Department of Economics “Marco Biagi” (UNIMORE)
Course type: Master Degree Course
Elective course – Statistics (SSD: STAT/01-A)
Semester: First
Course objectives
The main goal of this introductory course in statistics is to provide students with a basic knowledge of statistical analysis. This will enable them to successfully fill any gaps related to the subject and approach the subsequent statistics course with the required knowledge. During the five lessons, students will familiarize themselves with elementary statistical methods, from statistical terminology and notation to the analysis and graphical representation of data. Furthermore, lectures will be consistently delivered using an applied approach to encourage students’ active participation and understanding of the concepts explained.
Course content
0. Terminology, types of data and variables
0.1. Types of data
0.2. Measurement scales
0.3. Frequency distributions
0.4. Descriptive statistics
1. Averages and variability indexes
1.1. Mean, median, mode
1.3. Percentiles, deciles, and quartiles
1.4. Standard deviation and variance
2. Random variables and distribution moments
2.1. Random variables
2.2. Sampling distributions
2.3. Skewness and Kurtosis
3. Probability distributions
3.1. Discrete robability distributions
3.2. Continuous robability distributions
3.3. Standardized scores (z-scores)
3.4. Boxplot (z-scores)
4. Hypothesis testing and intervals
4.1. Introduction to hypothesis testing
4.2. Z-test
4.3. T-test
Teaching methods
The course content is delivered through lectures, PowerPoint presentations, demonstrations, and practical exercises. Students are expected to participate actively during lectures and solve exercises to develop problem-solving skills. At the end of every lecture, following the explanation of theoretical concepts and practical exercises, there will be time for questions and for testing acquired knowledge.
Expected results
By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) Use proper statistical terminology 2) Apply descriptive statistics techniques 3) Identify, analyze, and visualize data 4) Solve basic probability problems
Final examination
Students may complete an auto-evaluation test at the end of the course to evaluate their understanding of the covered topics.
Materials and books
• Newbold, P., Carlson, W. and Thorne, B. (2013). Statistics for business and economics. Harlow: Pearson Education. • Slides and exercises from MS Teams/Moodle.