 given Thursday, October 19.
• Homework assignment 4 due Thursday, November 2.
• Lecture 7 given Thursday, October 26, with example datasets body23.dat and gpa.dat.
• Lectures 8 and 9 given Thursday, November 2 and Thursday, November 16. The FARS motorcycle dataframe is available here. The file was created with data.dump(); to read it into S-PLUS, use the data.restore() function.
• Assignment 5: Following the example in class, find a reasonable regression model for predicting logbac3; assess the fit of your model with any diagnostics you think are reasonable. Or, if you prefer, perform a linear regression analysis on a dataset of your own choosing using lm() or lsfit().
• Lecture 10 given Thursday, November 30. Homework assignment 6 due Thursday, December 14.

Instructor: Joe Schafer, 412 Classroom Building, 863-4918, jls@stat.psu.edu. Also in S-156 Henderson, 863-9795. Office hours: Wednesday 3-4:30 pm in 412 Thomas, or by appointment.

Meetings: Class meets Thursday 9:45-11:00 am in 371 Willard.

Text: There is no required text for this course. Many books on S-PLUS have been published. You may wish to buy one for reference purposes. The on-line help facility in S-PLUS is very useful once you have learned the basics of the language.

Content: S-PLUS is a popular and highly flexible environment for statistical data analysis. It is an excellent research tool for statisticians. This course will provide an introduction to S-PLUS and its use on the Department of Statistics Unix network. The course is intended primarily for graduate students in the Statistics Department, but other interested students may enroll if space permits.

The first two weeks: The first two meetings, August 24 and August 31, will provide an introduction to the Unix environment and web-based resources on the Department of Statistics network. These sessions will be taught by Gary Field, the department's Systems Administrator. Sessions on S-PLUS will begin on September 7.

Accounts: Those who are registered for the course are eligible to receive accounts on the Department of Statistics Unix network. S-PLUS may also be available on Popnet and various other Unix networks on campus.

Grading: Grades will be based upon class attendance and weekly homework assignments.