STAT 341: Computational Statistics and Data

Analysis (Fall 2019)

This is a computationally focused approach to statistical reasoning in the context of real data.
Functional programming in R and algorithms will be used to define interesting attributes of
finite populations and their sampling characteristics. Computational approaches to inductive
inference and the assessment of predictive accuracy will also be discussed.

• Instructor: Ryan Browne, M3 4011, rpbrowne@uwaterloo.ca

• Lecture Times: Tuesday & Thursday 11:30am – 12:50pm in RCH 101.

• Tutorials: Fridays, 12:30–1:20pm, RCH 101.

• Weekly Office Hours: Wednesday 10 to 12 & Thursday 1:00–2:00pm or by appointment.

Course Webpage: Slides, course announcements, updates, assignments, R codes, solutions,

extra materials, handouts, data-sets, grades, etc. will be posted on LEARN.

Course Materials: The STAT 341 slides and course notes are work in progress and might be
updated/revised then during the semester. The lecture notes are posted here.

Course Objectives: By the conclusion of this course, successful students should have achieved
the following objectives:

• The fundamentals of population-based statistical analyses, as well as implicitly/explicitly

we already have all the data, we are just describing what happens
defined population attributes,

• The Basics of sampling and the underlying ideas/mechanisms of probability sampling and
related issues

• Inductive inference including target and study populations, measurements, comparing

subpopulations, random intervals and coverage probabilities, and resampling methods
such as bootstrap

• The fundamentals of prediction and how its accuracy is measured

• The basics of discriminant analysis and classification we are trying to predict one individual result and how well we did

• Be able to generate high-quality visualization and inferential statistics R output for the
topics above,

• Learn how to prepare reports on statistical analyses using RMarkdown is part of the
course and you will be marked on it.
Grading Scheme:

Course Grade = 20% Assignments + 20% T utorial T ests + 60% F inal Exam

A 2.5 hour final cumulative examination will be held during the final exam period, April 9–24.
Please do not make any travel plans before the final exam schedule is posted. In order to pass
the course, a you must have a mark of at least 50% on the final exam as well as an overall
final grade of at least 50% according to the above grading scheme. You cannot pass the
course without passing the final exam.

Correspondence:

• When you email your instructor, please include the course (STAT 341), and the name
with which you are registered in the course, as well as your student ID number.

• The turnaround time for email is one working day, e.g. emails send out over the
weekend are not reviewed until Monday.

Q&A:
Piazza is an online Q&A platform, and will be widely used in this course. You are encouraged
to submit questions you have regarding course material on Piazza to discuss with your fellow
classmates and TA’s. The instructor may pop-in Piazza from time to time. The piazza link for
this term is piazza.com/uwaterloo.ca/fall2019/stat341.

Software:
The free statistical package R is the formal statistical software for data analysis in this
course. In particular, we will use RStudio throughout the course (available here for free down-
load.) Throughout the semester we will discuss sample outputs so you can do the assignments
and interpret the outputs which may appear in assignments, quizzes, and the final
exam. R is available on the machines in the computer labs which you have access to. For those
of you who would like to download R on your pc/laptop please visit R website and RStudio
website.
Assignments:

• There are 4 assignments in this course distributed throughout the semester, and will
be submitted and marked online through Crowdmark. You will have about two weeks
to complete each assignment. These are tentatively scheduled on

– Friday September 27th at 9:00am,

– Friday October 11th at 9:00am,
– Friday November 8th at 9:00am, and
– Tuesday December 3rd at 9:00am.

• Assignment preparation: All assignments are to be completed using RMark-

down or LaTeX. The latter is a mathematical typesetting language and is available for
all platforms/OSes as well as on the Math Faculty Computing Facility supplied computing
environments. There are numerous good editors for LaTeX itself available (all free). RStu-
dio provides a simple interface for RMarkdown (see http://rmarkdown.rstudio.com)
which makes it easy to incorporate mathematics (via LaTeX), R code, and R output in
a single document. Instructions for use of LaTeX are ubiquitous on the web. RStudio is
strongly recommended– download from http://www.rstudio.com. Instructions on how
to use RMarkdown are available from within the RStudio app, and a sample document
has been posted on LEARN.

• Assignment format policy: Using RMarkdown or LaTeX is required and no hand-

written and/or imported screenshots will be accepted in the assignments. A mark of
0% will be assigned to the questions which were not complied in RMarkdown or LaTeX,
and/or those which include hand-written solutions and/or screenshots.

• Late or missed submissions: Unless prior arrangements are made, no late assignments
will be accepted and a grade of zero will be awarded. Any arrangements for extenuating
circumstances are at the discretion of the instructor.

• Rules for group work in assignments: Students may (and are encouraged to) discuss
assignments but each student must submit his/her own unique solution, code,
results and interpretations. Any sign of excessive collaboration will be dealt with
severely.

• Given the two-week window for completing each assignment, the extenuating circum-
stances justifying any accommodation must be both documented and last beyond a few
days. It is expected that you will use the approximate two-week window in its entirety to
complete the assignment and not leave it for the last few days. In short, a sickness lasting
a couple of days will not be an enough reason to ask for alternative accommodations on
an assignment.
Tutorials:

The (non-weekly) tutorial periods will generally be held as optional help sessions during
which a TA or the instructor will go over the assignments, tests, R codes, or possibly some
supplementary questions. However, the instructor may schedule extra lectures to be held during
the tutorial time-slot depending on the pace of the lectures. Sufficient notice will be announced
in class and/or on the course web page for each tutorial. You are responsible to check the
course website (and in-class announcements) regularly.

Tutorial tests:
• There are 2 tutorial quizes for the course which are tentatively scheduled on
– Friday, October 25, 11:30am-12:20pm and
– Friday, November 15, 11:30am-12:20pm.
Both tests will be during the tutorial time in RCH101 and M3 1006. Seating for the tests
will be available on Odyssey/Quest https://odyssey.uwaterloo.ca/. If these dates
change, advance announcements will be made.
• All tests in this course are cumulative. Information and specific coverage for each test
will be give out one week before each test.
• During the tests, items such as bags, purses, knapsacks, etc. are to be closed and placed
under the desk. Wireless or electronic devices must also be turned off before the exam
commences and put in your backpack.
• Missed assessments: If you miss a test and are able to provide adequate written doc-
umentation, it will be accommodated at the discretion of the instructor, by shifting the
weight of the test to the final exam. If you miss a test, the following protocol with be
used.
1. Students must inform the instructor via email within 48 hours of the missed test.
2. When illness is the cause of a missed deadline, students should seek medical treat-
ment and obtain a completed University of Waterloo Verification of Illness (VIF)
form to support requests for accommodation due to illness within 48 hours. See
https://uwaterloo.ca/math/vif
– Then submit the VIF and completed “Consequences of submitting a VIF” to
the Mathematics Undergraduate Office (MUO) at MC 4022 within 48 hours.
Note, if an test is on Friday then submission on the Monday is acceptable.
– Students will email the instructor a second time with a scanned copy of the
VIF and “Consequences of submitting a VIF”.
Given the two-week window for completing each assignment, the extenuating circum-
stances justifying any accommodation must be both documented and last beyond a few
days. It is expected that you will use the approximate two-week window in its entirety to
complete the assignment and not leave it for the last few days. In short, a sickness lasting
a couple of days will not be an enough reason to ask for alternative accommodations on
an assignment.
Marking and Solutions:

• The marking is expected to completed within a week of the assignment deadline or test
occurrence. The solutions for any assessment will be posted when the marks are released.

• If you have a concern regarding the marking of an assignment or your tests, you may re-
submit your paper for evaluation. The first step in the grievance process is for a student
is to communicate in writing to the instructor or TA with reasons for the remark. This
must be done within one month of the notification a mark.

• Any revaluation is not limited to a particular aspect of an assessment but any material
submitted for assessment. Note a remark may result in a lower grade.

• The turnaround time for a remark is one week.

• A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has
been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating grievance. Read Policy 70,
Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4 here. When in doubt, please be certain to
contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Persons with Disabilities:

The office for AccessAbility Services (AAS) is located in Needles Hall, and collaborates with
all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabili-
ties without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic
accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AAS at the start
of each academic term.

Academic Integrity::
In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo com-
munity are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Grievance:
A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been
unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student
Petitions and grievances, Section 4. Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes
academic integrity, to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for
their actions. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will
be imposed under Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For information on categories of offences and
types of penalties, students should refer to: Policy 71 - Student Discipline.

Avoiding Academic Offences::

For information on commonly misunderstood academic offences and how to avoid them, stu-
dents should refer to the Faculty of Mathematics Cheating and Student Academic Discipline
Policy.
Important Dates:

Assessment Date
Assignment One Sept. 27
Assignment Two Oct. 11
Test One Oct. 25
Assignment Three Nov. 9
Test Two Nov. 15
Assignment Four Dec. 3