The student should learn how to evaluate claims made in everyday communications and in scholarly research that are either overtly or covertly based on statistical evidence. The student should gain an appreciation for the mathematical and logical reasoning that support statistical measures and evaluation. The student should learn how to perform and interpret some statistical procedures . The student should leave the course with enough knowledge of statistics and of its nature to be able to apply it to more advanced statistics and related topics. I emphasize understanding the statistical concepts and how they interrelate.
Statistics is more than a tool for research.
It is also a conceptual system. Once the system is understood the technical vocabulary and the statistical computations for most of the topics can be seen to flow from it. Classtime will be spent primarily on discussions of statistical theory, presentations of examples, answering questions, and statistical demonstrations. This method requires regular work by the student. I strongly recommend attending class, reading ahead of time, and doing homework regularly and attending all the Lab sessions.