This unit is designed to give students an introduction to statistical and quantitative methods within a business-related framework and to provide students with a sound foundation for more advanced statistical and quantitative studies. The unit will provide opportunities for the student to gain skills in the presentation of business and economic data, the use of frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion, principles of probability, use of probability distributions, sampling theory, estimation, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, the use of indices and forecasting methods.
2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk
For on campus students, workload commitments are:
Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit.
and up to an additional eight hours private study and reading per week.
BUS1100, ETC1000, ETC1010, ETC2010, ETF2211, ETW1000, ETW1010, ETW1102, ETW2111, ETX1100, ETX2111, ETX2121, MAT1097
John Betts
John Betts
Dr Oshadi Alahakoon
Mr Asanka Fonseka
Mr Sumith Matharage
At the completion of this unit students will have -
A knowledge and understanding of:
Examination (2 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Written assignment. | 15% | 1 April 2011 |
| Test during lecture. | 25% | 18 April 2011 |
| Examination 1 | 60% | To be advised |
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through SETU, Student Evaluation of Teacher and Unit. The University's student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash's educational strategy, and on student evaluations, see:
http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html
http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
Students may need to use the university laboratories to access statistical software during private study.
Students will use SYSTAT and Microsoft Excel to perform computer-based statistical calculations. These applications are available in the university's computer laboratories.
Students are permitted to use calculators in the exam.
| Week | Date* | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 21/02/11 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | 28/02/11 | Introduction. Surveys and data collection. | |
| 2 | 07/03/11 | Graphical presentation of data. Measures of centre. Measures of dispersion. | |
| 3 | 14/03/11 | Introduction to Excel and SYSTAT. Writing a statistical report. | |
| 4 | 21/03/11 | Correlation and regression. | |
| 5 | 28/03/11 | Introduction to probability. Bayes' Theorem. | Assignment 1: 1 April 2011 |
| 6 | 04/04/11 | Binomial and Poisson distributions. The Normal distribution. | |
| 7 | 11/04/11 | Index numbers. | |
| 8 | 18/04/11 | Test during lecture. Introduction to estimation. | Test scheduled: 18 April 2011 |
| Mid semester break | |||
| 9 | 02/05/11 | Estimation. | |
| 10 | 09/05/11 | Hypothesis testing. | |
| 11 | 16/05/11 | Hypothesis testing: categorical data. Time series analysis. | |
| 12 | 23/05/11 | Time series analysis. | |
| 30/05/11 | SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC | |
*Please note that these dates may only apply to Australian campuses of Monash University. Off-shore students need to check the dates with their unit leader.
To pass a unit which includes an examination as part of the assessment a student must obtain:
If a student does not achieve 40% or more in the unit examination or the unit non-examination total assessment, and the total mark for the unit is greater than 50% then a mark of no greater than 49-N will be recorded for the unit
Assignment coversheets are available via
"Student Forms" on the Faculty website: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/
You MUST submit a completed coversheet with all assignments, ensuring
that the plagiarism declaration section is signed.
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/equity/special-consideration.html.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University's academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them.
You can find Monash's Education Policies at:
http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at www.monash.edu.au/students The Monash University Library provides a range of services and resources that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis
READING LIST
Selvanathan et al, "Australian Business Statistics", Abridged Fifth Edition, Nelson 2011.
A good non-mathematical text is:Statistics Without Tears, Derek Rowntree, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1981.