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1. Attendance. There is no direct penalty for missing class. You may expect to lose about 3 points from your final grade for every class missed (due to poor performance).

2. Problem sets. I encourage you to talk to each other about the problem sets. In general, I would like you to work out the problem on the computer and print out the pertinent output. I would like you to then annotate the output with handwritten notes explaining the conclusions and key parts of the output. For the most part, I will simply score these as completed or not completed. Occasionally, I may grade them more carefully.

The problem sets are worth a total of 50 points. Late homework will not be accepted. If you earn a B+ or better on the exams, and you have a very poor grade on problem sets (i.e., because you did all of them after they were due), then I may drop the problem set grade.

3. D2L discussions. In order to facilitate communication about the problem sets, we will use D2L discussions. These discussion areas are place where you can post questions or comments to the entire class, and where you can provide suggestions or answers as well. I expect people will have questions about the mechanics of using R (e.g. you may have trouble loading a data file, or making a command run), about what to look at in the output, and whether their interpretations are valid. I will casually monitor the discussions, but I will tend to remain in the background. Therefore, it will up to you all to also suggest answers to the questions.

The D2L discussions will be most helpful for about the first 3 weeks -- this is when you will have the most questions about using R.

4. Exams. We will have two quizes and an exam. The quizes will generally have three parts:
(1) definitions
(2) interpretation of R output
(3) indentification of a reasonable test when you are given a situation / hypothesis / data set
(4) the final exam will include some problems to do in R

The quizes are each worth 100 points. The exam is worth 200 points. All are comprehensive and cumulative.

5. Final project. We will meet during the final exam in order to hand in your final projects.

The project will be either:

(I) A final report that explains the results of an experiment or study that you (or others) have conducted. The report will include (1) a brief introduction to the principal questions and objectives. (2) a brief explanation of the sampling methods or experimental design, (3) a justification of the statistical methods used, (4) the statistical results condensed into appropriate figures and tables, with appropriate interpretation and statistical conclusions.

(II) A research proposal that explains and justifies a project you intend to do, or would like to do. The proposal will include (1) a brief introduction to the principal questions and objectives. (2) a detailed explanation of the sampling methods or experimental design which includes the sample size, replication, and covariates, (3) a justification of the statistical methods to be used.

The project is worth 50 points.

6. Summary of points:
Attendance & Participation & D2L discussions: 0 - 25
Problem sets: 50
Quizes: 200
Comprehensive Exam: 200
Final Project: 50

Total points: 500

7. Any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom accommodations, please contact the instructor and Office of Services for Students with Disabilities.

This course helps meet all goals of the baccalaureate degree.