Welcome to the Economics 250 web site for the 2021 winter term.
Welcome, too, to a fascinating subject that will change the way you think about all kinds of interesting questions.
Are rich people happier?
Is human migration determined by wage differences across regions?
Can we forecast what will happen to the economy next year?
Answers to questions like these rely on the tools of statistics, tools that are common to many fields.
We have an excellent book to guide us, and we shall discuss the main ideas and work on some problems
in our class meetings, but the only way to really learn statistics is to practice by doing problems.
It is best to set aside significant time each week to work on problems on your own.
For example,
the textbook has more than 100 questions for each chapter, half of which (the odd-numbered ones) have answers at the back of the book.
The instructor is Gregor Smith.
Our tutors for the course are
Shi Chen and
William Beaudoin.
There are 5 things we need to do ...
1. Read
The key resource is:
The Practice of Statistics for Business and Economics (fifth edition) by
Alwan, Craig, and McCabe (W.H. Freeman/Macmillan, 2020). This is our seventh academic year with this excellent book, and our first year with this edition.
The most affordable way to read the book is in e-book format, available from the publisher's order page. Online access for 6 months costs $75, and that is what I recommend. Working through this book really is indispensable.
Here is the detailed list of topics and some additions to (and omissions from) the textbook: topics and readings.
If you have access to our previous custom, print edition (say inheriting it from an upper-year student) then that is perfectly appropriate also. That is Moore, McCabe, Alwan, and Craig The Practice of Statistics for Business and Economics (fourth edition) (W.H. Freeman/Macmillan, 2016). The chapter references for that edition are slightly different but are given on a separate outline.
Please also save and refer to our formula sheet and our statistical tables.
2. Calculate and Compute
You also need an approved hand calculator. In the Faculty of Arts and Science the approved calculator is the Casio 991. Don't forget to bring your calculator to the test at the end of term.
And please be sure you can use Microsoft Excel by installing your free copy from the ITS site
In Excel, please remember to install the analysis add-in so that you can calculate statistics. You will then see the "Data Analysis" option under the "Data" menu.
You can use Excel on a Windows machine or a Mac, just as you wish.
If you are new to Excel then welcome: you are not alone! For advice on using it for graphing and for statistical calculations please consider any of:
(i) asking friends or colleagues; (ii) asking the instructor or tutors; (iii) using the built-in help or searching on the web; (iv)
perhaps taking an online course through our Linkedin Learning subscription.
We'll also use most of the applets that accompany the textbook. You can find the applets on-line.
3. Meet
We'll meet on Teams at our two scheduled meeting times each week: Monday 8:30-10:00 and Thursday 10:00-11:30.
By popular demand, we'll now record those meetings and display them in onQ. (Or you can see them in the Teams chat during the week after the meeting.)
That also means our Friday evening recap sessions will no longer take place. But I'll be available for consultation by groups or individual students.
The meetings are not lectures and attending them is not required. Instead, think of them as a mixture of tutorial, discussion, and office hours. You should read the relevant chapter before each week's meetings. Then we'll (a) look at some pictures, data sources, and animations together, (b) perhaps review some key formulas that we need, and especially (c) do some practice questions. I will ask you questions but I won't call on people individually. And you can ask me questions at any time.
I expect these meetings will run for about an hour. I will do my best to make them interesting. I encourage people to speak up with comments or questions.
If my internet service is ever interrupted during our meetings then I shall simply record a presentation as soon as possible and display that via onQ.
4. Compose and Report
There will be three projects, each worth 18%.
5. Test
At the end of the term there will be a proctored test worth 46%.
One cannot complete the course without writing the test.
Tests are rarely fun but this one will certainly be fair.
And I'll be here to help you prepare for it.
The test paper includes formulas and tables.
Here is a test archive that we shall use for practice.
All components of this course will receive numerical percentage marks.
The final grade you receive for the course will be derived by converting your numerical course
average to a letter grade according to the university's official grade conversion scale.
Reminders
Queen's University is committed to achieving full accessibility for persons with disabilities. Part of this commitment includes arranging academic accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure they have an equitable opportunity to participate in all of their academic activities. If you are a student with a disability and think you may need accommodations, you are strongly encouraged to contact the QSAS and register as early as possible. For more information, including important deadlines, please visit the accessibility website.
Please refresh your knowledge of academic integrity.
The material on this website is copyrighted and is for the sole use of students registered in Economics 250. The material on this website may be downloaded for a registered student's personal use, but shall not be distributed or disseminated to anyone other than students registered in Economics 250. Failure to abide by these conditions is a breach of copyright, and may also constitute a breach of academic integrity under the University Senate's Academic Integrity Policy Statement.