Lectures: Tuesdays (2 hrs), Thursdays (1 hrs) - 8:30 in Surrey 2740
Office Hours: Tuesdays after class or by appointment
Extra Help: The Statistics Workshop is run by Marie Loughin and she can be contacted through email at mloughin@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. In addition, a Workshop TA (Lasantha) will be holding hours in the Learning Commons; an email with further details will be sent by Marie Loughin. If you have questions regarding grading, contact Lasantha.
Textbook: ``Introduction to Probability and Statistics, Second Edition'' by Tim Swartz. The custom softcover text by Pearson Learning Solutions is available in the SFU Bookstore. It is inexpensive ($26) and was written primarily to save you some money; our previous textbook sold for $238 back in 2011. There are some typos in the text; click here for a list of typos, and update your text accordingly.
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 Probability and Statistics by Devore (any edition), Introduction to Mathematical Statistics by Hogg/Craig or Mathematical Statistics by Freund/Walpole.
Computing: none unfortunately, even though the discipline of Statistics is highly dependent upon computing
Practice Problems: The textbook contains some worked-out problems and solutions to selected exercises. It is advised that you try some exercises each week; these will not be graded.
Marking Scheme:
The style of the midterms closely resembles problems considered during class. The content on a midterm may include anything covered since the previous midterm. The purpose of regular testing is to keep you on top of the material. Please see the marker (a TA in the workshop) regarding concerns about the marking. If you are unhappy with the marker's decision, you should then see Marie Loughin. 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 (except a phone) and this is the only aid allowed. The final exam is also closed book with no aids except a calculator. It is strictly prohibited to bring any device with photographic capabilities into the exam.
Strategies: Because of the many different ideas introduced in STAT 270, students often find this to be a difficult course. 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 problems in the text to check your understanding of the course material. 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. I also spend more time on topics that typically cause difficulties. Finally, if you can find some time to read the textbook and 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 copying frantically. Again, it is a bad idea to skip lectures thinking that the textbook and lecture notes will allow you to figure things out for yourself. Also, the lecture notes are closely tied to the textbook; it is much easier to come to class and listen rather than figuring everything out on your own. Don't blow off the lectures!
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:
