Required Textbook

Two "textbooks" are required for this course:

  1. Montana State Introductory Statistics with R - free online textbook 
  2. STAT 216 Coursepack - workbook with reading guides and in-class activities, purchase in the MSU Bookstore

Please read through the syllabus linked below for more details about the course.

Quick Links

Syllabus

Data Sets

RStudio

D2L

Gradescope

Classroom Format and Organization

Stat 216 will meet 3 times per week. Each week, students will:

  • read assigned sections of the online textbook and watch videos on that week’s content prior to attending your assigned in-person class day, including concept check video quizzes embedded in the videos,
  • meet with your fellow students in your assigned classroom three class periods per week for in-class group activities and discussion (Mondays and Wednesdays) and in-class Rstudio labs (Friday),
  • complete one assignment in Gradescope.

Contact Information

Your Instructor

See your D2L Announcements page for your instructor's contact information.

Course Student Success Coordinator

Jade Schmidt
Office:  Wilson 2-263
Phone:  994-6557
email Jade

Course Student Success Coordinator Assistant

Melinda Yager
Office:  Wilson 2-260
Phone:  994-6557
email Melinda

Course Supervisor

Dr. Stacey Hancock
Office:  Wilson 2-195
Phone:  994-5350
email Stacey

Course Description

Stat 216 is designed to engage you in the statistical investigation process from developing a research question and data collection methods to analyzing and communicating results. This course introduces basic descriptive and inferential statistics using both traditional (normal and t-distribution) and simulation approaches including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing on means (one-sample, two-sample, paired), proportions (one-sample, two-sample), regression and correlation. You will be exposed to numerous examples of real-world applications of statistics that are designed to help you develop a conceptual understanding of statistics. After taking this course, you should be able to:

  • Understand and appreciate how statistics affects your daily life and the fundamental role of statistics in all disciplines;
  • Evaluate statistics and statistical studies you encounter in your other courses;
  • Critically read news stories based on statistical studies as an informed consumer of data;
  • Assess the role of randomness and variability in different contexts;
  • Use basic methods to conduct and analyze statistical studies using statistical software;
  • Evaluate and communicate answers to the four pillars of statistical inference: How strong is the evidence of an effect? What is the size of the effect? How broadly do the conclusions apply? Can we say what caused the observed difference?

MUS Stat 216 Learning Outcomes

  1. Understand how to describe the characteristics of a distribution.
  2. Understand how data can be collected, and how data collection dictates the choice of statistical method and appropriate statistical inference.
  3. Interpret and communicate the outcomes of estimation and hypothesis tests in the context of a problem.
  4. To understand the scope of inference for a given dataset.

Data Sets

Data sets for course activities and assignments are available below.

Data Sets for Course Activities and Labs