BUS 229 • Statistical Analysis • www.statclass.com
Lecture: MTWTh 9am to 12pm in room BA111
Instructor: Dr. William Duckworth
Office: BA430 / Phone: 280-2609 / Email: drd@statclass.com
Office “Drop-In” Times: right after class
Required Materials
1. (PBS2e) The Practice of Business Statistics, 2nd Edition, by Moore, McCabe, Duckworth, and
Alwan (StatsPortal version or printed version)
2. (SC) Super Crunchers (red cover, paperback edition) by Ian Ayres
3. stapler (with staples)
4. calculator
Tentative Exam Dates
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Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Final Exam
Monday, June 14
Monday, June 21
Monday, June 28
Thursday, July 8
BUS229 Numerical Grading System
Statistics has three components. You must be able to demonstrate proper procedure to obtain accurate
results that you clearly communicate. Your final numerical grade in this course will be based on your
performance in these three areas: communication, accuracy, and procedure. Each exam will include all
three elements. Grades will be updated at the BlueLine site for the course several times during the
semester (although letter grades will not be indicated until the course has ended).
Graded course activities will include Super Cruncher Discussion Questions, three midterm
exams (exams include SC questions), and a final exam. The weight given to each of these graded
course activities is as follows:
Final Exam 30%
3 Midterm Exams 60%
Super Cruncher Discussion Questions 10%
BUS229 Letter Grading System
Letter grades in BUS229 will be determined using the descriptions established by the university.
Creighton University Letter Grading System
• A Final Letter Grade of A is earned by demonstrating outstanding achievement and an unusual
degree of intellectual initiative.
• A Final Letter Grade of B+ is earned by demonstrating upper above average attainment.
• A Final Letter Grade of B is earned by demonstrating above average attainment.
• A Final Letter Grade of C+ is earned by demonstrating upper average work.
• A Final Letter Grade of C is earned by demonstrating satisfactory work.
• A Final Letter Grade of D is earned by demonstrating inferior but passing work.
• A Final Letter Grade of F is earned by demonstrating failure (no credit awarded).
Course Information and Policies
PBS2e exercises are structured to aid you in learning the basics of data analysis as applied to business
questions. Exercises are divided into several categories: Apply Your Knowledge (AYK, pronounced
‘ache’), Section-ending, Chapter-ending, and Case Study Exercises. AYK exercises are spread
throughout the sections of the book. You should consider these exercises as the bare minimum to keep
up with the pace of the course—attempt these every day as we cover topics in class. Section-ending
exercises should be attempted as we finish sections and are also good review before an exam. Chapterending exercises are good review for midterm exams as well as the Final Exam. Exercises should be
attempted as topics are covered rather than waiting until the end of a week. Your efforts at working
exercises that are NOT specifically assigned will certainly enhance your performance on the graded
course work. Most of the exercises expect (and even require) that you use JMP. You are responsible for
knowing how to use JMP (pronounced ‘jump’).
Exams will be completed during class time on the assigned dates. If, for any reason, you cannot take
the exam at the scheduled time and place with the rest of the class, then you should contact me before
the scheduled exam time to make arrangements. Exams will be taken during the first portion of class
time on the listed dates. Exams will be given in Blueline and you will be given a piece of paper for any
calculation work that you might do by hand. In order to receive full credit for an interpretation, one
must use complete sentences, proper grammar, and correct spellings of words in order to clearly
communicate thoughts. Unclear and/or ambiguous responses will not receive full (or possibly any)
credit. Unless otherwise stated, exams are closed notes/book/etc. You will generally have access to JMP
for at least part of each exam. You should also bring a calculator to each exam. Any formulas needed
for hand calculations will be provided with the exam.
The course homepage can be reached at the URL
http://www.statclass.com/
Not everything announced in class will be repeated on the website, and not everything posted on the
website will be mentioned in class. You are responsible for attending class regularly and checking the
website regularly in order to be aware of all course-related information and announcements. The Classby-Class portion of the website will be updated after each class meeting.
Calculator
If you are unsure about the appropriateness of your calculator for this class, then see me. I recommend
a calculator that at least has a square root button and a squaring button. Programmable calculators may
be used, but any efforts to program formulas, text, etc. into them will be considered academically
dishonest and treated according to official policy*. I reserve the right to clear the memory of selected
calculators during exam times as well as to ban the use of particular calculators. You are responsible for
knowing how to operate your calculator during an exam. If you have questions about how to use your
calculator outside of the exam periods, I’ll be glad to help you. (Note: iPhone/cell phone calculators,
iPod Touch/PDA calculators, and other similar calculators are NOT permitted during exams.)
*The official CoBA Academic Honesty Policy can be found at:
http://www2.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/COBA/DeanDocs/Academic_Honesty_Policy.pdf
CoBA Mission
Guided by our Jesuit heritage, we form leaders who promote justice and use their business knowledge
to improve the world.
Striving to accomplish this mission, your participation in class (listening, taking notes, asking
questions) and your genuine effort on the readings, exercises, and exams are two of the most important
factors affecting your success in this class. Feel free to ask me about exercises and examples after you
have honestly worked on them—I am here to help you.
Super Cruncher Discussion Questions
For each assigned SC reading, you are required to submit a minimum of three discussion questions
(questions that could be the basis of an interesting classroom discussion on the topics you have just
read about in SC). You must submit your questions each class day before 9:00 AM (in the appropriate
Blueline dropbox).