Management Science (MGSC) 301
Statistics for Business and Economics I (Revision 4)

Revision 4 closed, August 11, 2004, replaced by current version.

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Delivery modes: Individualized study. (May be offered online or online-enhanced. Confirm status before registering.)

Grouped study**

e-Class®** (Availability is subject to a minimum number of registrations. Students registered in an e-Class® offering that must be cancelled due to insufficient registrations will be notified by December 12 for January start dates and August 12 for September start dates.)
Credits: 3 - Applied Studies
Prerequisite: None.
Precluded course: MATH 215 (MGSC 301 may not be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for MATH 215.)
Centre: School of Business
Challenge for Credit: MGSC 301 has a Challenge for Credit option
Télé-université du Québec equivalency: STA 1001

**Note: Students registering in e-Class®, Grouped Study, or Grouped Study International (GSI) mode are advised that there may be some differences in the Evaluation and Course Materials information indicated below. To obtain the most up to date e-Class® information, contact the School of Business Call Centre at 1-800-468-6531.

>> Overview | Outline | Evaluation | Course Materials | Course Fees | Course Availability


Overview

This is a three-credit, introductory course in statistics designed to provide students with the basic concepts and methods of statistical analysis. The course and the textbook are tailored to meet the needs of students in administrative studies. Accordingly, application problems are borrowed from business and economics, with many exercises based on real data.

MGSC 301 comprises 11 lessons that correspond to the first 11 chapters of the textbook. It covers basic techniques in descriptive statistics, both analytical and graphical, provides a brief study of probability theory, and discusses the main topics in statistical inference. Throughout this course, students will learn many concepts, develop numerous skills, and gain new perspectives of events, observations, and data. The techniques and methods learned will help students in future courses, especially those in quantitative and analytical methods, and in solving real world problems.

Credits earned in MGSC 301 may be applied toward the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS) diploma.

Outline

  • Lesson 1 Data and Statistics
  • Lesson 2 Descriptive Statistics I: Tabular and Graphical Methods
  • Lesson 3 Descriptive Statistics II: Measures of Location and Dispersion
  • Lesson 4 Introduction to Probability
  • Lesson 5 Discrete Probability Distributions
  • Lesson 6 Continuous Probability Distributions
  • Lesson 7 Sampling and Sampling Distributions
  • Lesson 8 Interval Estimation
  • Lesson 9 Hypothesis Testing
  • Lesson 10 Statistical Inference about Means and Proportions with Two Populations
  • Lesson 11 Inferences about Population Variances

Evaluation

To receive credit for this course, you must complete two written assignments, a mid-term examination, and a final examination. Assignment 1 is worth 20 percent of your final grade and is to be completed following Lesson 5. Assignment 2 is also worth 20 percent and is to be completed following Lesson 11. Assignment 1 must be submitted before taking the mid-term examination; Assignment 2 must be submitted before taking the final examination. Each examination is worth 30 percent of your final grade for the course. You must receive a grade of at least 50 percent on each examination, and an overall course grade of at least a "D" (50 percent).

The following chart summarizes the evaluation activities:

Assignment 1 Mid-term Exam Assignment 2 Final Exam Total
20% 30% 20% 30% 100%

Course Materials

Textbook

Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D. J., & Williams, T. A. (2002). Statistics for Business and Economics (8th Edition). Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing. ISBN 0-324-06671-6

Other material

The course materials also include

  • Workbook: The workbook accompanies the textbook. It provides the learning resources necessary for applying the material students learn in the course.
  • Study Guide
  • Course Manual and Assignments
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice.
Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

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Athabasca University
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Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3
(780) 675-6111, (800) 788-9041
Opened in Revision 4, July 30, 2002.
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This page was updated by G. Zahara