One Semester Syllabus

One Semester Syllabus

Which Topics to Cover?

A suggested course outline for a one semester course with 16 weeks (the most
common way of delivering an introductory business statistics course) is provided below.
Keep in mind that this is a guide only. A one semester course will always require
tradeoffs. Experience suggests that the topics of ANOVA, Bivariate Regression, and Chi-
Square Tests for Independence are covered in varying levels of detail based on your
particular academic interests and strengths, as well as requirements from your college
curriculum.
Lecture time is always too limited for you to “cover” every topic (see the Teaching
Tips supplement to this instructor’s manual). Students in a one-semester class must be
prepared to study on their own. Point out that LearningStats has data, demonstrations,
and PowerPoint shows (matched to each chapter) that they can load onto their laptops.
The PowerPoint slides on the textbook CD also give solid coverage of each chapter.
These resources relieve you of having to “lecture” on every topic.
Sample Syllabus
This is an outline for a one-semester, 16 week Introductory Business Statistics course
with no second semester offering. Assume two class sessions per week. Suggestions for
project assignments and dates for exams can obviously be modified.

Week One:
Introduction to Statistics Chapter 1
Data Collection Chapter 2

Week Two:
Describing Data Visually Chapter 3

Week Three:
Descriptive Statistics Chapter 4
Assign a software project that requires students to use the visual tools from
chapter 3.

Week Four:
Probability Chapter 5

Week Five:
Discrete Distribution Chapter 6

Week Six:
Review for Exam I One day
Exam I One day

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One Semester Syllabus

Week Seven:
Continuous Distributions Chapter 7

Week Eight:
Sampling Distributions Chapter 8, Sections 8.1-8.3
Estimation Chapter 8, Sections 8.4 and 8.5

Week Nine:
Estimation Chapter 8, Sections 8.6-8.10

Week Ten:
One-Sample Hypothesis Tests Chapter 9, Sections 9.1-9.3
Assign a research project that requires a report with data analysis.

Week Eleven:
Hypothesis Tests Chapter 9, Section 9.4
Testing Errors Chapter 9, Section 9.5

Week Twelve:
Review for Exam II One Day
Exam II One Day

Week Thirteen:
Two-Sample Hypothesis Tests Chapter 10

Week Fourteen:
Analysis of Variance Chapter 11, Sections 11.1-11.3

Week Fifteen:
Bivariate Regression Chapter 12, Sections 12.1-12.4
Assign a software project that requires students to use the software tools for
ANOVA and/or Regression Analysis.

Week Sixteen:
Chi-Square Tests Chapter 15, Sections 15.1 and 15.2

For additional ideas, see Team Projects and Research

Projects and Teaching Tips (supplements included in this
instructor’s manual).