MTH 231 is a basic statistics course that is of interest and benefit to majors in a wide variety of disciplines including biology, business, chemistry, crime and justice studies, data science, economics, engineering, mathematics, nursing, and political science. MTH 231 is a required course for all data science majors. Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is a basic statistical methodology, carried out to analyze data and to suggest hypotheses. It is a preliminary form of data analysis recommended by the National Institute of Standards & Technology and used widely in science, social science, engineering, and business & finance.
Course structure
Clients and data sets
Throughout the semester students work on two data sets, in consultation with the course instructor and two clients.
The semester is divided into two 7-week quarters, and one data set is analyzed each quarter.
Analyses and reports
Working alone, or in small groups, students utilize basic techniques of exploratory data analysis to analyze the client data sets and write reports detailing their analyses.
Written statistical reports are addressed to, and aimed, at the clients who provided the data.
Guidelines on statistical report writing are given to, and discussed with, students.
Clients for Fall semester 2018 were:
- Suzanne Melloni, Director, Advising, Support and Planning Office, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
- Tara Rajaniemi, Professor, Biology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.