Statistics in Society

Welcome to STAT S242 Statistics in Society!

This Course Guide contains essential information about the content and components of the course that you will need to know before you start your study.

Your study will change the way in which you look at many of the things in your day-to-day life. Many types of information are now quantified; for most of us, hardly a day goes by without reading a news item that involves numbers or statistics. However, there is more to these news items than just the numbers quoted. In order to understand what is happening around you, you need to know what the numbers mean, where they came from, and how they should be interpreted — and there are other factors you need to consider as well.

This is what statistics is all about. After working through this course, you should be better able to understand and interpret such information. You should also know how to relate that information to your own experience, and to other aspects of everyday life.

For example, one of the topics you will look at the beginning of the course is descriptive statistics and prices indices. A price index is often quoted when discussing inflation and the cost of living — but what is an index, where does it come from, how is it calculated, and how does it relate to you? These are the types of questions that this course investigates and helps to answer.

STAT S242 is a 10-credit, middle-level course that is a compulsory course for the Statistics and Decision Science, Environmental Studies, and Economics degree programmes; and is an option in the Social Sciences degree programme.

The course teaches the elementary statistical analysis techniques that can be used to investigate a variety of applications of statistics in everyday life. The course emphasizes the use of statistical ideas for making decisions, and engaging in exploratory data analysis, surveys, and basic statistical inference. Working with preset Excel worksheets and data sets will provide you with practical training for data analysis, and for meeting everyday life requirements.

This course is a distance learning course that will be delivered in a print-based, custom textbook format, supplemented with a Study Guide, plus online course components and face-to-face sessions. Two study units are developed locally by HKMU, and seven units are adapted from a custom textbook on introductory statistics. These selected chapters are specifically designed for the use of HKMU STAT S242 students; they will contain a full range of statistical analysis methods and graphical capabilities, along with some built-up Excel worksheets. Excel class activities will also be provided during the tutorials.

Course aims

The overall aims of STAT S242 Statistics in Society are to:

• introduce the general concepts of data production, data analysis and statistical inference to draw conclusions about the important parameters of the underlying population;
• provide a simple, yet critical, introduction to exploratory data analysis and statistical reasoning;
• introduce a wide diversity of applications of statistics in everyday-life problems; and
• explore the use of computing technology to perform statistical data analysis.

Course learning outcomes

Upon the completion of STAT S242 Statistics in Society, you should be able to:

• present, visualize, and graphically display basic statistical relationships for a given dataset;
• explain the basic concept of probability, and outline its applications;
• determine sampling error and sampling distribution;
• use parametric statistical tests to perform hypothesis testing in scientific research;
• use non-parametric statistical tests to perform hypothesis testing for decision-making in daily-life problems;
• explore the relationship between two factors, and apply this to daily-life problems; and
• design surveys and questionnaires for market research.

STAT S242 has no required courses as prerequisites. The course material has also been written for students with very little mathematical experience. We assume that you can do some arithmetic (with the help of a calculator), and that you understand simple tables and graphs. Don't worry, however, if you find that prospect a little alarming, because there should be plenty of time for you to get a bit of practice and gain confidence.

Course Guide

The first thing to do is to read this Course Guide.

This guide contains important information about the course structure and the assessment strategy.

Course schedule

The course schedule is available on the STAT S242 Online Learning Environment (OLE). This timetable is designed to give general guidelines on how you can complete your study, and to tell you the assignment due dates and the schedule for face-to-face sessions.

Calculator

You will need a calculator for this course. You'll need to know how to use your calculator right at the beginning of the course, so you should spend some time getting used to it before the course begins. Even if you have owned one for some time, you may still find it useful to get some more practice.

You will be allowed to bring a calculator into the examination room, but only HKMU-approved models. A list of approved calculator models can be found on the STAT S242 OLE.

Home computer

It is essential that you have access to a home PC with an Internet connection for this course.

Most units in this course have a section based on using statistical software in the Technology Centers that appear throughout the textbook. Spreadsheets and step-by-step procedures for conducting statistical and data analysis are provided in these Technology Centers. They will require the use of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

For working with these Excel spreadsheets, you will need to install a statistics add-in software package called XLSTAT on your computer. This version of XLSTAT is specifically built for Pearson statistical analysis with an add-in tool. It offers a wide variety of functions to enhance the analytical capabilities of Microsoft Excel®. XLSTAT is compatible with all Excel versions (except 2008 for Mac).

A Student Access Kit will be provided together with the textbook for you to install the XLSTAT software.

Your home computer should therefore be installed with Microsoft Windows (Windows 7 or above) and Microsoft Excel.

In this course's custom textbook-based approach, the course's learning modules comprise chapters from a leading statistics textbook, and two study units developed by HKMU.

Your study pathway through this custom textbook is set out in an HKMU-produced Study Guide. In addition to the guided activities and self-tests already provided in the custom textbook, the Study Guide includes supplementary material and additional self-assessment opportunities. You will also have access to multimedia materials on the OLE, and regular face-to-face meetings for lectures and tutorials.

This course's combination of the latest editions of textbooks, plus the Study Guide, and multimedia and face-to-face learning opportunities, will provide you with a rich coverage of the use of statistics in society.

The third main place you will refer to for learning resources during the course is the OLE. There, you will have access to a rich array of multimedia materials such as lecture PPT slides and online quizzes, and you will be able to discuss topics with other students and your tutor on the course discussion board.

This course is further supported by regular face-to-face meetings for lectures and tutorials.

Introductory video

To start off, you should watch the introductory video for the course in the ePub version of this Course Guide or on the OLE. Then turn to the Study Guide for further guidance through the course.

Summary of study units

The course consists of nine units. The title and a short description of each unit is given below.

• Unit 1 Data analysis and descriptive statistics introduces the idea of statistical data and begins to look at ways of collecting, organizing and summarizing statistical data using graphical presentations and analysis through your add-in Excel software.
• Unit 2 Price index and household income extends the descriptive measures you will have learned in Unit 1. The statistical theme is developed in the context of questions related to price indices and the standard of living in Hong Kong society.
• Unit 3 Measuring chance and probability introduces another aspect of inferential statistics called probability theory. This unit begins with some simple probability concepts. Probabilities enable you to evaluate the uncertainties that our conclusions draw from an entire population. More generally, probability theory provides the mathematical basis for inferential statistics.
• Unit 4 Sampling distribution and confidence intervals discusses the most important distribution in statistics, called the normal distribution. You will work with normally-distributed variables, and assess normal probability plots. This unit's coverage extends to the concepts of sampling error and sampling distribution. You will develop important statistical-inference procedures to examine the sample mean from a population to estimate and to draw conclusions about the entire population.
• Unit 5 Hypothesis tests for one population mean and Unit 6 Hypothesis tests for two population means introduce you to statistical inferences. These units have two basic themes: one is concerned with the processes involved in collecting and using data from scientific and experiments; the other involves the use and interpretation of statistics both by an individual and by society in general. The hypothesis tests for one and two populations will be discussed. You will learn how to apply the critical value and P-value approaches to hypothesis testing. In these two units, both parametric and nonparametric methods will be examined.
• Unit 7 Categorical data analysis deals with inferential statistics that are not concerned with population parameters. Instead, it will focus on the Chi-square distribution. You will learn the chi-square goodness-of-fit test and use the hypothesis test to decide whether a difference exists among the distributions of a variable in two populations.
• Unit 8 Relationships and regression analysis examines the relationships between two or more qualitative variables. Linear regression and correlation coefficients are used to examine relationships between two quantitative variables.
• Unit 9 Surveys and questionnaires extends the concepts you will have first encountered in Unit 1. The application of different sampling methods, including simple random sampling, cluster sampling, stratified sampling, and quota sampling, will be reviewed. The methods for conducting a marketing research survey and for designing an appropriate questionnaire will be discussed.

(An outline of the contents of each unit can be found in Appendix A of this Course Guide.)

The custom textbook

The title of the custom textbook is STAT S242 Statistics in Society. This custom textbook will comprise nine units, of which two units are developed by HKMU. The remaining seven units are adapted from a selected textbook, as set out below.

Units 2 and 9 will be developed by HKMU.

The Study Guide will indicate at which points you should read each chapter and do exercises provided in the custom textbook.

The Study Guide

The Study Guide serves two functions. First, it provides you with information on the aims, learning outcomes, assessment strategies, and means of support for this course. Second, it sets out your study pathway through the customized textbook and other course learning resources, and self-assessment opportunities. You'll therefore need to keep this document by your side as you work through the course.

The Study Guide is divided into seven units. The titles of the units, the textbook chapters and readings they will cover, are set out in the following table.

Note: There is no Study Guide for HKMU-developed Unit 2 and Unit 9.

The Online Learning Environment (OLE)

A dedicated area for STAT S242 students has been set up in HKMU's OLE. You will need to log on regularly to the OLE to access the course discussion board and online supplementary learning components.

Assignment submission and extension

This presentation of STAT S242 OLE includes the following three sub-components related to your assignments:

1. Assignment File — all assignment questions will be posted on the OLE.
2. Assignment submission and extension. This component allows you to:
   • check the status of your assignments;
   • submit your assignments;
   • check your assignment scores; and
   • apply for extensions for late submission.
3. Assignment (multiple-choice) Submission — answers to the multiple-choice assignment must be submitted through the Assignment (MC) submission system. No postal mailing is accepted.

Interactive tools

The OLE Interactive Tools includes the course Discussion Board. The Discussion Board allows you to post any problems that you would like to discuss with other students and your tutor. In addition, you can make use of the University email system; you can gain access to it through the OLE. Using it, you can send email to students, tutors, and your Course Coordinator, and receive email from them.

Face-to-face support via lectures and tutorials

You will be supported throughout the course by regular face-to-face meetings in the form of supplementary lectures and tutorials.

There are about 11 supplementary lectures and 11 tutorials provided for this course. All lectures and tutorials will be two-hour sessions, and will be conducted by your assigned tutor.

You should refer to the course schedules for the details on lectures and tutorials arrangements. Although the lectures and tutorials are not compulsory, you are strongly advised to attend.

Online lecture PPT slides

Each unit will be supported by one or two supplementary lectures. All lecture PPT slides will be available on the OLE for you to study after each session.

Assessment

You are expected to apply concepts and techniques acquired during the study when completing this course's continuous assessment. You will also undertake regular activities and practical exercises while working through the study units.

The course contains continuous assessment and a final examination. Their respective weightings are 30% and 70% of the course score. Continuous assessment consists of five assignments, of which one of them is a multiple-choice assignment. The minimum passing threshold for both continuous assessment and examination is 40 marks out of 100 marks. In order to pass the course, you need to meet both thresholds.

Assignment booklets

The assignment booklets contain more information about which units are covered by each assignment, and when you should submit your assignments. The assignment booklets will be sent to you during the presentation and posted on the OLE for you to download.

Assignment (multiple-choice)

There is one multiple-choice assignment in this course and this contains 20 to 30 multiple-choice questions. This assignment assesses fundamental concepts related to statistical methods and data- handling skills. This assignment is required to be submitted through the Online Assignment (MC) Submission System.

Assignments

There are four summative assignments for the course. The best three out of four assignments will be counted. Upon receiving your assignment, tutors will be required to mark the assignments and return them to you with your scores, comments, and feedback.

Assessment summary

The assessment items and their marks are outlined in the following table.

Examination

The purpose of the examination is to assess your understanding of the material covered in the entire course. The three-hour final examination will be 'closed book', with the exception of the Course Formula Booklet and Statistical Tables. The examination is worth 70% of the total course mark. The exam paper will be divided into two parts:

• Part I will contain some short questions that assess your general knowledge of the course material from all units.
• Part II will comprise more challenging long questions based on a problem-solving approach. The questions will assess your skills in statistical analysis and using methods of inferential statistics for the analysis of real-life problems, and in concluding results for recommendation.

Specimen examination

To help you prepare for the final examination, you will be sent a specimen examination paper some time before the actual examination. You should work through this carefully, together with the sample solutions that will be provided.

The following table gives a general overview of the course structure. It suggests the amount of time you should allow for completing units, and provides a broad schedule for you to plan your work. This estimation includes time for reading the units and custom textbook, completing activities, self-tests and assignments, attending tutorials, and preparing for your final examination

Each study unit is designed to occupy you for three to four weeks. In general, we expect you to spend about 30–40 hours of work on a unit spanning a period of three to four weeks. Of course, you will probably find that some sections take you longer, while others require less time.

Using the study units

We are sure that you will learn about statistics only by actively working on statistical problems. It is important that you do not simply sit in an armchair and read through the units. You must always work with pen, paper, calculator, and an alert mind. To help you with this, we provide the following features in the textbook.

• Examples: Examples illustrate points in the text or demonstrate how you should approach a particular type of problem. Follow these through carefully; checking the calculations for yourself, and making sure you understand how they are arrived at for each stage.
• Exercise: At the end of each section of the unit, a set of exercises is designed to give you practice in various techniques. You can work through them as you come to them, or later to use as part of your revision.
• Technology Center: This course includes computing activities using XLSTAT so you can practise using Excel with the add-in tool to consolidate your work on data analysis.
• Review problems: You will find additional groups of exercises called review problems at the end of each unit. These provide extra practice if you need it, and may be a little more demanding than the majority of the exercises within sections. You may regard these end-of-section exercises as optional; but at the risk of being repetitious, we recommend that you do as many of them as you can find the time for doing them.
• Focusing on Data Analysis: The Focusing on Data Analysis feature gives you the chance to work with large data sets, practise using XLSTAT, and discover the methods of exploring and analysing large dataset problems.
• Case Study: A Case Study Discussion is provided at the beginning of each topic of the concerned unit in which an opening case study is reviewed and discussed in light of the focus points, and then problems are presented for you to consider.

This course contains other materials such as stop presses, errata, the course schedules, and Excel data sets; all are available on the STAT S242 Online Learning Environment (OLE).

STAT S242 formula booklet and statistical tables

You may find this booklet useful as a source of reference while studying the course. The booklet contains two sections.

• A glossary of short definitions and formula of technical words used in the course.
• A list of statistical tables.

You will not be allowed to bring this booklet to the exam. An identical copy of this booklet will be provided to you together with the exam paper.

Course schedules

The course schedule, which provides you with a timetable of important course activities and events, is available on the Online Learning Environment (OLE). The organization of the calendar is meant to give you an indication of how you should arrange your study of the course. Remember that you must aim to submit your assignments by the indicated due dates.

Stop presses

Throughout the presentation your Course Coordinator will send you stop presses that contain important up-to-date information about various aspects of the course. You should read each of these as soon as you receive it. All stop presses will be posted on the STAT S242 OLE.

Errata

Any course errata will contain corrections to the study material and assignment questions. You should check and amend your text immediately as soon as you receive an erratum. All errata will be posted to the STAT S242 OLE.

Data sets

More than 1,000 data sets in the examples and exercises of the textbook are installed in electronic files in several formats in the DATA Sets of the WeissStats site.

Since this course uses Excel worksheet, for your convenience, all data sets in Excel format are available online on the STAT S242 OLE.

Textbook Exercise Solution Guide

The detailed solution guide for all of the section exercises is posted on the STAT S242 OLE. You can check your solution after working out the exercises.

XLSTAT installation procedure

Installing XLSTAT (Excel add-in) onto your computer is easy! An access code is packaged with your textbook.

In order to help you to get started with the use of XLSTAT, a 'Getting Started XLSTAT User Guide' is available on the STAT S242 OLE.

Please follow the following two parts of instructions. Please do not have any Microsoft Excel spreadsheets open during the installation.

Installation procedure

Part 1: Getting a license key

Go to http://www.pearsonhighered.com/xlstat.

1. Enter the Access Code (provided together with the textbook).

2. Enter your Email Address.

3. The screen that appears should look like the following:

4. Click Get Access.

5. A license key will be sent to you at your email address.

6. Go to your email inbox to get the license key.

Part 2: Downloading the XLSTAT software

1. Go to http://www.xlstat.com/xlstat.zip.

2. Save the zip file onto your computer.

3. Double click on xlstat.exe. The Install Shield Wizard will now appear.

4. Click Next when prompted. Allow time for the program to run.

5. Agree to the license terms, and click Install.

6. Once the installation process is complete, click Finish. Be sure to have the box checked for Launch XLSTAT. Microsoft Excel will pop up. Please choose Enable Macros.

7. Once the window appears, click Register.

8. An Activation Required message box will appear. Be sure to select Activate XLSTAT and click Continue.

9. Input your License Key: e.g. 327500058747643463 (which will give you a 12-month subscription) and then, click Activate.

The installation is complete at this point, an icon (XLSTAT 2015) will appear on your computer's desktop. Please check!

If you find yourself having any trouble with any aspect of this course, there are several ways you can find help.

From your tutor

Your tutor is there to help you understand the ideas in the course, and the best way for him or her to do this is through the comments written on your assignment scripts. When your assignment is returned, go through the script and take note of the comments written by your tutor; they will help you avoid similar errors in later assignments and in the examination. Also try to attend tutorials and surgeries because there you will have the opportunity to talk to your tutor directly and, just as importantly, to talk to other students.

From your fellow students

One of the best ways of learning is by talking about your work with fellow students. Unfortunately, you will see them only at the infrequent tutorials during the year. That leaves a lot of weeks when you could be on your own. Make sure then that you have the addresses and telephone numbers of other STAT S242 students in your area; that way, you can stay in touch more frequently. You might even like to form your own self-help group to meet regularly; this is often a good way of getting people to discuss common difficulties, especially in the assessment questions.

From the Course Coordinator

If there are any academic queries that your tutor cannot settle for you, then your tutor will probably advise you to contact the Course Coordinator.

From the OLE discussion board and email

OLE: Problems and queries can be posted for students and tutors to offer help. This has been a popular way for students to get help. Often you can find that the answer to your problem in a similar problem posted by another student.

Email: Each student and tutor has an email account for direct communication between individuals and groups. Most of the news and comments from the Course Coordinator and tutor will be sent to you through this email system.

It is important to keep as close to the schedule laid down in the course schedule as you can (of course there is no harm in being ahead of it, but few students are in the fortunate position of being able to keep that up for any length of time). The main reason for keeping up to schedule is that you will lose marks if you miss any questions on the assignments. For many of the assignments, the due date is very soon after the end of the study week for the last of the relevant units. We recommend that you finish the assignment questions for each unit as soon as you finish the unit, otherwise you will have a lot of work to do in a few days before the due date.

If you have not done all the work in time for an assignment, you should still submit as much of the assignment as you can do, and start the new unit on time. As a matter of survival, it is more important to start each unit on time than to do every assignment question.

If it becomes apparent during your study that you will not have enough time to do all the work in it, you will have to make some decisions about which parts of which units to leave out. Such omissions will, in general, cause you to lose marks in your assignments, but this is better than getting hopelessly behind and dropping out.