ECON 1008 - Business and Economic Statistics I

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2016

In today's world, good decision making relies on data and data analysis. This course helps students develop the understanding that they will need to make informed decisions using data, and to communicate the results effectively. The course is an introduction to the essential concepts, tools and methods of statistics for students in business, economics and similar disciplines, although it may have wider interest. The focus is on concepts, reasoning, interpretation and thinking rather than computation, formulae and theory. Much of the work will require students to write effectively and communicate their ideas with clarity. The course covers two main branches of statistics: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics includes collecting data and summarising and interpreting them through numerical and graphical techniques. Inferential statistics includes selecting and applying the correct statistical technique in order to make estimates or test claims about a population based on a sample. Topics covered may include descriptive statistics, correlation and simple regression, probability, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, multiple regression, time series analysis and index numbers. By the end of this course, students should understand and know how to use statistics. Students will also develop some understanding of the limitations of statistical inference and of the ethics of data analysis and statistics. Students will work in small groups in this course; this will develop the skills required to work effectively and inclusively in groups, as in a real work environment. Typically, one component of the assessment requires students to work in teams and collect and analyse data in order to answer a real-world problem of their own choosing.

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Course Details

Course Code	ECON 1008
Course	Business and Economic Statistics I
Coordinating Unit	Economics
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 4 hours per week. Intensive in Summer Semester.
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Incompatible	WINEMKTG 1015EX, STATS 1000, STATS 1005
Quota	A quota may apply
Assessment	Typically, tutorial participation &/or exercises, assignments, tests & final exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Ms Vivian Piovesan

These are the Course Coordinators for this course for the three semesters of 2016. They will provide further contact details, such as office locations and office hours, at the start of the semester.

Summer Semester
Course Coordinator: Mr Roger Mableson
Office location: Nexus 10, Room 4.13
Contact details: Phone 8313 5520; Email roger.mableson@adelaide.edu.au

Roger Mableson will be conducting both the lectures and tutorials for this course in Summer Semester.

Semester 1 & 2
Course Coordinator: Ms Vivian Piovesan
Office Location: Nexus 10, Room 3.36
Contact details: Phone 8313 4495;Email vivian.piovesan@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Students in this course are expected to attend two 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour practical (tutorial) class each week.
PRACTICALS (tutorials) COMMENCE IN WEEK 2.
ECON100BR Bradford Students are asked to read the ECON 1008 Course Outline.

Course Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, students will be able to:

1.      Apply correctly a variety of statistical techniques, both descriptive and inferential.

2.      Interpret, in plain language, the application and outcomes of statistical techniques.

3.      Interpret computer output and use it to solve problems.

4.      Recognize inappropriate use or interpretation of statistics. in other courses, in the media and in life in general and comment
critically on the appropriateness of this use of statistics.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1-4
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1-4
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	1-4
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-2

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Text book

Sharpe, N R, R D De Veaux and P E Velleman, Business Stats, 3rd edition, Global Edition, 2015, Pearson.

There are other editions of this book, used in 2013 and 2014. They are also suitable for this course.

All students are expected to have access to and STUDY the text!

Calculator
Students will need a calculator; a basic one that can take squares, square roots etc is sufficient.

Recommended Resources

The lecture slides, practical questions and other information will be available for students on MyUni and can be downloaded or printed from there. Alternatively, a booklet containing the lectures slides and prac question set may be available for purchase. Details will be on MyUni by the start of semester.

The lecture notes are NOT complete – they indicate what is to be covered in the lecture; you need to attend the lecture and write your own notes.

In Semester 1 and 2 (but not in Summer Semester) it is intended that the lectures be recorded and a recording of each lecture put on MyUni for students who miss a lecture – but be aware that sometimes recordings fail. In that case, a note will be put on MyUni but the lecture may not always be re-recorded and students may need to make other arrangements, such as obtain notes from other students, read the book or contact the lecturer.

NOTE: Dictionaries are not allowed in School of Economics exams

Online Learning

Course Website

https://www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au
Extensive use is made of MyUni; please check the announcements regularly. Lecture notes, practical questions, and past exam paper solutions will be made available on MyUni.

There is a discussion board on MyUni; this is the preferred way for students to ask questions because
this way all students have the same information and any of the staff can reply, allowing for quicker responses.
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
This course uses lectures plus practicals.

The lectures provide an overview of the course content but students must expect that they will need to study the textbook in order to understand the work.

The practicals will incorporate team based learning and may include discussion, problem solving activities, individual and group work, student questions and student participation. These practicals provide the opportunity for students to practice; they are vital for success in this course.
- Before the practicals, students will be expected to have attended or watched and understood the lectures and to have read the relevant chapter(s) from the text book.
- During the practical,
  
  First, students will be asked to record their attendance.
  
  Multiple choice question test will be done in teams.
  
  Individual written tests will be done as per advised.
  
  There will be time for discussion and questions about the week’s work.
  
  Finally, students will be required to work on worked answer questions, again in their teams.
- After the practicals, each team is required to hand in their answers to the worked answer questions, to their tutor. Some of these questions will be marked and returned in the following practical.
Working in groups (teams) will be a feature of tutorials (practicals) – making decisions as a group, planning
how to undertake activities collectively and discussing ideas and sharing information respectfully and constructively.

Teams will be formed quickly as per advised on MyUni.
Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
The workload for this course should consist of:
- Attend lectures 2 hours per week
- Attend tutorials 2 hours per week
- Study textbook 4 hours per week
- Prepare tutorial answer 4 hours per week
Learning Activities Summary
The topics to be covered may include
- Introduction and data
- Descriptive statistics
- Correlation and regression
- Randomness, random variables and probability
- Sampling and sampling distributions
- Inference—estimation and hypothesis tests for one proportion and one mean
- Inference in regression
- Topics in multiple regression
- Time series analysis
- Index numbers
Specific Course Requirements

None.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Final exam - 65%
Group (Team) mini-project - 10%
Practicals - 25% made up of the following:
- Group (Team) Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) tests - 7.5%
- Individual Written Tests - 10%
- Group (Team) Worked Answer Questions (WAQ) assignments - 7.5%

Assessment Related Requirements

There are no hurdle requirements for this course.

Assessment Detail

Final exam (65%)

This is of 3 hours duration, plus 10 minutes reading time.
Statistical tables are provided.
This exam covers the whole semester.
Please note that, following University policy, dictionaries are not allowed in School of Economics exams.
Graphics calculators are allowed but are not required.
Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. If we can’t read what you have written, we can’t give marks for it. Students are advised to use a black pen in the exam; write clearly, BEGIN each question ON A NEW PAGE and do not use white out or pencil.

Individual Written Tests (10%)

It is anticipated there will be 4 short written tests conducted during practicals (tutorials) during the semester, where the best 3 written tests will be counted towards assessment. It is anticipated that students will be given one week's notice for each written test via MyUni.
Medical and compassionate extensions: Unfortunately, late attempts at the written tests are not possible, even for valid medical or compassionate reasons. Students are advised to contact the course coordinator to discuss options.

Group (Team) mini-project (10%)

This project will require the group to show that they recognise and understand the practical application of statistics. Details will be provided on MyUni.
Each team is to hand in ONE project. ONLY team projects will be accepted.
Individual student projects will NOT be accepted.
Project details will be provided during the semester.
This project is due in Week 10. A proposal should be provided to the tutor by week 7.
Each project MUST have a FRONT COVER where there MUST be a list of names of ONLY CONTRIBUTING team members: NO NAME, NO MARKS. Also on this front cover must be the team's tutorial day, time and tutor.
Late projects will not be accepted unless 48 hour PRIOR arrangement with the Course Coordinator.

Group (Team) Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) tests (7.5%)

As of week 3 to week 12, there will weekly MCQ tests, so a total of 10 MCQ tests over the semester.
The best 7 of these 10 MCQ tests will be counted for assessment.
Because not all of these marks count for assessment, no special consideration will be given to students who miss a practical class for medical, compassionate or any other reason.

Group (Team) Worked Answer Question (WAQ) Assignments (7.5%)

As of week 3 to week 11, there will be weekly Team WAQs, so a total of 9 Team WAQs over the semester.
The best 7 of these 9 tests will be counted for assessment.
Because not all of these marks count for assessment, no special consideration will be given to students who miss a practical class for medical, compassionate or any other reason.

Further details will be provided on MyUni.

Redemption

There is no extra work that can be done to redeem individual components of assessment during the semester, no matter the reason; however if the final exam mark (%) exceeds the mark (%) on any other assessment, then the exam mark automatically takes its place.

Assessment marks prior to the final exam may be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the course coordinator of any discrepancies.

Submission

Individual wriitten tests and group (team) MCQ tests can only be done during the student's prac classes.

Students will be advised on MyUni regarding the submission method for the group (team) WAQ assignments and the group (team) mini project.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

The policy of the School of Economics is not to return final exam scripts to students. However, they are made available for students to read under the supervision of the Course Coordinator, at a time and place to be announced.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

Many students have commented on the team-based approach to learning used in this course. Whilst many students said they enjoyed it and thought it helped them study (some even said they thought they'd only pass because their team was so helpful and contributed so much to their learning), many thought the allocation of marks was unfair in that free-riders could earn marks too easily. Also, anecdotally, we felt that students who received marks because their team did the work for them were at a disadvantage because they did not realise they couldn't do the work until the exam, which meant they failed. To rectify this, we have a system in place so that only team members that contribute to team work will be allocated marks. Furthermore, we have the individual written test component so that students can see how they understand the topics.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator