Pennsylvania State University

Fall 1998

Instructor: Laura J. Simon, M.A.	Teaching Assistant: Changxuan Mao
Office: 328 Thomas Building	Office: 301 Thomas Building
Phone: 863-4891	Phone: 863-2314
E-mail: lsimon@stat.psu.edu	E-mail: cmao@stat.psu.edu
Office Hours: MW 9-11, and by appointment	Office Hours: MW12:30-1:30p, F 1:30-2:30p

Objectives:

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 emphasize examples and applications from the health sciences fields.

1. Textbook: Principles of Biostatistics, by Marcello Pagano and Kimberlee Gauvreau. (Duxbury, 1993).
2. A scientific calculator.

You should plan on accessing the course web site regularly.  The course web site, which will be updated regularly, will contain important course information, including announcements, homework assignments and solutions, and helpful exam information.  Some files on the web page (denoted by *.pdf) may require the use of Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which is available on all CAC lab computers, or you can download the required software for use on your home computer.

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 be given an opportunity 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 (2) midterm exams scheduled in the evening, outside of normal class time, as follows:
 

Wednesday, October 7, 1998	6:30-7:45 pm	105 Forum
Monday, November 16, 1998	6:30-7:45 pm	362 Willard

If you have a conflict with either of these evening 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.  No exceptions will be made.  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.

Since the evening exams will cause us to have two more classes than are necessary, there will be no class on Friday, October 16, 1998 nor on Wednesday, November 25, 1998.
 
 

Final Exam

There will be one (1) comprehensive, final exam worth 30% of your final grade.  The date of the final examination will not be known until the final examination schedule is published on October 19th, 1998.
 

In-class Quizzes, Activities, and Exercises

There will be many unannounced activities, quizzes, and/or exercises that will take place during class for which students can earn points.  The activities and exercises will generally be group-oriented in nature, while students will take quizzes individually.  The points for all three of these in-class activities will be totaled into one score at the end of the semester.  This score will comprise 10% of each student's grade.

Under no circumstances will make-ups be given for these types of 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 only count 90% of the total possible points, thereby allowing students to miss a few classes without much penalty.  For example, if at the end of the semester, we have accumulated 100 points worth of quizzes, activities, and exercises, I will divide each students total points by 90% of 100, or 90.  So, a student who has accumulated 90 points will earn a 100% in this category, while a student who has accumulated only 10 points, will earn a 10/90, or 11%, in this category.  (The grades will be truncated, so no student can earn higher than a 100%.)
 
 

Homework

Homework assignments will be assigned daily.  A subset of the problems assigned will be collected at the beginning of class on the following ten Fridays:
 

September 4	September 11	September 18	September 25	October 2
October 23	October 30	November 6	November 13	December 4

Under no circumstances will late homework be accepted.  From each homework set, a few problems will be randomly selected for grading.  Your homework will be worth 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 6, 1998.  The final projects must be turned in by the end of class on Friday, December 4, 1998.  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 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 instructor after all of the course work is graded.

1. Students are responsible for all material presented in class lectures, including announcements about any changes to this syllabus.
2. Early exams may be given to students with direct conflicts due to another required University activity, such as athletics, field trips, Blue Band trips.  Arrangements must be made in advance of the regularly scheduled exam.
3. Disruptive in-class behavior, such as talking or reading the newspaper, will not be tolerated.
4. Head wear with visors, such as baseball caps, must be removed during exams.
5. Cheating will be punished in accordance with University policies.
6. Any student who passes on a cold or sore throat to the instructor will automatically be penalized one-half of a letter grade, while any student who passes on the flu will be penalized a full letter grade.

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	Friday, September 4, 1998
Final Exam Conflict Filing Period	Monday-Friday, October 19-23, 1998
Late Drop Deadline	Wednesday, November 18, 1998

Students should not expect a sympathetic ear to last minute pleas for forgiveness for failing to meet these deadlines.

• Do all of the assigned homework promptly.  The material on my exams is a fair representation of the assigned homework and the material covered in class.
• Do not slouch off in the beginning of the semester with the hopes of catching up later in the semester.  The material in this course entails 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..
• A good way to study for a statistics exam is to go back and re-do all of the assigned homework.  If you do not understand a particular topic, seek help before the exam.
• Attend class regularly.
• Read and follow directions carefully.