We live in a world where data are increasingly available, in ever larger quantities, and are increasingly expected to form the basis for decisions by governments, businesses, and other organizations, as well as by individuals in their daily lives. To cope effectively, every informed citizen must be statistically literate.
This course will provide an intuitive introduction to applied statistical reasoning, introducing fundamental statistical skills and acquainting students with the full process of inquiry and evaluation used in investigations in a wide range of fields. In particular, the course will cover methods of data collection, constructing effective graphical and numerical displays to understand the data, how to estimate and describe the error in estimates of some important quantities, and the key ideas in how statistical tests can be used to separate significant differences from those that are only a reflection of the natural variability in data.
