Math 225-01, Spring 2012
Introduction to Biostatistics
Professor:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Class Hours:
Room:
Textbook:
Course Website:
Prerequisites:
Dr. Eric Ruggieri
418 College Hall
(412) 396-4851
ruggierie@duq.edu
Monday 3:00PM-5:00PM,
Wednesday 12:00 PM-2:00PM,
Thursday 12:00PM – 2:00 PM, and by appointment
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00-11:50
220 College Hall
Biostatistics for the Biological and Health Sciences by Triola and Triola
Blackboard
None
Welcome to Math 225: Introduction to Biostatistics! This is a one semester course which will introduce
you to probability and statistical inference. At the end of this course, you will be able to:
1) Gain a solid understanding of the foundations of probability and statistical inference as applied
to clinical trials, medicine, and other applications of a biological nature
2) Describe data sets using both graphical tools and numbers, such as mean and standard deviation
3) Understand the variation inherent to a sample from a population
4) Make inferences about a variable in question (Hypothesis Tests and Confidence Intervals)
The course calendar that follows will briefly describe each of the topics that we will cover. The class will,
for the most part, follow the textbook, Biostatistics for the Biological and Health Sciences by Triola and
Triola. Although not enforced, class attendance and reading of the designated sections of the text prior
to class are highly recommended. The grade you earn will be a reflection of how well you have
mastered the material in this course and will be based upon the following four criteria:
1) Homework and Quizzes (10% Each; Total 20%): Weekly homework assignments will be given. I truly
believe that the only way to learn Statistics (and mathematics, in general) is to do Statistics. A majority
of the problems will be drawn from the book, although I may incorporate some of my own questions.
You are permitted (an encouraged!) to work with your classmates on these assignments. However, each
student is expected to turn in their own set of solutions. To receive full credit, solutions to homework
assignments should be clearly written on the provided worksheet and have all relevant work organized
in the proper sequence. Homework assignments will be due on Mondays by 5PM. Late homework
assignments will not receive full credit and homework more than one day late will receive no credit.
Additionally, a (brief) quiz will be given on Friday of each week. The quiz questions will be drawn from
the material covered in the homework assignment submitted that week and will resemble those seen on
homework assignments. If necessary, quiz make-ups must be complete by the time quizzes are handed
back at the start of class the following Monday unless prior arrangements have been made.
2) Group Project (15%): Since the goal of this course is to understand how statistics are used in a
biological setting, you will be asked to find a research paper that uses statistics and present the results
of this paper to your classmates. The paper you wish to present and a short (1 page) description of the
statistical methods used in that paper will be due before you leave for Easter break on Wednesday April
4th (worth 10% of the project grade). The second part of this project is a brief meeting (by Friday April
13th) in order to go over the statistics discussed in your journal article (10%). The final 80% of the
project grade will be evenly split between your presentation and a written report. No one is expected to
be an expert on the topic that you have selected. Therefore, both the presentation and written
report/summary of your research paper should introduce the problem you are investigating, describe
the methodology for gathering and analyzing the data, and contain a summary of the results. Try to
think critically about any conclusions drawn in the paper. Are they adequately supported? While the
focus of many published journal articles is on the underlying biology, your report should be more
focused on how the data was gathered and the statistical methods used, as well as an introduction to
the biological question being studied. The project presentations will take place on the final 2-3 days of
class; the written reports (3-5 pages) will also be due at that time and should mirror your presentation.
Late submission of any of the three pieces of this project will not receive full credit. Additional project
details and example papers will be forthcoming.
3) Two In-Class Exams (40%): There will be two cumulative in-class tests. The exams will not be
exercises in memorization, but will try to be written so that students with a solid understanding of the
concepts should have little, if any, trouble. The first exam is tentatively set for Friday February 10th, the
second for Wednesday March 28th.
4) Final Exam (25%): The comprehensive final examination is from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM on Thursday
April 26th in accordance with the Duquesne University catalog.
Should you ever need help with this course, there are several great options available to you:
1) Ask a classmate for help
2) Stop by my office during office hours or make an appointment to see me
3) Departmental Tutoring – Meet one-on-one with former Statistics students.
4) Meet with the TA for our course. Hours and location forthcoming.
Additional Course Policies:
Academic Integrity: A student found cheating on an examination or assisting others in the course of an
examination will receive an F for the course and will be subject to further sanctions. Copying another
student’s assignment is considered cheating and will result in receiving a 0 for that assignment. As
previously stated, you are encouraged to work together on homework assignments. However, each
student is expected to write out their own solutions. For more information, please see the University’s
Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found at: http://www.duq.edu/academicaffairs/_pdf/academic-integrity-policy.pdf
Information for Students with Disabilities: Duquesne University is committed to providing all students
with equal access to learning. If you think you have a disability requiring accommodations, you must
register with the Office of Freshman Development and Special Student Services in 309 Duquesne Union
(412-396-6657) in order to receive reasonable accommodations in this course. Once a disability is
officially documented at Duquesne by this office, and with your permission, instructors will receive
letters outlining the reasonable accommodations they are required to make. Once I have received this
letter, you and I should meet to coordinate the way these will be implemented in this course. For more
information, go to http://www.duq.edu/special-students/policies.cfm
Calculators: A calculator is highly recommended but not required. You do not need to go out and buy a
graphing calculator - a basic calculator will be sufficient for our course. Using your cell phone as a
calculator is not permitted since phones are meant as communication devices (See Academic Integrity
above).
Grading: Final grades will be given according to the following percentage cutoffs. These cutoffs,
although fairly strict, can be lowered (according to class performance), but not raised, no matter how
well the class performs
Final Grade
Percentage
A
93 to 100
A90 to <93
B+
87 to <90
B
83 to <87
B80 to <83
C+
77 to <80
C
70 to <77
D
63 to <70
F
0 to <63
Course Calendar (subject to change)
Date
Section
Topic
Jan 6 – F
No Class!
Jan 9 – M
1.1-1.2
Syllabus; Types of Data
Jan 11 – W
1.2-1.3
Design of Experiments
Jan 13 – F
2.1-2.3
Visualizing Data
Jan 16 – M
No Class! MLK Day
Jan 18 – W
2.1-2.3
Visualizing Data, cont.
Jan 20 – F
2.4
Measures of Center
Notes
HMWK #1 Due
Quiz #1
Date
Section
Jan 23 – M
2.5
Jan 25 – W
2.6
Jan 27 – F
2.7
Jan 30 – M
3.1-3.3
Feb 1 – W
3.3-3.4
Feb 3 – F
3.5
Feb 6 – M
3.6
Feb 8 – W
1.1-3.6
Feb 10 – F
1.1-3.6
Feb 13 – M
4.1-4.2
Feb 15 – W
4.3, 3.8
Feb 17 – F
4.3-4.4
Feb 20 – M
4.5, 5.1-5.2
Feb 22 – W
5.2
Feb 24 – F
5.3
Feb 27 – Mar 2
Mar 5 – M
5.6
Mar 7 – W
5.4
Mar 9 – F
5.4
Mar 12 – M 5.5
Mar 14 – W 6.1-6.2
Mar 16 – F
6.2
Mar 19 – M 6.3
Mar 21 – W 6.4
Mar 23 – F
6.5
Mar 26 – M 4.1-6.5
Mar 28 – W 4.1-6.5
Mar 30 – F
7.1-7.2
Apr 2 – M
7.3
Apr 4 – W
7.4-7.5
Apr 6-9
Apr 10 – T
7.6
Topic
Measures of Variation
Measures of Relative Standing
Exploratory Data Analysis
Intro to Probability; Probability Rules
Addition and Multiplication Rules
Multiplication: Beyond the Basics
Risk and Odds
Catch Up / Review for Exam #1
Exam #1 – Chapters 1-3
Discrete Probability; Random Variables
Binomial Distribution; Counting
Binomial Distribution, cont.
Poisson, Uniform Distributions
The Standard Normal Distribution
Applications to the Normal Distribution
No Class! Spring Break!
Normal Approx. to the Binomial
Sampling Distributions
Sampling Distributions, cont.
Central Limit Theorem
Estimating a Population Proportion
Estimating a Population Proportion, cont.
Estimating a Population Mean, σ known
Estimating a Population Mean, σ unknown
Estimating a Population Variance
Review for Exam #2
Exam #2 – Chapters 4-6
Introduction to Hypothesis Testing
Testing a Claim: Proportion
Testing a Claim: Mean
No Class! Easter Break
Testing a Claim: Variance
Apr 11 – W
Apr 13 – F
8.1-8.2
8.3
Testing a Claim: Two Proportions
Testing a Claim: Two Means
Apr 16 – M
Apr 18 – W
Apr 20 – F
Apr 23 – M
8.3
8.4
Testing a Claim: Two Means, cont.
Matched Pairs Inference
Project Presentations
Project Presentations
Thursday April 26th – Final Exam, 8:30AM – 10:30AM
Notes
HMWK #2 Due
Quiz #2
HMWK #3 Due
Quiz #3
HMWK #4 Due
HMWK #5 Due
Quiz #5
HMWK #6 Due
Quiz #6
HMWK #7 Due
Quiz #7
HMWK #8 Due
Quiz #8
HMWK #9 Optional
Project Description Due
Monday Schedule
HMWK #10 Due
Quiz #10
Project Meetings
HMWK #11 Due
Last Day of Class
Project Written Report Due