MATH 11400 		Statistics 1		2008-09
Course Information Page

Reading List | Statistical Computing using R | Section Web Pages


This page provides links to a series of information pages that supplement the unit description page for the Level 1 Statistics 1 unit (MATH 11400).

Reading List

The recommended textbook for the unit is:

  • Mathematical statistics and data analysis by JA Rice

The book by Rice covers both the Probability and the Statistics material and will probably cover some of the second year Statistics unit as well. It is particularly good at combining modern ideas of data analysis, using graphical and computational techniques, with more traditional approaches to mathematical statistics.

Different statistical tables often set out information in very different ways. Students must be familiar with the following statistical tables, as they will be the ones used in the examination:
  • New Cambridge Statistical Tables by D.V.Lindley and W.F.Scott (2nd Ed.)

Although you will not be examined on the details of the statistical package R, it will frequently be used to illustrate ideas in lectures and you will be expected to use it for set work. The notes and handouts should provide sufficient information, but a good introductory text for further reading is:

  • Introductory Statistics with R by Peter Dalgaard

It will be particularly useful for students who intend to continue studying statistics in their second, third (and fourth) year.

There is also a linked list of books in the Library which you may find useful as alternatives to the formal recommended text books.

Statistical Computing using R

In addition to the book by Dalgaard above, there is also a handout to help you start using R in the Mathematics computing lab and a self-learning tutorial in R if you want to learn at your own pace.

Using R in the Mathematics computing lab
R: A Self-learn tutorial

If you would like to use R on your own computer, you can download an appropriate version of the package from here.

If you want to access the Data Sets for the unit on your own computer, a copy can be downloaded from here stats1.RData.

For Windows users, an older version of the Using R handout is still avalable. Note that the section on accessing the Statistics 1 data sets in this older document no longer applies.

Section Web Pages

Each section page will contain some or all of the following:

  • The aims and objectives for the section
  • A brief guide to relevant material in the recommended text book
  • (In due course) links to printable copies of the Handout, Problem Sheet and Solution Sheet for the section.
  • A list of the questions set for handing in that week.
  • Links to web pages which contain interesting material, either related to the section or related to the subject in general.

  • Section 1
    		•  Exploratory Data Analysis & Computing in R
  • Section 2
    		•  Parametric models, Method of moments estimation & Assessment of fit
  • Section 3
    		•  Maximum likelihood estimation
  • Section 4
    		•  Linear regression & Least squares estimation
  • Section 5
    		•  Sampling variation: (a) Simulation based methods, (b) Central Limit Theorem
  • Section 6
    		•  Exact sampling distributions related to the Normal distribution
  • Section 7
    		•  Confidence intervals
  • Section 8
    		•  Hypothesis testing
  • Section 9
    		•  Comparison of means for different populations
  • Section 10
    		•  Linear regression: confidence intervals and hypothesis tests

    Return to the main unit description page.
    Dr E J Collins,
    Department of Mathematics,
    University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TW, UK
    Email: E.J.Collins@bristol.ac.uk
    Telephone: +44 (0) 117 928 7977; Fax: +44 (0) 117 928 7999