Course Outline for AGSC 135
Computer Applications in Research I
Spring 2002
WebCT Access of Course Material On-line (for students enrolled in the course)
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Walid H. Shayya |
Instructor Contact Information
|
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION:
AGSC 135 is the first of two one-credit courses in the laptop curriculum of Agricultural Science involving the application of agricultural statistics and computers in research. The course encompasses an introduction to statistical methods to agricultural science students using examples and applications to which students can easily relate. The course also focuses on teaching students basic statistical analysis using the MS Excel spreadsheet program and other pertinent computer tools. Students enrolled in AGSC 135, which is part of the laptop curriculum, will be introduced to these important concepts through lectures and exercises that they may complete on their laptops. Emphasis will be placed on providing the student with problem-solving skills and the ability to interpret the results of basic statistical analysis.
Following a brief introduction to statistics and statistical inference, students enrolled in AGSC 135 are introduced to common measures of central tendency and dispersion used in summarizing data followed by an introduction to the main concepts of probability and probability distributions. Towards the end of the semester, students enrolled in AGSC 135 will be provided with key material on sampling and sampling distributions.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
OFFICE HOURS:
The instructor has the following designated office hours per week:
- Tuesdays: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Wednesdays: 10:00 to 12:00 a.m.
- Fridays: 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
If necessary, students are also encouraged to make appointments to see the instructor at other times. Students with disabilities who require accommodations to fully-participate in the course activities are requested to contact the instructor within the first two weeks of the semester.
CONTACT HOURS AND CLASS SCHEDULE:
This is a one-credit hour course. The class includes one contact hour per week for 15 weeks. The class meets on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 5:50 p.m. in Room 102, Marshall Hall.
TEXTBOOK(S):
Davis, B. 2000. Introduction to Agricultural Statistics. Delmar, Albany, New York.
Shayya, W.H. 2000. Using Excel to Analyze Data: An Introductory Tutorial (on-line tutorial).
CLASS POLICIES:
GRADE COMPOSITION:
GRADING SCHEME:
The distribution of grades in this course will be based on the A-F College grading scheme. The letter grades correspond to the following percentage scale: A (90-100%), A- (87-89.9%), B+ (83-86.9%), B (80-82.9%), B- (77-79.9%), C+ (73-76.9%), C (70-72.9%), C- (67-69.9%), D+ (63-66.9%), D (60-62.9%), and F (<60%).
OUTLINE OF TOPICS:
Week |
Date |
Lecture Topic* |
Textbook/On-line Resources |
Homework Assignment |
1 | 1/15/02 | - Introduction to AGSC135 | ||
2 | 1/22/02 | - Introduction to Agricultural Statistics | Chapter 1 (pages 1-5) | |
3 | 1/29/02 | -
Variables and summation - Different Forms of Presenting Data |
Chapter 1 (pages 5-7) Chapter 2 (pages 9-18) |
#1, Problems 2 and 3 on page 8 |
4 | 2/05/02 | - Introduction to Excel | Excel On-line Introductory Tutorial | #2, Excel Assignment |
5 | 2/12/02 | - Introduction to Summarizing Data Using Excel | Excel On-line Introductory Tutorial | |
Week 6 - Break 1 - No classes | ||||
7 | 2/26/02 | - Introduction to Graphical Representation of Summarized Data Using Excel | Excel On-line Introductory Tutorial | #3, Excel Assignment |
8 | 3/05/02 | - Measuring Central Tendency of Data | Chapter 2 (pages 18-24) | |
9 | 3/12/02 | - Measures of Dispersion (Range and Standard Deviation Deviation) | Chapter 2 (pages 24-28) | #4, Problems 1, 4, and 5 on pages 31 and 32 |
10 | 3/19/02 |
- Hands-on Exercise on Summarizing Data - Midterm Exam Study Guide |
On-Line Handout on Common Excel Functions | #5, Problem set on summarizing data using Excel |
11 | 3/26/02 | Midterm Examination | ||
Week 12 - Break 2 - No classes | ||||
13 | 4/09/02 |
- Data Sets - Set Operations |
Chapter 3 (pages 39-42) | Data Analysis Project |
14 | 4/16/02 | - Methods of Counting (permutations and combinations) | Chapter 3 (pages 33-36) | |
15 | 4/23/02 |
- Probability - Rules of Probability - Mathematical Expectation |
Chapter 3 (pages 36-45) | |
16 | 4/30/02 |
- Probability Density Functions - Normal Probability Distribution |
Chapter 4 (pages 49-59) | #6, Problems 8 and 11 on page 61 |
17 | 5/7/02 |
- Probability Distribution Functions in Excel - Final Exam Study Guide |
*The topics
listed in the table above are tentative and may be subject to change during the
semester.