TAs: Eric Vance & Zhenglei Gao

Office Hours

Course Location and Meeting Times:
    Lecture: M Tu W Th F 9:30 AM-10:45 AM (116 Old Chem)
    Lab Section 1: Tu W Th 11:00 AM-12:00 PM (01 Old Chem)
    Lab Section 2: Tu W Th 12:30 PM-1:30 PM (01 Old Chem)

Textbook: Freedman, Pisani, and Purves (1998), Statistics (3rd ed.). W.W. Norton & Co. Inc.

Computing: We will use the statistical software JMP-IN. You can purchase JMP-IN from the Duke book store. It is also available on all public PCs across campus.

Some advice for success in Stat 101

Do as many problems from the book as possible The best way to learn quantitative material is to work problems. Although you do not need to turn in every problem, working through them on your own will greatly improve your understanding. Also quiz questions may come directly from the book.

Most sections in the text are followed by Exercises. Answers for these are in the back of the book. I recommend doing these problems as you do the reading, and doing the Review Exercises at the end of each chapter a couple days later, or in preparation for quizzes/tests.

Students who are successful in Stat 101 during the regular school year typically put in at least 6 hours per week outside of class/lab. Since we are on an accelerated schedule, expect at least twice that. It is better to schedule a few hours a day rather than to try to cram everything into a weekend or night before a test.

You are strongly encouraged to form study groups and work together. If you need extra help please come to office hours and/or post your question on the discussion board.

Graded Work

Quizzes (15%): Up to ten quizzes will be given. These problems will be similar to the Review Exercises in your text. These will help you prepare for exams.

Labs/Homework (20%): Lab reports must be turned in before class the day following the lab period when they are assigned. The lab periods will be used to work on the labs, and some days for examples and discussions. You should be able to complete most of the labs during the lab period. Additional problems from the book will be assigned as homework. You should check Blackboard regularly for assignments.

Final Project (10%): This will allow you to apply what you have learned to a subject of your choosing. See this page for more information about the final project.

Exams: One midterm (25%) and one final (30%).

Academic honesty

You are expected to abide by Duke's Community Standard for all work for this course. Violations of the Standard will be reprimanded by failure of this course and will be reported to the Dean of Students for adjudication. Ignorance of what constitutes academic dishonesty is not a justifiable excuse for violations.

For quizzes and exams, you are required to work alone and for only the specified time period. For labs, you are allowed and encouraged to help each other. On the final project, you work and submit results in groups.

Procedures if you suspect your work has been graded incorrectly

Every effort will be made to mark your work accurately. You should be credited with all the points you've worked hard to earn! However, sometimes grading mistakes happen. If you believe that an error has been made on an in-class problem or exam, return the paper to the instructor immediately, stating your claim in writing.

The following claims will be considered for re-grading:

1. points are not totaled correctly;
2. the grader did not see a correct answer that is on your paper;
3. your answer is the same as the correct answer, but in a different form (e.g., you wrote a correct answer as 1/3 and the grader was looking for .333);
4. your answer to a free response question is essentially correct but stated slightly differently than the grader's interpretation.

   The following claims will not be considered for re-grading:

5. arguments about the number of points lost;
6. arguments about question wording.

Considering re-grades takes up valuable time and resources that TAs and the instructor would rather spend helping you understand material. Please be considerate and only bring claims of type 1-4 to our attention.