Course Description
This course will introduce students to the basics and applications of various analysis methods for public administration and organizational management. The major topics covered include descriptive statistics, probability, normal distribution, hypothesis testing, measures of association, and regression. Analysis methods are widely used by management analysts to test theoretical ideas, support arguments, solve policy problems, and make managerial decisions. The course requires some basic calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root functions), but it focuses on the concepts of statistics rather than the technical calculations and complex formulas of statistics.
Grading and Course Requirements
Grades will be based on one examination, two assignments, and online class participation. The exam is a take home test that includes a variety of conceptual questions. The first assignment deals with the substance of statistics and the second assignment deals with the applications of statistics. Class participation is important and it includes online discussion participation, control of course readings, frequency of volunteering, interactions with classmates and professor, and on-time completion of assignments. Each of these components will receive the following weight:
Exam 40%
Two Assignments 40% (20% each)
Online Class Participation 20%
All students are expected to log
in to Blackboard at least once a week and participate in the discussions on the
discussion board and also participate in live chat sessions (if they are
scheduled). Weekly instructions and questions are posted on the discussion
board. Students are urged to participate in Discussion Board discussions by
posting their answers, reactions, or comments in the following and other
folders: Weekly Questions, Most Memorable Experience with Numbers or
Statistics, Current Media Topics, Assignment #1, and Assignment#2 (Creative
Project).
A statistician is a person who draws a mathematically precise line from an unwarranted assumption to a forgone conclusion. - Anonymous