Introductory Statistics 3500-WDSTAT

It is a core course during which students gradually learn the basics of statistical analysis. The knowledge and skills developed in the class are necessary both for the understanding of quantitative research conducted and published by various institutions, and for independent planning of such research and analysis of their results.
Subsequent classes introduce students to the language of statistics and enable them to understand the concepts used in statistical description and inference. During the course, the commonly used statistical parameters are defined and discussed, and much time is spent on the problems of importance and interpretation of the calculated parameters. Since correct interpretation rest on in-depth understanding, presentation of the discussed parameters and the relationships between them is conducted using elementary examples, which are arithmetically simplified so that students can focus on the important propensities of the concepts without wasting time on complicated calculations. Reference to factual empirical data comes later in the course, after the language of statistics is sufficiently mastered.
The issue of statistical inference is related not only to statistics but also to the broader rules of correct reasoning. During the course, students will become familiar with such concepts as hypothesis, error of first and second kind, estimator, etc. The statistical analyses conducted in this part are based on the basic concepts of probability calculus. Some introduction to calculus will be offered, but students who have not had it before will have to spend some time getting familiar with it. The team of course teachers offers assistance in finding proper reading in this area.
The language of statistics is formal even though it frequently uses the concepts occurring also in everyday language. Acquisition of this language demands systematic and independent work on the part of the student, although it does not initially require mathematical knowledge beyond that acquired in high school. For this reason, in addition to attending classes students will be asked to do home assignments regularly. These assignments are seen as mandatory and will be given and graded in the manner determined by the course teacher. In order to facilitate students; independent work, the teaching team has prepared a set of statistical problems, which is available online and constantly enlarged