STAT2001: Inferential Statistics

Course Syllabus
Semester II - 2021
Lecturer: Dr. Tamika Royal-Thomas
Office: #12 - Mathematics Department Telephone number: 876-977-2693
Office Hours: Office Hours: By appointment - Thursday; 11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m. Please email
me before to make office hour appointment.
Email: tamika.royalthomas@uwimona.edu.jm
Pre-requisites: STAT1001 or MATH2404

Textbooks:
1. An Introduction to Probability and Statistical Inference. 1st Edition, 2003. George G
Roussas. ISBN-13 #:978-0125990202.
2. Statistical Inference. 2nd edition. George Casella & Roger L. Berger.
3. Probability and Statistical Inference, 8th edition: R Hogg and E Tanis.
4. Mathematical Statistics with Applications, 7th ed: J Freund
5. Mathematical Statistics with Application. 7th Edition, 2007. William Mendenhall, Richard
Scheaffer, Dennis Wackerly: ISBN-13#:978-0495110811

http://ourvle.mona.uwi.edu/ is the main website for this course and this is where the lecture
notes, syllabus, main notices and other resources for the class will be placed. Please check
http://ourvle.mona.uwi.edu/ for daily updates.

Required Material: A scientific calculator – TI-83/TI-84 or any other scientific calculator,

pencils, pens, erasers, and notebook.

Course Description:
In this course (Inferential Statistics), we will use a sample of data to draw inferences about some
aspect of the population (real or hypothetical) from which the data were taken. Often the inference
concerns the value of one or more unknown parameters, which describe some attribute of the
population such as its location or spread. There are three main types of inference, namely, point
estimation, interval estimation and hypothesis testing. There will also be some graphical
interpretation with some examples and exercises making use of the statistical computer package
R.

Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Explain and categorise what makes a good estimator

• Construct appropriate hypotheses and confidence intervals
• Assess different statistical procedures
• Identify and apply appropriate statistical methods to real-world scenario
• Assess whether a set of data fits a suitable distribution

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Course Requirements:

Homeworks / Problem Papers: Homeworks are expected to be handed in on time online.

There will be no make-ups for homeworks without adequate notice and substantial reasons.
Homeworks will be group work of 4 members.

Software: R will be used to enhance certain topics.

Teaching Methodology: This course will be delivered by a combination of interactive lectures

and participative exercises/problems.

Evaluation – For Online Delivery

Coursework - 100%
- Homeworks/Problem Papers - 40%
- Mid-semester exam / In-course exam #1 - 30% (Online MCQS and/or short answer
questions).
- In-course exam #2 - 30% (Online MCQS and/or short answer questions).

Final Grade Calculation: 0.40*(Average Homeworks/ Problem Papers) + 0.30*(Mid-semester

exam / In-course exam #1) + 0.30*( In-course exam #2).

Grading Scale:
A+ = 90 - 100
A = 80 – 89
A- = 75 - 79
B+ = 70 - 74
B = 65 - 69
B- = 60 - 64
C+ = 55 - 59
C = 50 - 54
F1 = 45 - 49
F2 = 40 - 44
F3 = 0 - 39

Classroom Policies
Cell Phone: Cell phone use in class is not tolerated. All cell phones should be silenced or turned
off prior to class.
Attendance: All students are expected to attend all classes and are responsible for all
information provided. A student who is absent for a test or an exam will not be permitted to
make up the test/exam unless prior arrangements with the lecturer have been made. Approval
for missing a test/exam will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. In the case of
illness, a doctor’s note will be required.

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Content:
• Introduction:
o Review of Discrete Distributions and their Properties: Binomial, Geometric,
Poisson, Poisson approximation to Binomial.
o Review of Continuous Distributions and their Properties: Normal, normal
approximation to the binomial and Poisson; Gamma, Chi-square, t, F and Beta
distribution.
• Sampling Distributions, Interval Estimation & Hypothesis Testing:
• Distribution of the sample mean and proportion (large sample size):
o Sum and differences of sample mean.
o Difference of sample proportion.
o Hypothesis testing and confidence intervals.
• Distribution of the sample mean and variance (small sample size):
o One-and two sample t-test, paired test, Test concerning variances.
o Hypothesis testing and confidence intervals.
• Interval Estimation:
o Relationship between hypothesis tests and confidence intervals; graphical
confidence interval visualization. (These will be done above in the Two-Sample
Confidence Intervals for difference of means and the Two-Sample Confidence
Intervals for difference of proportions).
• Hypothesis Testing:
Hypotheses Testing, Types of Error, P-value. (These will be done above in the
Two-Sample tests of means and Two-Sample tests of proportions).
• Parameter Estimation:
o Unbiasedness, bias, mean square error - Minimum unbiased variance, Efficiency,
Consistency, Sufficiency - Fisher-Neyman factorisation theorem, Maximum
likelihood estimator (MLE) - Likelihood and log-likelihood functions, Cramer-Rao
lower bound, Method of moments, Rao-Blackwell theorem.

Disclaimer: This syllabus is subject to minor changes with notice to the class.