Ch. 1 Resources

Chapter 1: Stats Starts Here

Things You'll Need

Intro Stats

In general, you'll want to read the textbook first, then the accompanying Resources page, but you should check here first in case certain sections of a chapter are optional (this will only be the case in a handful of chapters) or there are important differences between how something is explained in the text and how I expect you to work a problem. Please note that there is a regular third edition of Intro Stats and a newer "Technology Update" that is nearly identical to the regular third edition; for the purposes of this course there are no significant differences between the two versions of the third edition and either one will work just fine, so get whichever one is least expensive. If you're waiting for your book to arrive, you can read Chapter 1 here.

ActivStats DVD

The DVD that you should find in a cardboard envelope near the back of your textbook. along with the small slip of paper that comes in this envelope. More information (including what to do if you don't find these things in your book) can be found below. The contents of this DVD are not absolutely necessary, but you may find them useful.

Calculator

Beginning with Chapter 4, you'll need a TI-83 or TI-84 graphing calculator. I'll provide instructions for using the calculator in these Resources, as appropriate.

About These Resources

First and foremost, these notes are not a substitute for reading the textbook. Intro Stats was chosen for this course in part because it is a very readable Statistics text and I expect you to read it. Some of you may be in the habit of glancing at an example or two in a math book and then trying to work the homework problems by mimicking the examples. That won't work in this course: you need to read the book.

No textbook exists in a vacuum, however. In a regular lecture course the text is supplemented by in-class comments from the instructor and additional examples worked on the board. These notes are intended to serve the same role for an online class.

Technology

No math textbooks have changed more drastically in the past decade or two than Statistics texts. The reason: technology. Calculations that might have taken in excess of half an hour when done "by hand" can now be accomplished almost instantaneously with the press of a calculator button or the click of a mouse.

There are many technological tools from which to choose. A calculator is handy: you can carry it around in your backpack, use it in class, on the bus, at the library—wherever you happen to be. Yet the calculator has several disadvantages: it has no capability to print (unless you hook it up to a computer with a USB cable, but then you might as well be using a computer); there is no "Undo" operation—once you delete data it's gone forever; it takes too much time to enter very large data sets into the calculator; and in "real life" (that is, outside the classroom) hardly anyone uses a graphing calculator for statistical analysis.

A computer has many advantages over the calculator, and since you are reading these notes on the Internet, you obviously have access to a computer, so when possible we will make use of the computer resources available to us, in particular a standalone statistical analysis program (Data Desk) that is supplied with your textbook.

As specified in the syllabus, the TI-84 Plus (or one of its cousins, the TI-83 or the TI-83 Plus) is our graphing calculator of choice. Don't even think about using another calculator: you will waste too much time trying to get it to do what you want it to do (which in many cases will be something that it can't do at all). If you don't already have one, buy one or rent one (contact me via e-mail about this latter option—it may be the best $20 you spend all quarter) but get one right away. The textbook includes decent instructions on using many of the features we will need on the TI-84, but sometimes they are a bit sparse (especially toward the beginning of the text, where the authors seem to assume you are already familiar with the basic workings of the calculator). To complement the information included in the textbook, I will include detailed instructions for the TI-83 and TI-84 in these Chapter Resources as we proceed through the course (beginning in Chapter 4).

On the computer side, there are lots of fancy statistical analysis programs like SPSS, SAS and JMP that do many wonderful things, but they are quite expensive (even the student versions). Fortunately, you already have a computer program! (There is an open source program called R that is free and incredibly powerful, but unfortunately rather tricky to get the the hang of; one day soon someone will devise a front-end that will allow beginning Statistics students to use R easily, but until then…)

Inside the back cover of your textbook you will find a DVD along with a slip of paper that contains an activation code. Don't lose them! In fact, you may wish to write down the activation code in several different places (including, if you don't mind writing in your book, the blank page next to the DVD sleeve) just in case you do lose it.

If the DVD and/or activation code are missing from your textbook, take it back to the bookstore for a replacement, or contact me and I will try to help you. The resources on the DVD are not absolutely required, but in most cases they should help you succeed in the course.

The DVD includes a copy of a program called Data Desk, which you may opt to use when appropriate throughout the quarter. The textbook includes some instructions for using Data Desk, which I will supplement as appropriate in these notes. The truly beautiful thing about Data Desk is that it runs from the DVD or a USB drive: you don't need to install it on your computer to use it. This is especially useful if you do your Statistics homework in more than one location (home, work, school computer lab, library, etc.) or you are not allowed to install software on your primary computer. I'll provide further instructions about getting started with Data Desk beginning in Chapter 3.

ActivStats

And speaking of that DVD in the back of the book—it also contains an interactive tutorial called ActivStats. Your textbook includes icons linked to ActivStats activities, beginning with the very first chapter. ActivStats is something you may wish to use as time permits (although it won't count as part of your grade). To run ActivStats…

Put the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and close the drive door. The program should start automatically.

Click on Launch ActivStats then New student file:

Leave the first option set to for Data Desk,  select De Veaux, Velleman and Bock, Intro Stats, 3rd ed. (DI3) for the Textbook, type in your name and the serial number found on the ActivStats Quick Start Card (the slip of paper included with the DVD),

and then click OK. ActivStats will suggest a filename (such as Fred.axs if your name is Fred) for the file you will use to store your progress information and suggest that you store this file in your My Documents folder. If you always access ActivStats from the same computer this may work just fine, but if not I suggest you save the file to a USB drive or some other portable storage device that you can easily move from computer to computer.

The page in the ActivStats lesson book corresponding to the first chapter of our text (1-1) provides an introduction to ActivStats. Since the program was originally written for the Mac, not Windows, some of the usual Windows-based navigation tools (such as right-clicking to open up a context menu) may not work as you expect. For this reason, it pays to spend a bit of time familiarizing yourself with the program.

If you encounter any difficulties attempting to use ActivStats, post your questions in the Technology forum in the online classroom and I'll do my best to help you. As with any technology, don't waste hours fighting with the computer if you run into a problem: ask for help right away and while you're waiting for a response, move ahead with reading the text and working exercises.

ActivStats is one of many resources that will be at your disposal for this class, but you may not have time to make use of every resource. Do check it out to help decide if it is something that will help you learn the material.

Exercises

There are no exercises in this chapter! However, be sure you have read the chapter carefully and be sure to post any questions you have in the Chapter 1 Forum. For future chapters, I'll post a list of exercises here that I expect you to work through.

Errata

As appropriate, I'll list any typographical (or other) errors I find in each chapter of the printed textbook. The two listed below for Chapter 1 aren't all that important (or exciting) but in later chapters there may be errors of greater import. Sometimes these errors are corrected in later printings, so you many not see all of the errors that I found in my Instructor's Edition of the text. On the other, hand if you find a mistake that is not listed here, please let me know!

On page 4, the second line of the penultimate paragraph should read "DVD" (not "CD-ROM").

On page 6, the joke in the footnote doesn't really make sense; in the first edition, you had to turn the page to get to Chapter 2.

Additional Resources

At the end of each of these Chapter Resources, I'll post a list of links to additional resources that can be found online. These may be links to videos or other Statistics-related Web site, or links to articles or Web sites referenced in the textbook.

Against All Odds: What is Statistics?

The first episode of this 26-part series provides a nice introduction to the field of Statistics, offering some motivation for our study of the subject. You will need Windows Media Player and a broadband connection to view this video. You're not required to watch it, but you might find it (and the episodes that follow, as we progress through the course) of interest.

Decisions Through Data: What is Statistics?

This series was produced by the same group as Against All Odds and features many of the same case studies, but is broken up into shorter segments. Unlike Against All Odds, not all of the segments are available online. I would recommend watching one or another of these programs but not both, as they are somewhat redundant. In this chapter as well as the rest of the course, I would suggest that you take the time to use these and other additional resources only if you can really spare the study time or if you find them especially useful. Not everyone learns in the same way: some students will find these videos invaluable, while others might consider them a waste of time.

User's Guide to ActivStats (PDF, 512 K)

A guide to getting started with the ActivStats program. You can ignore the Data Desk portion for now, as I will include instructions for that program in later Chapter Resources (beginning with Chapter 3).