A previous statistics course, at the level of STA101, STA102 or STA210, is required for this course. It is the responsibility of the student to identify areas in which his/her background might be weak, and to review as necessary. Suggested readings and review topics will be provided.
The main reference text for this class is:
D. Moore, G. McCabe. Introduction to the Practice of Statistics. W.H. Freeman & Co., 1998. Students whose backgrounds in basic statistics are weak should plan to purchase this book and use it to supplement the course textbook.
It is assumed that you are familiar with the following material in this book:
descriptive statistics: Sections 1.1, 1.2, 2.1
probability distributions and random variables: Sections 1.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5
sampling and basic experimental design principles: Chapter 3
hypothesis testing and confidence intervals: Chapter 6
correlation: Section 2.2
the distribution of a sample mean and the Central Limit Theorem: Section 4.4, 5.2
one-way analysis of variance: Chapter 12
simple linear regression: Section 2.3, 2.4
The concepts above are covered in the 100-level statistics courses offered in Duke Statistics.
The School of the Environment gives a statistics diagnostic test to its incoming masters students. It is assumed that you demonstrated proficiency in the topics above on this test. It is to your benefit to take this on-line diagnostic test, since it also provides guidelines for review. If you wish to take this exam, please contact Sandra McBride.