1. To develop an understanding of the reasoning by which findings from sample data can be extended to larger, more general populations.
2. To learn how to critically evaluate the results of scientific studies.
3. To learn how to design, conduct, and analyze a scientific research study.
4. To learn how to read statistical summaries.
5. To learn how to use statistical software.
6. To study examples and applications from the health sciences fields.

1. A free web-based textbook, Cyberstats, that requires a login ID and password to access.
2. Minitab 12, a statistical software package available on the Penn State CAC network.
3. A scientific calculator.

The address of the course web site is http://www.stat.psu.edu/~lsimon/stat250/fa99/admin/.  The site, which will be updated regularly, will contain important course information, including announcements, homework assignments and solutions, and helpful exam information. 

Classes will consist of a mixture of various presentation formats, including lectures, small-group activities, whole-class activities, and group discussions.  At the beginning of each class, students will have a chance to ask specific questions about the homework.  All classes will be conducted assuming students have completed the assigned readings and homework.

There will be two in-class, midterm exams scheduled as follows:
 

Wednesday, October 6, 1999	11:15a - 12:05p	104 Thomas
Wednesday, November 10, 1999	11:15a - 12:05p	104 Thomas

If you have a University-approved conflict with either of these exams, you must let me know at least one week before the exam.  A conflict exam will be scheduled to take place just before the regularly scheduled exam.

For each exam, you will need to bring a calculator.  A formula sheet, statistical tables, and scrap paper will be provided.  Each of the above midterm exams will be worth 100 points, and count for 20% of your final grade.

Make-up exams will be given only when documentation of hospitalization, death in the family, or other emergency is provided in advance of the regularly-scheduled exam.  Minor illness, such as a cold or sore throat, is not a legitimate reason for missing an exam.  In the rare case that a make-up is necessary, the make-up exam, which will be open-ended and/or essay in nature, must be taken within one week of the regularly-scheduled exam.
 

Final Exam

There will be one (1) comprehensive, final exam worth 175 points, or 35%, of your final grade.  The final examination is scheduled for Monday, December 13 from 10:10 am - Noon.  If you have either an overload or direct conflict with the final exam, you must apply for a conflict final at the Registrar's office between Monday, October 25th and Friday, November 12th.
 

In-class Activities

There will be many unannounced activities that will take place during class for which students can earn points.  The activities will generally be group-oriented in nature.  At the end of the semester, the points for all of the in-class activities will be totaled into one score for each student. The best possible in-class activity score you can receive is 25 points, or 5%, of your grade.

Under no circumstances will make-ups be given for in-class activities.  The only way students can ensure that their grade is not adversely affected by this category is to attend class regularly.  Recognizing that students may legitimately need to miss an occasional class, at the end of the semester, I will adjust each student's in-class activity score by about 5 points.

 

Quizzes

Homework assignments will be assigned daily, but will not be collected. Instead, there will be 8 scheduled quizzes during the semester. On each quiz, you will be asked to solve one problem from the assigned homework. The problem on the quiz may be a slight variation of the homework problem. The quizzes are scheduled as follows:
 

September 3	September 15	September 27	October 18
October 27	November 3	November 19	December 6

The quizzes will be worth a total of 50 points, or 10%, of your final grade.

Comprehensive Project

There will be one (1) comprehensive, final project.  The guidelines for the final project will be distributed to students on (or before) Friday, November 12, 1999.  The final projects must be turned in by the end of class on Friday, December 3, 1999.  No late projects will be accepted; students who do not turn the project in on time will receive a grade of zero.  The final project will be worth 50 points, or 10%, of your final grade.

Grading:

For the determination of final course grades, students will be ranked on the basis of the total score obtained from all of their course work.  Course grades in each of the nine categories will be tentatively awarded based on the following lower bounds:
 

F	D	C	C+	B-	B	B+	A-	A
0	60	70	77	80	83	87	90	93

For a given semester, the lower bounds could be changed slightly if the course work is judged to be different than previous semesters.  This judgment will be made in consultation with the other Stat 250 instructors after all of the course work is graded.

Please note that as a student registered for this course, you are responsible for taking care of certain administrative details before the following university-wide deadlines:
 

Add/Drop Deadline	Wednesday, January 20, 1999
Final Exam Conflict Filing Period	Monday-Friday, March 15-26, 1999
Late Drop Deadline	Friday, April 9, 1999

A Few More Comments:

1. The study of statistics requires developing a cumulative set of knowledge. If you fail to grasp the material in the first half of the semester, you will struggle in grasping the second half of the material. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you stay current on reading assignments and homework assignments.
2. Students are responsible for all material presented in class lectures, including announcements about any changes to this syllabus.
3. Cheating will be punished in accordance with University policies.
4. Any student who passes on a cold or sore throat to the instructor will automatically be penalized one-half of a letter grade.  Any student who passes on the flu will be penalized a full letter grade.