FIT1006 Business information analysis - Semester 1, 2013

This unit is designed to give students an introduction to statistical and quantitative methods within a business-related framework and to provide students with a sound foundation for more advanced statistical and quantitative studies. The unit will provide opportunities for the student to gain skills in the presentation of business and economic data, the use of frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion, principles of probability, use of probability distributions, sampling theory, estimation, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, the use of indices and forecasting methods.

Mode of Delivery

• Clayton (Day)
• Gippsland (Off-campus)

Contact Hours

2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk

Workload requirements

For on-campus students:
Lectures: 2 hours per week
Tutorials/Lab Sessions: 2 hours per week per tutorial
and up to an additional 8 hours in some weeks for completing lab and project work, private study and revision.

Off-campus students generally do not attend lecture and tutorial sessions, however, you should plan to spend equivalent time working through the relevant resources and participating in discussion groups each week.

Unit Relationships

Prohibitions

BUS1100, ETC1000, ETC1010, ETC2010, ETF2211, ETW1000, ETW1010, ETW1102, ETW2111, ETX1100, ETX2111, ETX2121, MAT1097, STA1010, SCI1020

Chief Examiner

Campus Lecturer

Tutors

Academic Overview

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will have -A knowledge and understanding of:

• typical sources of data such as: market research surveys, mandatory reporting, census and Consumer Price Index, commercial sources;
• sampling techniques, sampling error;
• fundamental statistical concepts such as: probability, mathematical expectation, the Central Limit Theorem, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression.

At the completion of this unit, students will have skills in:

• techniques for basic statistical analysis including: the calculation of summary statistics, graphic display of data including stem-and-leaf plots, boxplots and histograms;
• calculations required for problems based on concepts given in point-3;
• calculation of probabilities by: direct calculation from probability distribution, use of tables and spreadsheets;
• the use of computer software (eg SYSTAT) to perform all statistical techniques covered;
• communicating the results of descriptive statistical analysis through a written report.

Unit Schedule

Week	Activities	Assessment
0		No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0
1	Introduction. Surveys and data collection.	Class participation assessed throughout the semester
2	Graphical presentation of data. Measures of centre. Measures of dispersion.
3	Introduction to Excel and SYSTAT. Writing a statistical report.
4	Correlation and regression.
5	Introduction to probability. Bayes' Theorem.	Assignment 1 due 12 April 2013
6	Binomial and Poisson distributions. The Normal distribution.
7	Index numbers.
8	Test during lecture. Introduction to estimation.	Test scheduled 30 April 2013
9	Estimation.
10	Hypothesis testing.
11	Time series analysis.
12	Revision of course.
	SWOT VAC	No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC
	Examination period	LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html

*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.

Assessment Summary

Examination (2 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%

Assessment Task	Value	Due Date
Written assignment	10%	12 April 2013
Test during lecture	20%	30 April 2013
Class participation	10%	Throughout the semester
Examination 1	60%	To be advised

Teaching Approach

Lecture and tutorials or problem classes

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Policy

Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)

Academic Integrity - Please see the Demystifying Citing and Referencing tutorial at http://lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/

Assessment Tasks

Participation

• Assessment task 1

  Title:

  Written assignment

  Description:

  Students will be given data to analyse and submit a written report.

  Weighting:

  10%

  Criteria for assessment:

  The correctness of calculated statistics. The quality of the explanation. The quality of the written work. Handout will be available on Moodle.

  Due date:

  12 April 2013

• Assessment task 2

  Title:

  Test during lecture

  Description:

  To be advised in lectures.

  Weighting:

  20%

  Criteria for assessment:

  To be advised in lectures. Sample tests will be available on Moodle.

  Due date:

  30 April 2013

• Assessment task 3

  Title:

  Class participation

  Description:

  On-campus students will use clickers to engage in peer assisted learning activities and respond to multiple choice questions based on pre-reading.
  
  Off-campus students will assist their peers by engaging in learning forums such as responding to queries by other students.

  Weighting:

  10%

  Criteria for assessment:

  Clicker responses will be recorded. Question types will be multiple choice where a correct answer scores (quiz) or multiple choice where any answer scores (participation). Each class will have about 5 questions. Students will be graded on their best 80% of class responses.

  Off-campus students will be assessed on particpation in forums and will be expected to post a minimum of 10 responses to queries from other students/tutors or the lecturer over the semester. Students will be graded on the correctness or utility of the responses. The top 80% of posts will be graded.

  Due date:

  Throughout the semester

Examinations

• Examination 1

  Weighting:

  60%

  Length:

  2 hours

  Type (open/closed book):

  Closed book

  Electronic devices allowed in the exam:

  Calculators (including Graphing calculators) are allowed in the exam.

Learning resources

Reading list

A good non-mathematical text is: Statistics Without Tears, Derek Rowntree, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1981.

Feedback to you

• Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes
• Graded assignments without comments
• Test results and feedback
• Quiz results
• Solutions to tutes, labs and assignments

Extensions and penalties

Returning assignments

Assignment submission

Online submission

If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.

Required Resources

Students may need to use the university laboratories to access statistical software during private study.
Students will use SYSTAT and Microsoft Excel to perform computer-based statistical calculations.

Prescribed text(s)

Selvanathan et al.. (2011). Business Statistics (Abridged). (5th Edition) Cengage Learning (ISBN: 9780170184816).

Examination material or equipment

Calculators (including Graphing calculators) are allowed in the exam.

Other Information

Policies

Graduate Attributes Policy

Student services

Monash University Library

Disability Liaison Unit

Your feedback to Us

Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit

Previous students have commented that they enjoy using real world examples. We will continue to use them. On-campus students in 2013 will use clickers to encourage peer-assisted learning and to increase their engagement during lectures.