SSI Course Spotlight: Introduction to Statistics with Steven Hernandez and Kristin Harvey

The Summer Statitsics Institute offers two Introduction to Statistics courses: an AM session with Dr. Kristin Harvey and a PM session with Steven Hernandez. Both instructors have given insight as to what participants can expect from the course and how they will benefit from it.

What is the main goal of this course?

The overall goal is to expose participants to basic and fundamental statistical analyses so they can apply it to their research or profession. This will be done by explaining the process of calculating descriptive statistics, conducting hypothesis tests, and running linear regression analyses in Microsoft Excel 2016. -Steven

To get a working knowledge of the foundational methods of statistics, including learning how to conduct these analyses in Excel using the free statistical software included in it. Methods covered will be basic descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation and regression, and ANOVA. -Kristin

How much background knowledge or experience in this subject is required to be able to follow the course material?

There is absolutely no background knowledge required for this class. This class is designed for individuals who have little to no experience with statistics or Microsoft Excel. -Steven

No background knowledge is required. I am starting this class assuming particpants don't have a background in statistics; however, this class would also be a great refresher course for those who haven't done statistics in quite a while. We won't be doing any hand calculations (no calculator required!), but we will talk through what each equation is telling us about the data. -Kristin

What skills and knowledge can participants expect to acquire by the end of the course?

By the end of the course, individuals will have the ability to calculate basic statistics such as mean, standard deviations, counts, and relative frequencies to summarize their data. The class will also teach participants how to analyze data to make inferences about a population, and investigating if associations exist amongst two or more variables. This will include learning and running: one sample t-tests, paired and independent sample t-tests, ANOVA, simple and multiple regression, and chi-square analyses. All of these concepts will be supplemented with Microsoft Excel. -Steven

By the end of this class you will have an ability to interpret and conduct the foundational statistical tests, which more advanced tests are based on. You will learn how to conduct them yourself using Excel, as well as how to convey your results to a broader audience. For every method we cover, participants will complete an activity analyzing data using that method; thus, every participant will have first-hand experience conducting analyses themselves. -Kristin

How can the Introduction to Statistics course be helpful in a participant’s everyday lives and professions?

Having a basic knowledge of statistics and data analysis can have benefits both personally and professionally. I believe it gives you the ability to better understand the world around you by allowing you to make more informed decisions. It will give you a foundation of skills to compete in a world where large amounts of data are being collected and needing to be analyzed. -Steven

This class will cover the fundamentals of statistics in a practical way. Every example will use real data collected from different research experiments. These foundational methods are widely used in every field of study, so they will be instantly transferable to any context or work setting. Additionally, we will discuss interpreting these basic statistics, which will allow participants to read journal or news articles presenting research with a more discriminating eye. Even if you don't have plans to conduct analyses yourself, but you just want to better understand the statistics presented all around you, this course will help you better understand what you read. -Kristin

The Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin is proud to host the 11th annual UT Summer Statistics Institute (SSI) May 21 - 24, 2018. Registration is now open!