This course aims to facilitate an understanding of basic statistical techniques used for the analysis of financial and investment data.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Explain and use basic financial statistical techniques and concepts to analyse financial and investment data;
2. Solve problems using the principles of probability;
3. Recognise and use different statistical distributions;
4. Perform calculations and interpret results of a variety of estimation techniques;
5. Conduct and explain the results of a hypothesis test;
6. Carry out and interpret an analysis of variance test and compare the difference between two or more sets of data; and,
7. Apply and interpret regression models.

Research-Led Teaching

Statistics provides a way of analysing and understanding data and the variability present in data. Hence statistics is a necessary backbone for almost every area of research. This course will take examples from business, finance and science to introduce fundamental statistical concepts to prepare students for future courses and research projects.

Examination Material or equipment

Access to a computer & scanner.

Required Resources

No compulsory textbooks. You can choose your preferred introductory to statistics books as an additional resource if you wish.

Recommended Resources

Statistics for Management & Economics by Gerald Keller is available as an ebook via ANU library and can be found via this link https://library.anu.edu.au/record=b6752644.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Assessment Requirements

1. As a further academic integrity control, students may be selected for a 15 minute individual oral examination of their written assessment submissions.
2. Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghostwriting services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Misconduct Rule.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Pre-intensive Oct 5 - Oct 30 Topics: Descriptive statistics. Probability. Discrete random variables. Continuous random variables. Sampling distributions. Estimation. Designed for self study. Read lecture materials and view videos on each topic. Follow by completing Tutorial questions on your own or in a study group.	Online quiz (10%) Available on Wattle from 9:00am Friday October 23 to 11:59 pm Friday October 30. Once commenced, must be completed within 2 hours.
2	Intensive Nov 02 - Nov 6 Topics: 7. Hypothesis testing. 8. Comparing two populations. 9. Analysis of variance 10. Chi-squared tests (time permitting) 11. Simple linear regression 12. Multiple linear regression
3	Post-intensive Nov 9 - Dec 4 Self study. Review materials and prepare for your Assessment items.	Assignment (30%) Released 9:00 am Friday 20 November; Due 5:00pm Monday 23 November. Final exam (60%) A 5-hour period on Friday Dec 4 (12:00-17:00 AEST).

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Online Wattle quiz	10 %	30/10/2020	05/11/2019	1, 2, 3, 4
Assignment	30 %	23/11/2020	30/11/2019	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Final Exam	60 %	04/12/2020	18/12/2019	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Examination(s)

See above for examination details.

Assessment Task 1

Online Wattle quiz

An online quiz will be held during the 4th week of the pre-intensive period. It will be available to complete over 2 hours from 9:00am Friday October 23 to 11:59 pm Friday October 30. Students will be provided detailed instructions on how to complete the quiz on Friday October 23 when the link to the quiz will go live on the class Wattle page. The quiz is to be completed online via the Wattle site and will cover material from Topic 1 (Descriptive Statistics) up to and including Topic 6 (Estimation). You are prohibited from discussing the online quiz with anyone.

Assessment Task 2

Assignment

An assignment will be released on Friday 20 November by 5:00pm. Students will be provided detailed instructions on how to complete the assignment on Friday 20 November when the link to the assignment will go live on the class Wattle page. The assignment will involve a combination of worked problems to be solved and statistical analysis to be conducted using the R software program and will potentially cover material from the whole course. The assignment will be due by 5:00pm on Monday 23 November. You will have 3 days over the weekend to complete it. It will need to be either saved or scanned as a PDF file and uploaded via Turnitin. You are prohibited from discussing the assignment with anyone.

Assessment Task 3

Final Exam

A final exam will be held at the end of the post-intensive period on Friday Dec 4 from 12pm to 5pm. Students will be provided with detailed instructions on how to complete the exam by Monday 30 November. It will potentially cover material from the whole course.

Details: The final exam will be held over a 5-hour period on Friday Dec 4 from 12pm to 5pm. The exam will be made available for download via the class Wattle page on Friday Dec 4 from 12pm AEST. It must be completed on your own and uploaded via Turnitin (as a PDF file) by 5pm on Dec 4 AEST. You may complete it early. 5 hours gives plenty of time to complete it, scan it and deal with any IT issues that may arise. You are prohibited from collaborating with anyone.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity.

Hardcopy Submission

Online submissions via Turnitin only.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be returned to students via Wattle.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Once submitted, any part of the assessments may not be resubmitted.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students