bolker@mcmaster.ca). Office hours TBA; meetings during office hours are preferred but other times may be available by appointment. For more information, see my web page.wangyq@mcmaster.ca They will be marking homework, and assisting with projects. When emailing, please allow at least one full business day for responses. Please note also that the TA might not respond to emails sent less than 24 hours before any assessment (exam/homework/project). You should generally get help from the instructor (Bolker) but, time permitting, the TA may be available for extra help.https://bbolker.github.io/stat4c03. In some cases you may prefer to access files via the course repository (https://github.com/bbolker/stat4c03).The course will cover the basics of linear and (mostly) generalized linear models; I will assume familiarity with ANOVA and linear regression. While the theoretical framework will be presented, the emphasis will be on solving practical problems. We will go into detail on preparing data for analysis; deciding on and implementing an appropriate models; diagnosing model fit; and interpreting results. Some important statistical topics that I feel are insufficiently covered elsewhere in the curriculum (snooping/garden of forking paths, ethics, data wrangling) will be covered in passing.
The assignments for the course will consist of biweekly problem sets (a mixture of computational (R-based) and analytical work) (25%), midterm exam (take-home: 25%), a project/extended data analysis (10%) and a take-home final exam (35%). Class participation (see below) will count for 5%.
Grades will be posted on Avenue.
The due dates for assignments are on the course schedule. Assignments are to be handed in before 11:59 PM on the day they are due. Your submission must be in the form of a plain-text file (.R, .Rnw, or .Rmd) along with graphs stored as PDFs and any data files that are necessary to make it run. It must be reproducible on my and the TA’s computer. - There will be a 10% per day late penalty. - An example of a homework assignment in acceptable format is given under the HomeworkExample directory on the course repository.
Although you may have experienced otherwise in other courses, these marks will not be arbitrary/subjective. Occasionally throughout the semester, you will be asked to write either the instructor or your TA an email (a few sentences to a paragraph) on a particular topic (subject 4/6C03 participation). The purpose of these emails is for us to be able to assess your depth of understanding of non-technical material. This will allow us to give you feedback and will hopefully make the preparation of your final report at the end of the term less stressful. If you do not come to lecture you will not hear about these participatory emails. If you do not send these emails you will receive a low participation mark. You can also enhance your participation mark by engaging with in-class exercises and coming to office hours.
You can gain your first participation mark by sending an e-mail to the instructor or the TA whose subject line is “stats 4/6C03: <your_macid> read the outline”, where <your_macid> is your MacID (not your student number!)
Policy on missed work or lectures: You should be aware of the Policy For Absence from School Due to Illness or Compassionate Reasons It is important to know your rights and your responsibilities. If you must miss a presentation or cannot submit assigned work on time for a valid reason (e.g., medical reasons, etc.) you may be able to obtain an excused absence by taking appropriate documentation (e.g. note from physician) to the Faculty/Program office and then discussing this with your instructor. If the Faculty/Program gives its approval, the final examination will then be given the appropriate extra weighting. Otherwise, a grade of zero will be entered for the missed work.
If you must miss a lecture or lab, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered. The best way to do this is to borrow a classmate’s notes, read them over, and then ask your instructor if there is something that you do not understand.
Students’ grades will be returned on Avenue.
Students with disabilities who require academic accommodation must contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to make arrangements with a Program Coordinator. Student Accessibility Services can be contacted by phone 905-525-9140 ext. 28652 or e-mail sas@mcmaster.ca. For further information, consult McMaster University’s Policy for Academic Accommodation of Students with Disabilities.
In the event of an absence for medical or other reasons, students should review and follow the Academic Regulation in the Undergraduate Calendar “Requests for Relief for Missed Academic Term Work”.
Students requiring academic accommodation based on religious, indigenous or spiritual observances should follow the procedures set out in the RISO policy. Students requiring a RISO accommodation should submit their request to their Faculty Office normally within 10 working days of the beginning of term in which they anticipate a need for accommodation or to the Registrar’s Office prior to their examinations. Students should also contact their instructors as soon as possible to make alternative arrangements for classes, assignments, and tests.
I reserve the right to change the weightings in the grading scheme. If changes are made, your grade will be calculated using the original weightings and the new weightings, and you will be given the higher of the two grades. At the end of the course the grades may be adjusted but this can only increase your grade and will be done uniformly. I will use the following grade chart to convert between letter grades, grade points and percentages:
| A+ | A | A- | B+ | B | B- | C+ | C | C- | D+ | D | D- | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 90-100 | 85-89 | 80-84 | 77-79 | 73-76 | 70-72 | 67-69 | 63-66 | 60-62 | 57-59 | 53-56 | 50-52 | 0-49 |
(from p. 29 of the current Undergraduate calendar)
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances (e.g., severe weather, labour disruptions, etc.). Changes will be communicated through regular McMaster communication channels, such as McMaster Daily News, A2L and/or McMaster email. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.
In the event of an absence for medical or other reasons, students should review and follow the Academic Regulation in the Undergraduate Calendar “Requests for Relief for Missed Academic Term Work” (see here). Please note these regulations have changed beginning Fall 2015, in particular:
In most cases, missed work or tests will be addressed by reweighting the remaining work or tests. If you must miss a lecture, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered. The best way to do this is to borrow a classmate’s notes, read them over, and then ask your instructor if there is something that you do not understand.
All assignments are due on Avenue to Learn prior to class, unless otherwise stated. I reserve the right to penalize late work by 10% per day.
We will be using the learning software Avenue to Learn. Students should be aware that, when they access the electronic components of this course, private information such as first and last names, user names for the McMaster e-mail accounts, and program affiliation may become apparent to all other students in the same course. The available information is dependent on the technology used. Continuation in this course will be deemed consent to this disclosure. If you have any questions or concerns about such disclosure please discuss this with the course instructor.
The expectations for this class are fairly simple: however, if you have any questions or concerns please ask me. See the McMaster Office of Academic Integrity’s web page for general information.
You are expected to exhibit honesty and use ethical behavior in all aspects of the learning process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in principles of honesty and academic integrity.
Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity. The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
Some common academic dishonesty issues:
This outline will be linked from the course home page. However, it is your responsibility to check the course home page and syllabus regularly for further announcements, course handouts, assigned work and its due dates, information about test dates and locations when this information becomes available, downloadable course related material, etc.. Recorded marks for tests and assignments will be posted on Avenue. You should check these once they become available and bring any discrepancies to the attention of the instructor or the TA as soon as possible.