Course Outline

Business Statistics
Summer 2011
General Information
Course Number: COMM 215 Instructor: Dr. Fassil Nebebe Lec BX Time: online SGW online Email: Use question center

This syllabus is subject to change and any changes will be posted in the Announcements section of the course website. Disclaimer: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University's control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.

CONTACT INFORMATION The Head Teaching Assistant for this course is Samie Li Shang Ly and she can be reached as follows: comm215@econcordia.com Allow for a 24 hour response time during the week (Monday-Friday). Teaching Assistants check their messages once over the 48 hour weekend period and are not available on statutory or university holidays.

Course description This course introduces the fundamentals of statistics as applied to the various areas of business and administration. Topics covered include techniques of descriptive statistics, basic theory of probability and probability distributions, estimation and hypotheses testing, chi-square tests in contingency table analysis and for goodness-of-fit, and simple linear regression and correlation. Prerequisite: MATH 208 or equivalent and MATH 209 or equivalent; DESC 200 or INTE 290 or COMP 248 previously or concurrently. Objectives This course introduces statistics as a tool for dealing with information in quantitative form. Students will learn statistical skills that will contribute effectively to management and policy formation. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to distinguish between different types of data and data collection options, describe data sets by graphical or numeric methods, correctly interpret tables and graphs, discuss basic statistical concepts such as variability, covariance/correlation, statistical independence, confidence intervals, hypotheses testing and p-values, and perform basic data analysis including data modeling using regression and understand the connection between statistics and good business practice. In addition, they will be able to use statistical software package and/or statistics add-in, focus on analysis of business data, and present their statistical findings effectively. Teaching Method This is an online COMM 215 section with eConcordia. Practical examples and problems are presented in business and economics settings and delivered via eConcordias learning management system. These examples are drawn from a variety of areas such as accounting, management, finance, marketing, production, economics and business technology management. Course Materials Textbook: ISBN: 0176613560 Title: BUSINESS STATISTICS FOR CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY Author: ANDERSON/SWEENEY/WILLIAMS Imprint: NELSON Edition: 1ST Once you are registered for the course, you can purchase your textbooks online from the Concordia Bookstore or in person at the McConnell Building, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West.

Please note that textbooks ordered online from the Concordia Bookstore will be shipped only 5 working days from the date the order was placed. Additional resource materials: The textbook is packaged with a Passkey to the publishers premium Website content including textbook WEBFiles, Palisades DecisionTools Suite (includes StatTools & Precision Tree), Excel 2007 Primer, and EXCEL stats digitial tutorials. Review problems with solutions by topics available under Resource Center. Note: Commercial uses and unauthorized production and distributions of the provided materials are strictly prohibited. Graded Assessments/ Course Evaluation* Evaluation will be based on a number of assignments/quizzes, case/data analysis study, a midterm examination and a final examination with marks distributed as shown below. The final grade for the course will be based on the following components: Quizzes (best 4 of 6) Case/Data analysis EISEL iStat Mid-term Examination Final Examination (comprehensive)* Total
*

20% 5% 3% 2% 15% 55% 100%

Note : To receive credit for this course, you must obtain at least 40% on the final examination.

Details 1. Quizzes: Best 4 of 6 (20%)

Quizzes are problems intended to reinforce specific methodological objectives treated in Lessons. There will be six online quizzes. The best 4 of the 6 quiz results will be counted and there is no replacement quiz for missing a quiz, whatever the reasons may be. The quizzes constitute conceptual and business application skill developing questions in multiple choice and solve and fill-in-the-blanks formats. Each quiz is worth 5% and is designed to evaluate the learning outcome of certain topics: Quiz 1: On data collection and their description using graphical and tabular methods as well as numerical measures (Chapters 1 and 2, 3.1 to 3.4) Quiz 2: On basic probability concepts and include all of chapter 4 (except 4.5).

Quiz 3: On the general concepts of discrete and continuous probability distributions (5.1 to 5.3). It also covers special distributions such as the Binomial and the normal distributions (5.4 and 6.2). Quiz 4: On sampling distributions and their roles in statistical inferences such as interval estimation (7.1 to 7.6 and chapter 8). Quiz 5: On the notion of hypothesis testing and its applications in tests of goodness of fit and independence (9.1 to 9.5, 12.1 and 12.2) Quiz 6: On measure of association and linear regression analysis (3.5, 14.1 to 14.6).

2. Data Analysis (5%)

EXCEL along with an add-on StatTools, a specially developed add-in package, are used to access and manage database, perform statistical analysis and effectively present findings.

3. Midterm Examination (15%)

For the online section, the midterm examination is given as online quiz. It is scheduled for June 16, 2011 and covers relevant sections of Chapters 1 to 5 (excluding 3.5, 3.6, 4.5, 5.5 and 5.6) and Section 6.2 of the textbook. The midterm constitutes questions in multiple choice and solve and fill-in-the-blanks formats.

4. Final Examination (55%)

The final examination is worth 55% of the total mark for this course. The final examination is comprehensive and will cover all of the chapters and sections of the textbook listed under Business Statistics at a glance above. The final examination will also have some multiple choice questions.

5. iSTAT (2%) and EISEL (3%)

For the online section, students are expected to participate in the iSTAT interactive learning activities as well as use EISEL for practice sessions. There will be a number of activities, one per chapter, designed to help students prepare for the midterm and final examinations. a. iSTAT is an environment where you get to learn statistical concepts through animation and simulation with java applets; interact with the teaching assistant (TA) and the instructor on various topics of the course. b. EISEL is an interactive, random generator of numerous multiple choice and/or true or false questions as practice tools designed to help you learn the course materials and to prepare you for the quizzes and examinations.

COURSE WEBSITE, USERNAME & PASSWORD Your eConcordia account will be valid until the end of the term for which you are registered. Your account will allow you to access the online course material, which includes videos, notes, question centres, all graded course components, useful links, readings and many more resources from the course website for the duration of the term. The course website can be accessed at www.econcordia.com EASTERN TIME ZONE Please note that ALL dates and times are set for the North American Eastern Time Zone and that Quebec uses Eastern Standard Time and Eastern Daylight Time as per the appropriate dates. All students, including distance learners, are required to meet the deadline requirements according to these times. No exceptions will be made. QUESTION CENTRE The question centre is a versatile tool in an online course. It is akin to putting up your hand in class, but with a bonus: each and every student can read questions and the various answers posted, at their leisure. Once the question centre is made available as per the date listed above, you will be assigned to a group and a TA within 24 hours of obtaining your eConcordia username and password. If you have not been assigned to a group within 24 hours of obtaining your eConcordia username and password, send an e-mail with your name, student ID number and the name of the course you are taking to discuss@econcordia.com and you will be assigned to a group within 24 hours.

GUIDELINES FOR POSTING ON THE QUESTION CENTRE Do not post your telephone number, student ID, or any other personal information on the question centre. Read the other postings to confirm that your question has not already been answered.

The Question centre is meant for the academic discussion of the course material. Keep postings pertinent to the course material. Questions pertaining to grades, technical issues or questions of a personal nature must be addressed directly to your TA via e-mail. Posts of this nature will be removed by the Forum Administrator. Of vital importance is respectful behavior on the question centre. Refrain from making offensive statements and derogatory comments. For example, students must never insult another person or teaching assistant in a discussion. Students who fail to respect these rules will be asked to leave the discussion. It is within our discretion and authority to edit or remove any posting at any time. Please see the Code of Rights and Responsibilities. OFFICE HOURS There are no official physical office hours for this course; however your TAs will log on to the question centre and respond to your posts and emails within 24 hours. Your TAs will also have virtual office hours wherein they will be logged onto the question centre at a predetermined date and time to answer your questions in real time. The virtual office hours schedule will be made available the second week of the course. COMMUNICATION You will be communicating with your assigned Teaching Assistants and eConcordia personnel via e-mail. You are required to include the following information in all your e-mail communication: o Full name o Concordia student ID number o Course name and number pertaining to your inquiry Save a copy of all e-mail correspondence for the duration of the term and until the final letter grade for your course has been posted in your MyConcordia portal. We strongly encourage you to use a Concordia University e-mail account or an account from a provider such as Sympatico, Videotron, etc. o Free e-mail accounts such as Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. are NOT recommended and very often lead to communication problems. o You can obtain a LIVE@EDU e-mail account through your My Concordia Portal by clicking on the link titled Personal Services followed by Computer Accounts & Passwords.

o For more information about these accounts and other services offered by Concordias IITS department, you may visit CC-207 or H-925 or http://helpline.concordia.ca/. o Your e-mail address must be registered in your MyConcordia Portal as well as in the Student Profile of your My eConcordia Portal. ANNOUNCEMENTS Important information regarding the course will be communicated to you via the Announcements Section of the course website. The announcements are located in the centre of the main page upon logging in to your eConcordia account. Please make sure to read the postings on a weekly basis. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY The Code of Conduct (Academic) at Concordia University states that the "integrity of University academic life and of the degrees, diplomas and certificates the University confers is dependent upon the honesty and soundness of the instructor-student learning relationship and, in particular, that of the evaluation process. As such, all students are expected to be honest in all of their academic endeavors and relationships with the University." (Undergraduate Calendar, section 16.3.14) All students enrolled at Concordia are expected to familiarize themselves with the contents of this Code. You are strongly encouraged to visit the following web address: http://johnmolson.concordia.ca/images/stories/undergrad_prog/undergrad_landing_page/doc s/academic_integrity_may2009.pdf, which provides useful information about proper academic conduct. PLAGIARISM The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism which the Code defines as "the presentation of the work of another person as one's own or without proper acknowledgement." This could be material copied word for word from books, journals, internet sites, professor's course notes, etc. It could be material that is paraphrased but closely resembles the original source. It could be the work of a fellow student, for example, an answer on a quiz, data for a lab report, a paper or assignment completed by another student. It might be a paper purchased through one of the many available sources. Plagiarism does not refer to words alone _ it can also refer to copying images, graphs, tables, and ideas. "Presentation" is not limited to written work. It also includes oral presentations, computer assignments and artistic works. Finally, if you translate the work of another person into French or English and do not cite the source, this is also plagiarism. In Simple Words: DO NOT COPY, PARAPHRASE OR TRANSLATE ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE WITHOUT SAYING FROM WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT! (Source: The Academic Integrity Website: http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/plagiarism/)

FEEDBACK AND GRADING The objective of this course is to broaden your knowledge and skills in the area of Business Statistics. Problem solving sessions in the tutorials will enable you to develop a better understanding of this field. Feedback will be provided to you throughout the course. At the end of each course, the instructor will submit a letter grade for every student registered. Using the grade point equivalents listed below, Grade Point Averages (GPA) are calculated for the evaluation of academic achievement, Honors standing, prizes, and academic standing. LETTER AND NUMBER GRADES The following list provides the equivalent letter and number grades for assignments in this course: Letter Number A+ 90 100 A 85 89 A80 84 B+ 77 79 B 73 76 B70 72 C+ 67 69 C 63 66 C60 62 D+ 57 59 D 53 56 D50 52 F 0 49 D- is the minimum requirement to pass the course POLICY ON EXTENSIONS AND LATE SUBMISSION Any request for an extension must be received before the deadline or it will not be accepted. In fairness to all students, there will not be any exceptions to this policy. It is your responsibility to ensure that if you are unable to complete your work by the deadline or write an exam on the assigned date, you must request an extension beforehand via e-mail to the attention of your Teaching Assistant.

Extensions will be granted only to students who are able to provide a reasonable and verifiable medical note before the deadline. Medical notes must include dates within which you are excused from work/school. In the case of emergencies, it is your responsibility to notify your Teaching Assistant via email as soon as the issue arises in order to determine the course of action required for the matter at hand. Organize your time effectively to ensure that you submit your work on time. Any work submitted after the deadline is considered late and will NOT BE GRADED. Vacations and travel plans (work-related or otherwise) are not considered valid reasons for late submissions of or an inability to complete assignments, quizzes and exams. Please note that you are responsible for the version of the work you upload to the website. If you upload the incorrect version of your work to the website, you can resubmit the correct version prior to the deadline. If you fail to meet the deadline, the version of your work located on the website is the one that will be graded. In addition, please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your assignment is received before the deadline. Should you be unable to submit your work via the website you must submit your work via e-mail to your TA before the deadline. Please give yourself enough time for online submissions to send your assignments via e-mail should a technical issue arise. FINAL EXAMINATION: DATE AND LOCATION TBA The final examination is an in-class written exam. Official Exam week is determined by Concordia University and the date and location of the final exam is scheduled within that week. It is the responsibility of the student to verify the date/time/location and room assignment for the final exam posted in their MyConcordia Portal. The final exam date will not be posted on the eConcordia website. Do not schedule flights or vacations until the official examination date is released. Vacations and travel plans are not considered a valid reason for a deferral request. EXTERNAL EXAMS OUT-OF-REGION STUDENTS If you are NOT located in the Montreal area and cannot attend the final exam at Concordia, eConcordia can assist you in making arrangements to write the exam at a university in your region. External exams are written on the exam date set for the course by the Concordia Exams Office.

You can obtain an External Exam Request Form as well as all pertinent instructions in the External Exam link in the Student Menu of your eConcordia portal. All requests for an external exam are to be submitted via e-mail to: exams@econcordia.com. For more information about the external exam option, please call 514-848-8774 or 1-888361-4949. The external exam request deadline for the final exam is indicated in the MyAgenda tab of the course website. Late requests will NOT be accommodated. ALL fees incurred to write an external exam are the responsibility of the student. Fees vary per institution; please contact your institution for applicable fees. It is the responsibility of the student to inquire about the fee with the Institution prior to scheduling the exam. GRADES In order to view your grades throughout the semester, click on the My Grades link in your eConcordia portal. It is your responsibility to ensure your work has been received (to be verified as outlined in your assignment instructions), and to contact your TA via e-mail for clarification if you have any questions concerning your grades. Your final letter grade for the course will be posted in your MyConcordia Portal at the end of the term. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS The technical requirements for accessing the online material are listed within the course content and on our main website: http://www.econcordia.com/home/elearning.aspx?section=224 . If your existing hardware does not meet the requirements, you may experience a lower level of quality and accessibility to our website and course content. TECHNICAL ISSUES eConcordia Help Desk For any technical questions or inquiries (login or account issues), or if you are having difficulty accessing the eConcordia site, please contact eConcordia's Help Desk at: helpdesk@econcordia.com 514-848-8774 or toll free 1-888-361-4949 At eConcordia we take every possible measure to ensure that your e-learning experience runs as smoothly as possible. There may be times, however, when you encounter technical difficulties that are simply beyond our control. This can include unforeseen network, server or connectivity issues. It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that s/he saves a copy of all work to be submitted through the system. This applies to any work sent via e-mail and uploads and

textbox submissions to the website. You are required to save copies of work on both a computer hard drive and an external storage device (diskette, CD or USB key). In the event that a technical problem does arise while submitting your work, please send a copy of the error message you received in the body of your e-mail to helpdesk@econcordia.com and one of our agents will assist you. STUDY SKILLS: YOUR GUIDE TO ONLINE LEARNING At eConcordia we want you to succeed as an online learner. Whether you need help managing your time efficiently, understanding your assignments, or writing exams, this self-directed tutorial will provide you with tips on how to improve your study strategies. Furthermore, reviewing this tutorial while taking a course will assist you in developing important skills such as note taking, critical thinking, conducting research, and writing, which will ultimately contribute to your academic achievements both online and in traditional settings. COURSE EVALUATION Approximately one week prior to the end of the term, you will receive an e-mail message asking you to complete a course evaluation. Click on the link in the e-mail and follow the instructions. Please note that all responses are completely anonymous and will be kept confidential. We value your opinion; your feedback regarding your experience with eConcordia is greatly appreciated.

BUSINESS STATISTICS COMM 215 (Section BX) Agenda

Summer 2011
All deadlines indicated are on the due date listed by 11:59 p.m. unless otherwise indicated. Week 1: May 3 May 8 Discussion Board opens at 3:00 p.m. Lesson 0 - About This Course Navigate the course website Review the course outline Lesson 1 (Chapter 1) - Data and Statistics Lesson 2 (Chapter 2) 2: May 9 May 15 Week Descriptive Statistics: Tabular and Graphical Presentations Lesson 2 (Chapter 2) - Continued Lesson 3 (Chapter 3) Numerical Measures (Sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) DNE Date: Academic withdrawal deadline (with tuition refund) Last day to add Summer-term courses: Week 3: May 16 May 22 Wednesday, May 18 QUIZ 1: LESSONS 1, 2, 3: May 18 (5%) Lesson 4 (Chapter 4, except section 4.5) Introduction to Probability Week 4: May 23 May 29 Wednesday, May 25 QUIZ 2: LESSON 4: May 25 (5%) Lesson 5 (Chapter 5, Sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3) Discrete Probability Distributions; (Section 5.4) Binomial Distribution Lesson 6 (Chapter 6, Section 6.2) - Continuous Probability Distributions; Normal Distribution Week 5: May 30 June 5 Lessons 5 and 6 - Continued Week 6: June 6 June 12 QUIZ 3: LESSONS 5 - 6: June 7 (5%) Lesson 7 (Chapter 7, Sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6) Sampling and Sampling Distributions Week 7: June 13 June 19 MIDTERM EXAM: LESSONS 1 6: June 16 (15%) Lesson 8 - (Chapter 8) Interval Estimation Week 8: June 20 June 26 Midterm Break begins Midterm Break ends Week 9: June 27 July 3 QUIZ 4: LESSONS 7 - 8: June 29 (5%) Lesson 9 (Chapter 9, Sections 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5) - Hypothesis Tests ! !

Wednesday, May 4

eC

Tuesday, May 10 Tuesday, May 10

Tuesday, June 7

Thursday, June 16

! !

Tuesday, June 21 Monday, June 27 Wednesday, June 29

Lesson 10 - (Chapter 12, Section 12.1, 12.2) - Tests of Goodness of fit and Independence Week 10: July 4 July 10
Lesson 11 (Chapter 3, Section 3.5) Measures of Association between Two Variables Lesson 12 - (Chapter 14, Sections 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6) Simple Linear Regression

Week 11: July 11 July 17 Lesson 12 - Continued Monday, July 11 Monday, July 11 QUIZ 5: LESSONS 9 -10: July 11 (5%) DISC Date: Academic withdrawal deadline (without tuition refund) Week 12: July 18 July 24 Lesson 12 - Continued Lesson 13 - (Chapter 15, Sections 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6) Multiple Regression Week 13: July 25 July 31 Lesson 13 Continued Complete Course Evaluation !

Monday, July 25

eC eC ! ! ! !

External Exam Application Deadline for final Week 14: August 1 August 7 Monday, August 1 QUIZ 6: LESSONS 11 - 12: August 1 (5%) Monday, August 7 DATA ANALYSIS DUE: August 7 (5%) Monday, August 7 iSTAT REQUIREMENTS DUE: August 7 (2%) Monday, August 7 EISEL REQUIREMENTS DUE: August 7 (3%) Week 15: August 8 August 10 Wednesday, August 10 Last day of classes Summer Term: August 12 August 18 Examination Period Final Examination: To receive credits for this course, a student must obtain at least 40% on the final examination. Exam date, time and location to be posted in your MyConcordia Portal

This syllabus is subject to change and any changes will be posted in the Announcements section of the course website. Disclaimer: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University's control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.