Statistical Analysis for Business MIS 301
Spring 2016
San Diego State University
College of Business Administration
Department of Management Information Systems
COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Chris O’Byrne
Email: cobyrne@mail.sdsu.edu
Blackboard: blackboard.sdsu.edu
Class Days: Friday (Section 7)
Office Hours Times (and by appt): Friday 3:45 – 5:00
Class Times: 1:00 to 3:40 PM
Class Location: EBA 345
Office Hours Location: SSE 2428
Units: 3
Course Overview
Statistical methods applied to business decision making. (Formerly numbered Information and Decision Systems 301.)
The objective of this course is for students to achieve an understanding of fundamental statistical techniques and how they are
applied to decision making and the scientific method. Greater emphasis is placed on the application and interpretation, as
opposed to the mathematical derivation, of the techniques covered. The content of this course is essential for any student
pursuing an undergraduate business major and any person involved in organizational decision making. This course is intended
to help satisfy the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) curriculum criterion for management specific
knowledge in the area of “Statistical data analysis and management science as they support decision-making processes
throughout an organization.”
Student Learning Outcomes
BSBA students will graduate being:

Effective Communicators

Critical Thinkers

Able to Analyze Ethical Problems

Global in their perspective

Knowledgeable about the essentials of business
MIS 301 contributes to these goals through its student learning outcomes….
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



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Use data from a sample to make inferences about a population.
Apply probability theory in decision making situations.
Formulate hypotheses for decision making and research.
Analyze data using appropriate statistical techniques.
Interpret the results of statistical analysis
Use data analytic software to create visualizations and summary reports of data.
Enrollment Information
Prerequisites: Students are required to have completed Mathematics 120; Economics 201 or Statistics 119.
Class withdrawal: Once the official deadline passes, students will not be allowed to withdraw due to low test scores. Also,
students are not given an incomplete grade due to poor class performance. Please visit the undergraduate business advising
center for consultations if such situation rises.
Course Materials
Text:
Required: Anderson, D.R., Sweeney, D.J. and T.A. Williams, Modern Business Statistics with Microsoft Excel,
5th edition, Cengage Leraning, 2015. (with Microsoft Excel Data CD) ISBN-13: 978-1-285-43330-1
Online Resources: Lecture notes as well as practice problems for the end of the semester review will be posted on blackboard.
Calculator:
One that can perform basic statistical calculations. (Ti 30 is a good example that is rather inexpensive).
Accessing Course Materials: Course materials, including lecture notes and computer assignments, will be made available via
the SDSU blackboard website (blackboard.sdsu.edu). Please check the website regularly and bring printed copies of course
materials to class with you to assist in your note taking.
Course Structure and Conduct
General Course Policies: Attendance is not included in the calculation of course grades. However, it is generally necessary to
attend every class to earn a high grade for this course and it may be difficult to catch up after missing a single class. No makeup exams will be given. The format of the class is generally a traditional lecture with discussion and practice problems that
follow the lectures.
Cell phones should not be used during class and students are encouraged to bring a calculator that they will be using during an
exam so they can practice the in-class problems and get familiar with the use of their calculator.
Students are expected to conduct themselves professionally in the classroom at all times.
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact
Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact
Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations
based upon disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student
Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Academic Honesty
The University adheres to a strict policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. These activities will not be tolerated in this class.
Become familiar with the policy (http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html). Any cheating or plagiarism will result in
Cheating will not be tolerated. Students caught altering previously graded work or giving or receiving assistance to/from
another student on an exam will receive an F for the course. Students caught copying computer assignments (or allowing
others to copy their computer assignment) will receive a zero for the assignment.
Examples of Plagiarism include but are not limited to:

Using sources verbatim or paraphrasing without giving proper attribution (this can include phrases, sentences,
paragraphs and/or pages of work)

Copying and pasting work from an online or offline source directly and calling it your own

Using information you find from an online or offline source without giving the author credit

Replacing words or phrases from another source and inserting your own words or phrases

Submitting a piece of work you did for one class to another class
If you have questions on what is plagiarism, please consult the policy and this helpful guide from the Library
Turnitin
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to
Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com
reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit your papers in such a way
that no identifying information about you is included. Another option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not
be submitted to Turnitin.com. However, if you choose this option you will be required to provide documentation to
substantiate that the papers are your original work and do not include any plagiarized material.
Assessments and Grading
Course grades will be assigned in accordance with San Diego State University policy (see General Catalog, pp. 468-470).
Undergraduate grades shall be: A (outstanding achievement, available only for the highest accomplishment), B (praiseworthy
performance, definitely above average), C (average, awarded for satisfactory performance, the most common undergraduate
grade), D (minimally passing, less than the typical undergraduate achievement), F (failing).
Table 1. Your course grade will be based on the following weighted components
Component
Weight
Cases
5%
HW Problems (Practice Problems from Chapter)
0%
Exams
65%
Final (Cumulative)
30%
Grades are assigned using the following distribution:
92-100
A
90-92
A-
88-90
B+
82-88
B
80-82
B-
78-80
C+
72-78
C
70-72
C-
68-70
D+
62-68
D
58-62
D-
0-58
F
Exams and Exam Policies: Grades are determined primarily (95% of total weight) by performance on the midterms and final
exam. Unexpected events will inevitably occur during a semester (e.g., job interview, illness, death in the family, etc…) that
may require a student to miss a midterm exam. For this reason and because there are no makeup exams, the lowest midterm
score is not included in the calculation of course grades. Students are required to bring a Scantron (Form 882-E) for each exam.
All exams must be taken at their scheduled time (no make-up exams) and at the course venue unless special arrangements are
made through disabled student services. A formula sheet will be made available to students to assist them on their exams. A
copy of the formula sheet will be shared via blackboard in advance of the exam but students are only permitted to use the
official sheet on the exam, which will be handed out in class on the day of the exam. Scantrons will not be returned to
students. Exam results will be reviewed during the class subsequent to the exam. If a student wishes to review his or her
individual scantron, they must do so by attending office hours within two weeks of the time the exam results are posted to
blackboard. Students are required to turn off and put away all cellular phones, PDAs, and pagers for each exam. Any student
found accessing their cellular phone or pager during an exam for any reason (e.g., checking the time) will receive a zero on the
exam (and this exam can not be dropped as your lowest exam).
Cases: Two to three assignments, each consisting of a case analysis using Excel and a write-up in Word, will be given throughout
the semester. Students are required to follow the recommendations provided in the document entitled, “Guidelines for
Preparing Computer Assignments,” for all assignments. Late assignments will be accepted with a 10-point deduction for turning
in an assignment after class on the day it is due and an additional ten points for each additional day that it is late.
Homework: Throughout the semester there will be suggested chapter problems to try from the textbook. These problems will
be listed on the first page of the lecture notes for each chapter we cover. There are no points assigned to these problems but
are very helpful when preparing for the exams.
Participation: Students should be prepared for class and take notes with the aid of the lecture packets that are provided on
blackboard.
Grade of Incomplete. A grade of Incomplete (I) indicates that a portion of required coursework has not been completed and
evaluated in the prescribed time period due to unforeseen, but fully justified, reasons and that there is still a possibility of
earning credit. It is your responsibility to bring pertinent information to the instructor and to reach agreement on the means by
which the remaining course requirements will be satisfied. The conditions for removal of the Incomplete shall be reduced to
writing by the instructor and given to you with a copy placed on file with the department chair until the Incomplete is removed
or the time limit for removal has passed. A final grade is assigned when the work agreed upon has been completed and
evaluated. An Incomplete shall not be assigned when the only way you could make up the work would be to attend a major
portion of the class when it is next offered. Contract forms for Incomplete grades are available at the Office of the Registrar
website
Tentative Course Schedule
Table 2. The course schedule, including topics and class activities listed by week, is presented in the following table
Week
Topics
Activities
1: January 22
Introduction to the Course, Descriptive
Statistics
Chapters 1, 2, 3
2: January 29
Introduction to Probability Theory
Chapters 3, 4
3: February 5
Discrete Probability Distributions
Chapter 4, 5
4: February 12
Continuous Probability
Distributions &
Chapter 5
5: February 19
Midterm 1 &Continuous Probability
Distributions
Chapters 6
6: February 26
Sampling & Sampling Distributions
Chapters 6 & 7
7: March 4
Interval Estimation
Chapter 7 & 8
8: March 11
Interval Estimation
Chapter 8 & 9
Hypothesis Tests
9: March 18
Inference About Means & Proportions
with Two Populations
Chapter 9 & 10
10: March 25
Midterm 2 & Inferences About
Population Variances
Chapter 10 & 11
11: April 1
Spring Break
12: April 8
Tests of Goodness of Fit, Independence,
and Multiple Proportions
Chapter 11 & 12
13: April 15
Experimental Design and Analysis of
Variance
Chapter 12 & 13
14: April 22
Midterm 3 & Simple Linear Regression
Chapter 13 & 14
15: April 29
Multiple Regression & Final Discussion
Chapter 14 & 15
16: May 6
Cumulative Exam – 1 to 3 PM
Final Exam
Changes to the course schedule, if any, will be announced in class.