MET 3431 Statistics

MET 3431 Statistics

Course code: 
MET 3431
Department: 
Economics
Credits: 
7.5
Course coordinator: 
Ulf Henning Olsson
Course name in Norwegian: 
Statistikk
Product category: 
Bachelor
Portfolio: 
Bachelor - Common Courses
Semester: 
2021 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Bachelor
Teaching language: 
Norwegian
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

The course provides an introduction to statistical thinking. The student first learns how a sample can be collected and summarized, and how we use such summaries to interpret the data. Then we learn to generalize from the sample to the population. The student learns to construct confidence intervals and to perform hypothesis tests, and how these should be interpreted. The focus is on understanding concepts, and on interpreting results, with less focus on mathematical procedures. Through many examples from reality, the student should be able to see the relevance of and uses for statistics in marketing and economics.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

During the course the students will:

  • Acquire broad knowledge of the central statistical concepts and understand how statistical analysis takes place from data collection, through descriptive analysis to generalization to the population.
    Examples of terms that should be explained are sample, population, observer, parameter, inference, margin of error, significance level and confidence level.
  • Knowledge of the limitations of statistical method.
Learning outcomes - Skills

After completing the course, students will be able to:

  • Determine the target level of variables, and be able to perform descriptive analysis based on a sample, with appropriate center and scatter targets and appropriate graphs.
  • Describe the covariance between two variables.
  • Interpret results of descriptive analysis. Simple probabilities must be calculated.
  • Be able to construct and interpret the most commonly used confidence intervals, and perform key hypothesis tests.
  •  Use statistical software and be able to interpret printing from the software.
  • Present the results of the analyzes in an easy-to-understand language.
General Competence

The student should be aware that statistical methods may be easily misused and misinterpreted. It is important that the judgment required for statistical analysis is fair and just.

Course content
  • Collection of data
  • Describing the sample at hand
  • Probability
  • Confidence intervals for mean and proportion 
  • Hypothesis tests  for mean and proportion 
  • Correlation and regression
  • Chi-square test
Teaching and learning activities

The course consists of 48 hours of lectures, including 4 hours of demonstration of statistical software. The problems studied in class and given as homework assignments will serve as a basis for the final examination.

For each week there will be given a work program with literature references and assignments. In lectures and SAS JMP exercises, theory will be illustrated by using multiple data sets and associated tasks. The final exam will be based on that the student has solved all these tasks throughout the semester.

E-learning
In course delivery as online courses, lecturer will, in collaboration with the student administration, organize an appropriate course implementation, combining different learning activities and digital elements on the learning platform. Online students are also offered a study guide that will contribute to progression and overview. Total recommended time spent for completing the course also applies here.

Software tools
SAS - JMP
Additional information

Re-sit examination
Students that have not gotten approved the coursework requirements, must re-take the exercises during the next scheduled course.

Students that have not passed the written examination or who wish to improve their grade may re-take the examination in connection with the next scheduled examination.

Qualifications

Higher Education Entrance Qualification

Covid-19

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.

Required prerequisite knowledge

No specific prerequisites required.

Mandatory courseworkCourseworks givenCourseworks requiredComment coursework
Mandatory85In the course of the semester 8 mandatory multiple-choice assignments will be given. These are submitted on Itslearning. Each assignment is assessed as either pass or fail. The student needs at least 5 passes in order to take the final exam.
Mandatory coursework:
Mandatory coursework:Mandatory
Courseworks given:8
Courseworks required:5
Comment coursework:In the course of the semester 8 mandatory multiple-choice assignments will be given. These are submitted on Itslearning. Each assignment is assessed as either pass or fail. The student needs at least 5 passes in order to take the final exam.
Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • All printed and handwritten support materials
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
Duration: 
5 Hour(s)
Exam code: 
MET34311
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination every semester
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
48 Hour(s)
Group work / Assignments
50 Hour(s)
Prepare for teaching
42 Hour(s)
Working with SAS JMP (or some statistical software)
Student's own work with learning resources
40 Hour(s)
Examination
20 Hour(s)
Exam incl. preparations.
Sum workload: 
200

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.