Instructor:	Brian Habing, Assistant Professor office: 203 LeConte e-mail: habing@stat.sc.edu office phone: 777-3578 home phone: 739-2686 (9am to 10pm only) Office Hours: whenever the door is open, by appointment, and Tuesday/Thursday 8:30-11:30 Website: http://www.stat.sc.edu/~habing/courses/312F02.html
Bulletin Description:	312—Proseminar in Statistics. (3) (Prereq: Sophomore standing and either MATH 122 or SCCC 111 or MATH 141).
Notes:	No previous statistics course is required SCCC 312 should probably not be taken if you have already had STAT 201, 509, or 515 The deadline for dropping the course without failing is Thursday, October 3
Purpose of Course:	SCCC 312A is designed to introduce honors students to the application of modern statistical methods and thinking, and to provide experience in using them as a research tool.
Expectations:	All students are expected to: Attend class regularly, asking questions when clarification is needed and participating in all in-class activities Read the material listed on the board before the next class meeting and be prepared for the labs Attempt all of the assigned work and turn it in at the start of the class in which they are due Use the resource of their fellow students and their instructor to seek answers to questions that arise in class, in the readings, and on the homework
Required Texts:	Just The Essentials of Elementary Statistics (3rd ed.), by Johnson and Kuby, Duxbury Press, 2003. Statistics: Learning By Doing, by Spurrier, Edwards, and Thombs, Whittier Publications, 1999.
Computers and Calculators:	This course will use the software package Minitab. You will have an account on the CSM Windows-NT domain. Currently the computers in LC 124, LC 303A and PSC 102 have Minitab. Student copies of Minitab for home use are also available for purchase from the bookstore. Other statistical packages available in the university labs may be used as well. A basic calculator may be used on the exams. If your calculator is programmable you will be required to clear its memory before the exam starts.
Exams and Topics Covered:	There will be two exams and the final. The topics covered in the exams will generally follow the chapters of the text listed below. However, the exams may also cover material which was solely presented in class, and that is not contained in the text. A definitive list of topics covered will be distributed during the class period before each exam (it will also be posted on the web). The first exam will be held in class on Friday, September 27th. It will focus on the subjects related to chapters 1-4 and portions of chapter 5 of the text, including: basic statistical terminology, graphical and numerical descriptive statistics, descriptive linear regression, and basic probability for discrete random variables. A sample exam will be given out at the review session on Wednesday, September 25th in class. The second exam will be held in class on Friday, November 15th . It will focus on the material related to chapters 5-9 of the text, including binomial and normal random variables, the central limit theorem, sampling distributions, and estimation and inference for one population. A sample exam will be given out at the review session on Wednesday, November 13th. in class. The final exam will be held at 9:00am on Saturday, December 14th. It will be cumulative, covering both the material from the previous two exams, as well as the material in chapter 10 and possibly additional advanced topics. The review for the final is in class on Friday December 6th. Make up exams will be given only in extreme circumstances, and only when accompanied by appropriate documentation. Incidence of cheating and academic dishonesty will be punished to the full extent allowed by university regulations.
Labs	There will be eleven labs throughout the semester (on most Fridays) and the schedule will be posted on the web-page (including which labs will involve Short Answer Writing Assignments and which will involve Extended Writing Assignments.) . Lab Quizzes: You are expected to read lab descriptions in advance and arrive on time to lab meetings. You will be given a short quiz on the lab session material for seven randomly chosen labs. Each quiz will be worth five points, and the lowest two quiz grades will be dropped. Students who arrive late to lab will not be permitted to take the quiz. Short Answer Writing Assignments (SAWA) For all but two of the lab sessions, you will be required to complete a series of short answer questions to be collected. These questions are located at the end of each lab session in the lab textbook. Each SAWA will be graded out of 10 points. No SAWA grades will be dropped. Each SAWA will be due on the class following the lab (usually the next Monday). Students who miss a lab meeting for a valid reason will be eligible to complete a make-up lab activity, but there is only one opportunity for a make-up. See me if you think your situation merits a make-up. Extended Writign Assignment (EWA) For two of the labs, you will be required to complete an extended writing assignment. This is a detailed technical writing report that discusses the lab experiment, statistical methods, and results. While SAWAs are done in a group setting in lab, the EWA is an independent writing assignment - do not use the same paper that your lab partners have written. Greater detail on this paper will be provided later. You may meet with me to get feedback on any rough drafts prior to the due date. Each EWA is worth 50 points.
Homework:	Homework is due at the beginning of the class period it was assigned for. Late homework is not accepted. Homework will be assigned at least one week in advance in class, and will also be posted on the class website. If the homework is on a handout, that handout will be available in class and during office hours. You MAY work on the homework assignments with other students, but each student must write it up individually. (i.e., No photocopies of another student's work.) The homework will be prorated to be worth 50 points.
In General:	The writing on assignments must be legible, any work used to obtain the answers must be shown and correct, and the final answers must be clearly indicated in order to receive full credit. Extra points may be deducted for violating any of the following: Write on one side of the paper only. Multiple pages must be stapled together. No clips. Extraneous pages of computer output should not be turned in.
Grades:	The grade is determined by the scores on the homework and examinations as follows: Homework 50 points Lab Quizzes 25 points SAWAs 90 points EWAs 100 points Exam 1 100 points Exam 2 100 points Final Exam 100 points with the letter grade determined by the percentage of points obtained out of the maximum possible 565. Letter Minimum Grade Percent A 90 B+ 87 B 80 C+ 77 C 70 D+ 67 D 60 F 0 Any questions involving the grading of a homework assignment or exam must be raised by the class period following the one in which it was returned. There is no "extra credit". Any deviations from the above grading scheme will be to the benefit of the students.
Complaints and Comments:	While there are end of semester evaluation forms, they come far too late to resolve any difficulties experienced in the class. All complaints should be raised by either speaking with me directly, or by anonymously leaving a message in my mailbox in 216 LeConte.