The final exam covers all topics we have learned in class.  The exam focuses equally on recent and old topics.  Material covered after the second midterm will appear on the final exam.

The final exam is designed to test your understanding of statistical procedures.   It emphasizes interpretation of  statistical procedures and decisions about which procedures to use, but you may also be asked to perform simple calculations. 

You may be given JMP output and asked to interpret it.  Be sure that you are familiar with such output!  For example, you may be given some problems with two or more sets of JMP output reporting the results of different analyses, and you have to choose the correct analysis. You do not need to memorize JMP commands or click-sequences for the exam.

You also will be asked some questions that are not attached to specific data.  For example, you may be asked to design a particular study or to comment on the validity of statistical statements.

Logistics

During the exam, you are allowed to use two sheets of 8.5 by 11 paper filled with any information you want to put on them.  Both sides of the sheets can be used.   The instructor will provide any tables that are needed.

Bring a calculator.

The exam is designed to take less than three hours, although you have the full three hours to complete it. 

Suggestions for Studying

A useful way to study for these exams is to study homwork problems.  Often, the hardest and most crucial part of statistical analyses is deciding which inferential technique to use.  Thus, you may find it helpful to ask a friend to select problems from an introductory statistics textbook (there are many), have them cover up any instructions like "use a one-sample t-test to...", and then decide which procedure to use.  This simulates real-life, and it also simulates the exam.

To give you a sense of typical questions that could be asked on the final,  here are links to practice questions.  

Practice final 1.   Answers to practice final 1.

Practice final 2.   Answers to practice final 2.