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

You will require reliable access to Wattle, a computer, a calculator, R and RStudio for the duration of the quizzes and exams.

Required Resources

The R statistical software and the RStudio IDE for R will be used throughout the course. Both R (https://cran.r-project.org) and RStudio (https://posit.co) are freely available for multiple platforms.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying remotely, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Textbooks

There are no formally prescribed textbooks for this course, but the following are some useful references:

• Statistics for Management and Economics, 11th edition, by Gerald Keller.

This textbook closely follows most of the topics covered in the course. The ebook is available online through the ANU library (https://library.anu.edu.au/record=b6752644).

• Basic Mathematics for Economists, 3rd edition, by Mike Rosser.

For students wanting to brush up on their mathematical skills, chapters 1 to 6 of this textbook cover some assumed background mathematical knowledge. The ebook is available online through the ANU library (https://library.anu.edu.au/record=b4391223).

• Mathematical Statistics with Applications, 7th edition, by Dennis D. Wackerly, William Mendenhall III and Richard L. Scheaffer.

This textbook is a useful reference for any students who are interested in learning about some of the course topics at a more advanced level. A small number of copies are available for 2-hour loan in the reserve loan section of Hancock library.

Wattle

All course materials, including lecture materials and videos, workshop materials and recordings, tutorial materials, etc., will be made available on the Wattle site. Students are expected to regularly check the Wattle site for announcements about this course.

Staff Feedback

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

• To the whole class during workshops or through Wattle.
• Individually during tutorials, consultations or through Wattle.

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). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Assessment Requirements

As a further academic integrity control, students may be selected for a 15 minute individual oral examination of their written assessment submissions.

Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Integrity Rule.

Email Communication

To safeguard student privacy, it is university policy that all email communication with students must be through their official ANU email account. Please make sure to use your ANU email account as I will not respond to emails sent from non-ANU email accounts.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Topic 1: Descriptive statistics. Lectures and workshop.
2	Topic 2: Probability. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
3	Topic 3: Discrete random variables. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
4	Topic 4: Continuous random variables. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
5	Topic 5: Sampling distributions. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
6	Topic 6: Estimation. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.	Wattle quiz
7	Topic 7: Hypothesis testing. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
8	Topic 8: Comparing two populations. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
9	Topic 9: ANOVA. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
10	Topic 11: Simple linear regression. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.
11	Topic 12: Multiple linear regression. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.	Assignment due
12	Topic 10: Chi-squared tests. Lectures, workshop and tutorials.

Tutorial Registration

Tutorials will be held weekly (starting from week 2). Tutorials will be available on campus and live through scheduled Zoom sessions. Students should enrol in their tutorial using MyTimetable. ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Wattle Quiz	5 %	27/03/2023	31/03/2023	1,2,3
Assignment	30 %	18/05/2023	26/05/2023	1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Final Exam	65 %	01/06/2023	29/06/2023	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 Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

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 Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

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.

Participation

Course content delivery will take the form of pre-recorded weekly lectures (available via echo360 on Wattle), a weekly on-campus workshop (recorded and available via echo360 on Wattle) and weekly tutorials delivered in hybrid format (on campus and live through scheduled Zoom sessions). Attendance at workshops and tutorials, while not compulsory, is expected in line with “Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning”, clause 2 paragraph (b). Weekly consultations with the lecturer and the tutors will be conducted over Zoom.

Examination(s)

The final examination is centrally administered through Examinations, Graduations & Prizes and will be timetabled prior to the examination period. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information. Further information about the examination will be provided on Wattle closer to the time of the examination.

Assessment Task 1

Wattle Quiz

An online Wattle quiz will be held during week 6 (the due date listed in the Assessment Summary is an indication of the earliest possible date when the quiz may be held). It will cover material from topics 1 to 4, inclusive. Further details regarding the quiz will be provided on Wattle no later than week 4 of the semester. The quiz is worth 5% and will be redeemable against the final exam. That is, if you perform better on the final exam than on the quiz, the quiz will be worth 0% and the final exam will be worth 70%. Otherwise, the quiz will be worth 5% and the final exam will be worth 65%.

Assessment Task 2

Assignment

The assignment will cover material from the entire semester and will involve conducting various analyses using R and preparing a report. The assignment must be completed individually and is due on Thursday of week 11 of the semester. Submission of the assignment will be through Wattle. Further details regarding the assignment will be provided on Wattle no later than week 7 of the semester. The assignment is worth 30% and is not redeemable.

Assessment Task 3

Final Exam

The final exam will be a Wattle-based online exam and will be held during the university examination period at the end of the semester (the due date listed in the Assessment Summary is an indication of the earliest possible date when the exam may be held). It will cover material from the entire semester. The duration of the exam may be up to 4 hours and exam submission will be through Wattle. Further details regarding the exam will be provided on Wattle no later than week 10 of the semester. Depending on how you perform on the Wattle quiz, the final exam will be worth either 65% or 70% (see the details regarding the Wattle quiz).

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Assignment: Late submission of the assignment is not permitted. An assignment submitted without an extension after the due date will be awarded a mark of 0.
• Final exam: Late submission permitted. A final exam submitted less than 10 minutes late will be penalised at the rate of 10% of the possible marks available. A final exam submitted more than 10 minutes late will be awarded a mark of 0.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Returning Assignments

Marked assignments with feedback comments will be returned through Wattle.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted 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

Resubmission of the assignment is not permitted.

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 Access 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