Office Hours: Mondays 10:30-11:20 in K10539 or by appointment (make use of office hours - only send email in emergencies). If nobody shows up within the first 10 minutes of my office hour, then I may temporarily go downstairs and buy a coffee.
Extra Help: The Statistics Workshop is run by Robin Insley and he can be contacted through email at insley@sfu.ca. The Statistics Workshop is an excellent resource for Stat 270. The workshop is open long hours and is located one floor below the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science (K9516 via K9510). In the workshop, teaching assistants (graduate students in Statistics) are able to help you with problems in the course. The Statistics Workshop will post solutions to the quizes immediately after the quizes are completed.
Textbook: Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences by Devore (7th edition).
If you want to save yourself a few dollars, then you might consider purchasing an earlier edition. Very little has changed since the 5th edition.
Reference Textbooks: There are a lot of introductory mathematical statistics textbooks out there. Most of these can provide you with a different perspective and extra practice problems. For example, you might consider Introduction to Mathematical Statistics by Hogg/Craig or Mathematical Statistics by Freund/Walpole.
Computing: none unfortunately, even though Statistics is highly dependent upon computing
Practice Problems: The textbook contains many good problems and answers for the odd-numbered questions. It is advised that you try a few of these each week; these practice problems will not be graded. If you want full solutions to the odd numbered problems, a solutions manual "Student Solutions Manual for Devore's Probability and Statistics" by Julie Ann Seely may be purchased. The solutions manual is not available in the bookstore but may be purchased by phoning Nelson/Thomson Customer Support at 1-800-268-2222. The price a few years ago was $42.95 + 7% tax + shipping and the ISBN number of the solutions manual is 0-534-39934-7. I have been told that it may take up to two weeks to reach you. The solutions manual may also be purchased via the website www.nelson.com although I have not tried the website route. Alternatively, the solutions to the odd numbered problems may be viewed (not borrowed) by going to the Stats Lab.
Marking Scheme:
The style of the midterms more closely resembles problems considered during class than textbook problems. The content on a midterm may include anything covered since the previous midterm. You should bring a calculator to every midterm. The purpose of regular testing is to keep you on top of the material. Please see the teaching assistants in the workshop should you have any concerns about the marking. If you are unhappy with the marker's decision, you should then see Robin Insley. My insistence on having you deal with the marker is to strive for consistency in marking. For all midterms, you should bring in a calculator. Any type is permitted and this is the only aid allowed. For the final exam, you may also bring in a single page of notes on 8.5 by 11 inch paper, with writing on both sides if you so choose.
Strategies: Because of the many different ideas introduced in Stat 270, many students find this one of the most difficult courses that they ever take. My main suggestion for the course is to avoid falling behind. It is almost impossible to cram for this course and do well. Make use of the fine resources of the Statistics Workshop and regularly try the practice problems to check your understanding of the course material. It may be tempting to skip classes. Naturally, my advice is to attend all lectures; I often given hints in class that will be helpful in the midterms and the final exam. Finally, if you can find some time to read the lecture notes before coming to class, you will find that the lectures are more easily digested and you will be aware of the difficult parts and know when it is important to pay close attention.
Lecture Notes: The following lecture notes should be printed out and brought to class. You will most likely annotate the notes during the lecture. The idea of the notes is that you can listen to me rather than madly copying. Again, it is a bad idea to skip lectures thinking that the notes will allow you to figure things out for yourself. Instead of downloading the notes lecture by lecture, all of the notes are bundled together here.
Some Old Midterms and Solutions:
Another Set of Old Midterms and Solutions:
