ISI - MATH 1153 - Introduction to Statistical Reasoning

Course Description

Introduction to Statistical Reasoning covers descriptive statistics, probability, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing for one and two parameters. Emphasis on applications to a wide variety of disciplines.

This survey course in statistics serves students from a variety of disciplines. The focus of the class is not on solving difficult algebraic problems; rather, the primary purpose of this class is to introduce the student to statistical thinking and to develop the skills needed to understand and incorporate data analysis techniques in everyday life.

Statistics, the science, is all about data. So even though this course is listed as Math 1153, it is really not a mathematics course. Because data vary, there is an inherent level of uncertainty in statistical problems that is not present in, say, geometry.

The real world is full of variability, and we are regularly forced to make judgments in the face of uncertainty. Statistical reasoning can help us make better judgments more often. We can't always be right, and statistics cannot literally prove anything, but statistics can provide guidance in a complex world.

REQUIRED: Exam proctor required for this course.

Learner Outcomes

Students will be introduced to descriptive and inferential statistics in this course. In a modern world that often suffers from both too much and too little data, students will participate in intelligently applying the concepts of this course to a variety of disciplines.

Students will:

1. interpret and produce descriptive statistics, both graphical and numerical;
2. study some of the foundational concepts of statistical inference, including the role of the normal distribution and other distributions;
3. solve numerous problems in inferential statistics from a wide collection of real-world and academic environments, with emphasis on testing hypotheses and estimating parameters;
4. determine the assumptions that underlie and explain past and present use and abuse of statistical reasoning;
5. practice using tables, calculators, and/or Courseware as time- and labor-saving devices, but only to the extent that these devices enhance understanding of the concepts and procedures of statistics.

Required Course Materials

• Minitab 19 Statistical Software package
• Hawkes Learning Systems (HLS) Beginning Statistics Courseware
• A computer with Internet access (including email). Check in Hawkes Learning for the Minimum System Requirements for using the courseware.
• Calculator (TI-83 or TI-84 is not essential but may be very useful as a time- saving device).

View Course Syllabus

Sponsor Institution

Credits earned for this course are included in a Idaho State University transcript.

This is an INDEPENDENT STUDY IN IDAHO course

To learn about program and refund policies, visit www.uidaho.edu/isi.

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