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 9:00-11:00, 2:30-3:30, Wednesday 2:00-3:00 Thursday 9:00-11:00 Website: http://www.stat.sc.edu/~habing/courses/530F03.html
Bulletin Description:	STAT 530 —Exploring Multivariate Data. (3) (Prereq: STAT 515 or PSYC 228 or MGSC or equivalent) Introduction to fundamental ideas in multivariate statistics using case studies. Descriptive, exploratory, and graphical techniques; introduction to cluster analysis, principal components, factor analysis, discriminant analysis, Hotelling's T2 and other methods.
Notes:	The deadline for dropping the course without failing is Thursday, October 2
Purpose of Course:	To introduce students with a variety of statistical backgrounds to the basic ideas in multivariate statistics. Particular attention will be given to methods of visualizing data structures through graphical displays, projections, and rotations. It will cover the assumptions, limitations, and uses of basic techniques such as cluster analysis, principal components analysis, factor analysis, Hotelling's T2, tree-based methods, and other recent developments. Instead of theoretical developments, the focus will be on the intuitive understanding and application of these methods to real data sets by the students.
Expectations:	All students are expected to: Attend class regularly, asking questions when clarification is needed and participating in any in-class activities Read the material listed on the board before the next class meeting Attempt all of the assigned homework problems and turn them 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 Text:	Multivariate Statistical Methods: A Primer (2nd Edition) by B.F.J. Manly, Chapman & Hall, 1994.
Computers and Calculators:	This course will use the software packages SAS and R. You will have an account on the CSM Windows-NT domain. Currently the computers in LC 124, LC 303A, and PSC 102 have SAS and R. Student copies of SAS for home use are also available for purchase from the university's computer services division. R is freeware and available for download. NO PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF SAS or R IS ASSUMED. SAS is the de facto standard statistical package in a number of industries, and experience with SAS is a prerequisite for many jobs in statistics and in fields which use statistics. R is a universally available version of the versatile S programming language. While the class is not intended to turn you into programming experts, you are expected to work with these two packages both in and outside of class. The course web page will feature sample code to help on the homework (and most likely the take home exams) and I am always available for questions in person and by e-mail.
Homework:	Homework is due at the beginning of the class period it was assigned for. Late homework is not accepted. There will be 12 homework assignments, each worth 5 points. The lowest two homework grades will be dropped. Homework will be assigned at least one week in advance in class, and will also be posted on the class website. The writing on the homework must be legible, the 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. Copies of the SAS/Rcode must be included with any homework requiring SAS/R. Extraneous pages of SAS/R output should not be turned in. You MAY get help on the homework from your fellow students, but simply copying their work is unacceptable.
Quizzes:	Six short (10 minute) quizzes will be given during the semester. One will be given at the beginning of class on each of September 5th, September 19th, October 3rd, October 31st, November 14th, and December 5th. Each quiz is worth 5 points. The lowest Quiz grade will be dropped.
Exams:	There will be two take home exams. The first will be due on Wednesday, October 22nd at the start of class. It will be posted on the web by Friday, October 10th. The second will be Due at 5:00pm on Tuesday, December 9th (the end of the regularly scheduled exam period). It will be posted on the web by Monday, November 24th. You may not consult or receive help from any other students or faculty on the take home exams. You may ask me for clarification on the questions or for some help with the computers. Each take home exam will be worth 50 points.
Grades:	The final grade will then be determined based on: Homework 50 points total Quizzes 25 points total Exams 100 points total with the letter grade determined by the percentage of points obtained out of the maximum possible 175. 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 quiz 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.
Graduate Credit:	Students taking the course for graduate credit will be assigned extra questions on the take home exams.
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.