BUS 229 • Statistical Analysis
Section B Lecture: MWF 11:10 AM to 12:15 PM in Harper 4052
Section C Lecture: MWF 12:30 PM to 1:35 PM in Harper 4052
Instructor: Dr. William Duckworth
Office: Harper 310 / Phone: 402-280-2609 / Email: wmd@creighton.edu
Office “Drop-In” Times: MWF 1:45 to 2:45 PM
Required Materials
1. (PSBE) The Practice of Statistics for Business and Economics, 3rd Edition, by Moore, McCabe,
Alwan, Craig, and Duckworth (StatsPortal/eBook/CourseSmart version and/or printed version)
[coverage: Chapters 1-4, 6-8, 10-11 and other topics as time allows]
2. (SC) Super Crunchers (red cover, paperback edition) by Ian Ayres
3. JMP (“jump”) software (currently: JMP Pro 10)
4. calculator (nothing fancy needed)
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 multiple exams and Super Cruncher quizzes. The weight
given to each of these graded course activities is as follows:
Exams 80% • Super Crunchers Quizzes 20%
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
PSBE 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 AYK 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 the exams. Exercises should be attempted as topics are covered
rather than waiting until the end of a week or month! Your efforts at working exercises that are NOT
specifically assigned will certainly enhance your performance on the exams. 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 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. Most
formulas needed for hand calculations will be provided with the exam.
The course homepage can be reached at the URL
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
website will be updated after each class meeting. Exams and quizzes will be given via Blueline. I
also encourage you to use Blueline’s message system to contact me as needed.
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: iPad/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, offering comments, making suggestions) and your genuine effort on the readings, exercises,
quizzes, 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 Crunchers Readings/Quizzes
For each assigned SC reading, there will be a short quiz on the day the reading is due. The quiz will
focus on facts and ideas easily picked up during a focused period of reading. Deeper issues and
statistical concepts presented in SC will be discussed in-class after the quiz. There are no makeup
quizzes. SC provides a context for the statistical topics selected from PSBE. We will often revisit SC
examples as we cover topics from PSBE.
A Note About JMP
“Why JMP?” you may wonder. “Why not Excel?” you may ponder. There really should not be an Excel
vs. JMP debate. You should know how to use Excel for certain tasks for which Excel is suited.
However, Excel has a dismal track record for statistical analyses, so you should seek a suitable
solution. JMP is widely used across all business sectors (including non-profits). JMP is used by such
well-known companies as _____, ______, ______, and even ______. JMP’s parent product SAS is the
most widely used statistics package in the world.
Bottom line on software: I encourage you to become familiar with Excel for a variety of suitable tasks.
There are many online resources (some free, the better ones are not) for learning Excel skills. I also
encourage you to become familiar with JMP in this course and future courses with statistical content as
well. JMP is not the only reliable statistical software available, so you may be asked to learn or use
alternatives from time to time. I’d be happy to discuss this issue further if you like!
Tentative Exam Dates (approximately every 4th class meeting)
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Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Exam 4
Exam 5
Exam 6
Exam 7
Exam 8
Exam 9
Final Exam
Final Exam
Fri, Aug 30
Fri, Sep 13
Mon, Sep 23
Wed, Oct 2
Fri, Oct 11
Mon, Oct 28
Wed, Nov 6
Fri, Nov 15
Mon, Nov 25
Section B: Fri, Dec 13, 8:00 AM to 9:40 AM
Section C: Wed, Dec 11, 8:00 AM to 9:40 AM