WS 2017/18

Statistics, LV-Nr. 400692,

Tuesdays, 12-4pm, and Wednesdays, 12-4pm

Instructor: Prof. Dr. Natalie Packham, Email: natalie.packham@hwr-berlin.de

Office hours: upon request (per email)

The course consists of

the lecture (4 SWS), Wednesdays 12.30-3.45pm (with a 15-minute break)
a tutorial (2/4 SWS), Tuesdays 12.30-2pm and 2.15-3.45pm

Course description: The course introduces the theoretical and practical principles of statistics
and probability theory, with a special focus on business, management and economics.

The course comprises three parts:

1. Descriptive Statistics provides tools for data analysis in order to extract aggregated and
relevant information from large data sets.
2. Probability Theory is the mathematical theory of randomness. It captures the laws of
random behaviour and is the foundation for modelling probability (stochastic) events.
3. Inferential Statistics or Inductive Statistics links data analysis with probability theory,
providing methods for drawing various kinds of conclusions based on the information contained
in a data set (e.g. hypothesis testing).

Course materials: Lecture script

Workbook with exercises and Moodle quizzes

Practical exercises (Excel, GNU gretl)

The script is self-contained, but cannot substitute regular and attentive attendance in class. Make
sure that you schedule enough time for independent study after each class.
A workbook with exercises is available on Moodle. Solutions will be discussed in the tutorial.
Allocate sufficient time to spend on the problems; you may wish to work in small groups of 34
students.
The first tutorial (12.30-2pm) is an open session where you are welcome to attend to solve
exercises from the problem set individually or in small groups, and I am available to take questions
and provide support. The problem set is discussed in the second tutorial session (2.15-3.45pm).

Course assessment: Exam, 180 minutes

Allowed aids: pocket calculator (non-programmable; simple one will do );

3 sheet(s) of DIN A4 paper with handwritten notes
(no photocopies)
Bonus points can be obtained by completing 3 bonus quizzes on Moodle.
Successful completion improves the final grade by a total of 0.3.

Here are two links with lists of non-programmable calculators that may be useful:
Bonus quizzes: Bonus quiz no. Time period quiz can be taken Chapters

1 2.4.11.
2 30.11.2.12.
3 4.6.1.

Each quiz can be started exactly once in the time period stated above and must be submitted
within 15 minutes.
Each quiz consists of 3 questions (randomly chosen with random numbers).
Your score will be available after the quiz is closed.
Each correct answer scores one point.
The total of 9 bonus points corresponds to 5 percentage points (exam has 180 points) corre-
sponding to a 0.3 grade improvement.

Class Etiquette: Please be on time for class!

Please refrain from using mobile phones and laptops in class!

(sole exception: taking notes)

Participate and engage actively in class!

Additional reading: The lecture script together with exercises and problem sets are designed
to be sufficient for mastering the course. However, a standard text book on statistics may serve as
a useful companion. Here are a few of the many useful textbook and resources:
Larsen, R. J. & Marx, M. L.: An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and its Applications.
Pearson, 2012
Spiegel, M. R. & Stephens, L. J.: Schaums Outline in Statistics. McGraw Hill, 2014
Anderson, Sweeney, Williams, Freeman, Shoesmith: Statistics for Business and Economics.
Third edition, Cengage Learning, 2014.
Freedman, Pisani, Purves: Statistics. Norton, 2007.
Nevo. Making Sense of Data through Statistics: An Introduction. Legerity Digital Press,
2014. (available as ebook)
Software:
Wolfram Alpha: http://www.wolframalpha.com
GNU gretl: http://gretl.sourceforge.net
GNU R: https://www.r-project.org

http://www.statoek.wiso.uni-goettingen.de/veranstaltungen/mathe/Positivliste%
20Taschenrechner.doc,
https://www.wiwi.uni-rostock.de/fileadmin/Studium/Taschenrechnerrichtlinie_final.pdf