Organizational Outline of
Stat 303 Data Analysis With Excel

  1. Course will be taught in a computer lab; eg, A&S Lab in Rood Hall.
  2. Class size will be limited so that each pair of students has a computer; eg, for Rood Hall Lab, this means at most 40 students.
  3. Class will meet twice a week for one hour and 15 minute classes.
  4. Typical Class
    1. Discussion on previous classes. This may include a critique of previous projects of the students.
    2. Discussion on topic for the day.
    3. Project for today is discussed.
    4. Students break into pairs and begin working on projects.
    5. A typical project.
      1. would include a large data set. Data sets would generally be downloaded from the web and they could either be real data sets or generated data sets (specifically constructed for the project by the instructor).
      2. The work on a project may include manipulation of the data, obtaining descriptive statistics, graphical analysis, etc.
    6. Projects will generally be written in report form.
      1. Introduction concerning the project.
      2. Discussion which will often include statistical and graphical summaries.
      3. Conclusion.
    7. This report will be written in word or some other language which allows for an easy html conversion. Students will hang their final report on the web in their designated web area. This will allow easy critiquing by other students.
    8. Based on the critique the students will edit their report and submit it electronically to the instructor.
  5. Initial projects will take about one class. Students may have to meet after class to work on their projects. Later projects will be more involved and may take one or two weeks to finish. There will be one final project which will be due during Finals Week. For the final project, the students will work as individuals.
  6. Grading will based mostly on the projects but class participation in the critique sessions will count, also.