Requirements

• A general comfort with numbers and quantitative reasoning is important
• as the course involves interpreting data
• calculating averages
• and understanding proportions and percentages.
• Students should be able to read and interpret graphs
• charts
• and tables
• as these are frequently used in statistical analysis to visualize data and communicate results.
• Although not a formal prerequisite
• a willingness to think critically
• ask questions
• and explore data patterns will help students succeed and engage deeply with the course material.

Description

This course offers a foundational introduction to the principles of statistics, focusing on sampling techniques, the Central Limit Theorem (CLT), and the concept of standard error. Students will explore the process of selecting representative samples from larger populations, a crucial step in making valid statistical inferences. Various sampling methods, such as simple random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, and systematic sampling, will be covered in detail, enabling students to understand how to collect data that accurately represents a broader group. The importance of sampling in real-world applications will be emphasized, including considerations of bias and sampling error that can impact the validity of conclusions drawn from sample data.

A central focus of the course is the Central Limit Theorem, a key statistical concept that underpins much of inferential statistics. Through examples and hands-on exercises, students will learn how the CLT allows statisticians to approximate the distribution of sample means as normal, even when the population distribution is not normal. This property is foundational to many statistical methods, such as hypothesis testing and confidence interval estimation. Understanding the CLT enables students to appreciate the role of sample size, as larger samples yield distributions of sample means that are more consistently normal and provide a closer approximation of population parameters.

The course also introduces the concept of standard error, which measures the variability of a sample statistic, such as the sample mean, around the true population parameter. Students will examine how standard error reflects the precision of sample estimates and how it can be minimized through increased sample sizes. Applications of standard error in constructing confidence intervals and performing hypothesis tests will be covered, allowing students to quantify uncertainty and make informed inferences based on sample data.

Throughout the course, students will work on practical examples that demonstrate the applications of statistical concepts across various fields, such as social science research, economics, and quality control. These examples will illustrate how sampling, the CLT, and standard error are applied in real-world scenarios to draw conclusions about larger populations from sample data. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with essential statistical tools and techniques, laying the groundwork for more advanced studies in statistics and data analysis. This course is designed for students beginning their exploration of statistical methods, providing a robust introduction to the basics of data collection, analysis, and inference.

Who this course is for:

• Social Science Students interested in analyzing patterns and trends in human behavior
• society
• and economics.
• Business and Marketing Students looking to make data-driven decisions
• understand market trends
• and conduct surveys and research.
• Health and Life Sciences Students who need to interpret research findings
• assess health data
• and understand risk factors.
• Education Majors aiming to analyze student performance
• interpret assessment data
• and evaluate educational programs.
• Engineering and Computer Science Students (Introductory Level) who want to understand basic data analysis for applications in quality control
• product testing
• and research.
• Non-Majors and General Education Students who want to enhance their quantitative literacy
• critical thinking
• and ability to work with data in a range of contexts.