This course introduces students to the philosophy and methods of modern statistical data analysis and inference, with a particular focus on applications to the life sciences. The course has a strong emphasis on computing and graphical methods, and uses a variety of real-world problems to motivate the theory and methods required for carrying out statistical data analysis. This course makes extensive use of R statistical analysis package interfaced through R Studio.       

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Summarise and graph data appropriately;
2. Work with random variables and probability distributions and describe the rationale behind them;
3. Describe and use the normal distribution appropriately;
4. Identify when and how to carry out basic statistical inference including confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression and analysis of variance; and,
5. Identify contexts in which particular statistical methods may be inappropriate.

Research-Led Teaching

This course aims to provide you with a foundation in statistical thinking and evidence-based logic, two elements that are integral to any academic program and life in the work force beyond your university degree. Almost all areas of research require both elements. Any research that involves data also involves statistical computing. We do so with the software package R (https://www.r-project.org) at an elementary level.

I will also introduce examples, whenever applicable, from my current research areas in class to further illustrate concepts and the use of statistics.

Examination Material or equipment

Examination material and condition will be notified to all students via wattle and the examination office. Details will be provided no later than Week 4 for the mid semester exam and Week 10 for the final exam.

Required Resources

Course text (free e-book): OpenIntro Statistics, 3rd Edition by David M Diez, Christopher D Barr, Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel (https://www.openintro.org/stat/ )

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

•  To the whole class during lectures.
• Within tutorials.
• Individually during consultation hours.
• Students will also be given online quiz feedback on Wattle and written comments in the marked assignments.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Support for Students

The University offers a number of support services for students. Information on these is available online from http://students.anu.edu.au/studentlife/

Communication via Email

If I, or anyone in the School, College or University administration, need to contact you, we will do so via your official ANU student email address, which you need to check regularly. If you have any questions for the teaching and course convenor make sure you email them using your ANU email address. Emails from personal email accounts will not be answered. Announcements

Students are expected to check the Wattle site for announcements about this course, e.g. changes to timetables or notifications of cancellations.

Assessment Requirements

Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Misconduct Rule.

Scaling

Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, your final mark may not be the same number as produced by that formula, as marks may be scaled. Any scaling applied will preserve the rank order of raw marks (i.e. if your raw mark exceeds that of another student, then your scaled mark will exceed the scaled mark of that student), and may be either up or down.

Referencing Requirements

In assignments and exams, students must appropriately reference any results, words or ideas that they take from another source which is not their own. A guide can be found at https://academicskills.anu.edu.au/resources/handouts/referencing-basics .

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction to data	No tutorials in Week 1
2	Introduction to data
3	Introduction to probability theory
4	Introduction to probability theory
5	Introduction to probability theory	Quiz
6	Introduction to probability theory	Mid-semester exam, Week 6 or 7
7	Statistical inference and simple linear regression	Mid-semester exam, Week 6 or 7
8	Statistical inference and simple linear regression
9	Statistical inference and simple linear regression	Release of Assignment questions
10	Statistical inference and simple linear regression
11	Statistical inference and simple linear regression	Assignment due
12	Statistical inference and simple linear regression

Tutorial Registration

Tutorials will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions and as pre-recorded videos. Information regarding enrolments for these options will be provided on Wattle during O-week, prior to the start of the semester.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Quiz	5 %	25/03/2022	25/03/2022	1-2
Mid-semester exam	20 %	22/04/2022	06/05/2022	1-3
Assignment	10 %	18/05/2022	30/05/2022	1-5
Final exam	65 %	02/06/2022	30/06/2022	1-5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Lectures will be on campus and recordings will be available via Echo360 on Wattle. Consultations will be live through Zoom. Tutorials will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions, and as pre-recorded videos. Information regarding enrolments for these options will be provided on Wattle no later than Week 1 of the semester.

Examination(s)

Any student identied, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Misconduct Rule. Centrally scheduled examinations through Examinations, Graduations & Prizes will be timetabled prior to the examination period. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information.

Assessment Task 1

Quiz

An online quiz will be held via the Wattle site during Week 5, covering material from Weeks 1–4, inclusive. The quiz will be available from Wednesday to Friday in Week 5. Students have 30 minutes to complete the quiz from when they first open the quiz. Answers will be available to students after the due date. The quiz is redeemable towards to the final exam.

Assessment Task 2

Mid-semester exam

The mid-semester examination will be held during week 6 or 7 (subject to confirmation from the Examinations Office), covering material from Weeks 1–5 or 1-6, inclusive (depending on when the exam is held). It will be a 2-hour (inc reading time) examination. Students will be provided with further details regarding the exam no later than week 4. The mid-semester exam is redeemable towards the final exam.

Assessment Task 3

Assignment

Answer specified questions based on materials from Weeks 1–10. The questions will be made available in Week 9. Submission through Turnitin is required. You may type your answers in a word-processing program or you may handwrite your answers, or a combination of the two. Please ensure that your handwriting is legible and submitted electronically as instructed. The questions may require you to include certain R output. Although verbal discussions with others (fellow students, tutors, lecturer) are encouraged, the contents of your assignment must be produced by you as an individual and must comply with academic integrity policies given at http://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/academic-integrity and https://www.cbe.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies/examinations-assessment/ . The assignment will be returned to students by the end of the semester. The assignment is not redeemable.

Assessment Task 4

Final exam

This final exam will be based on all the materials covered throughout the duration of the semester. The final examination is a compulsory piece of assessment and worth 65% of the final raw score, or more if other assessment(s) redeemed. It will be a four-hour exam (inc reading time). The final exam will be held during the exam period with details to be advised no later than Week 10.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

There is no hard copy submission.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

The marked assignments will be returned online.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Resubmission is not allowed after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students