Lesson 0 Course Overview and Statistical Foundations

Course Logistics & Grading

  • Instructor Contact: Tiffany Hilton (Sister Hilton). Emails answered until 8:00 p.m.; no responses on Sundays.

  • Course Platform: Delivered via Canvas (BYU Online).

  • Grading Breakdown:

    • Homework: 20%20\% of grade. Due Saturdays; highest score retained among three versions (A, B, C).

    • Lab Assignments: 15%15\% of grade. Requires attending one Active Learning Lab on Zoom per week (starts September 8th). Non-attendance requests allowed up to 3 times per semester.

    • Midterm Exams: 40%40\% total (20%20\% each across two exams).

    • Final Exam: 25%25\% of grade.

    • Extra Credit: Weekly announcement quizzes (1%1\% overall grade boost upon completion of all quizzes) and student ratings (11 extra point or ≈1.5%\approx 1.5\% boost on the final exam).

  • Late Penalty: 25%25\% deduction per day (25%25\% day 1, 50%50\% day 2, 75%75\% day 3 or later) for homework and labs.

  • Exam Policies: Open to locally saved notes and course resources. Closed to internet searches, artificial intelligence, and other individuals. Proctored via Honorlock with two attempts per exam (highest score kept).

Course Resources & Workflow

  • Study Guide: Complete definitions inside jagged-edged boxes using lesson slides prior to watching videos.

  • Lecture Videos: Short (1010 to 1515 minutes) videos designed for modular learning and completing lecture notes.

  • Course Materials: Available as PDFs, fillable PDFs, Word files, or printed booklets from the bookstore.

  • Software Tools: Computation conducted using R Shiny apps.

Process of Statistics

  • Definition: Science focused on the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data.

  • Four-Step Statistical Process:

    • Step 1: Producing Data: Data collection via observational studies or experiments.

    • Step 2: Exploratory Data Analysis: Displaying and summarizing data using graphs and numerical summaries.

    • Step 3: Probability: Mathematical basis used to develop a statistical model.

    • Step 4: Inference: Drawing conclusions about a population based on sample data through hypothesis tests and confidence intervals.

Key Terminology

  • Population: The entire group of individuals under study.

  • Individual: A single entity (person, rat, user, family, or class) in a population.

  • Sample: A measured subgroup of individuals selected from the population.

  • Parameter: A numerical value summarizing a population.

  • Statistic: A numerical value summarizing a sample.

  • Variable: A characteristic or piece of information collected from an individual.

  • Statistical Model: A mathematical or probabilistic representation of the population.

  • Statistical Inference: The process of reaching conclusions about a population using information from a sample.