Help @ARC

The ARC provides the following free services:
- Peer tutoring for a wide range of courses
- Exam reviews
- Supplement Instruction
- Workshops and Seminars
- Group study
- Computing and Printing
Location: Hermann Hall Building-First Floor (Northwest Corner) Room HH-112
Telephone: (312) 567-5216
Email: arc@iit.edu

Software help

JMP software is available to students at IIT labs on campus.

Download R, and to read about it, click on the link "What is R"?

Downloadable Books on R: An Introduction to R, by William N. Venables, David M. Smith and the R Development Core Team; Using R for Data Analysis and Graphics - Introduction, Code and Commentary, by John H. Maindonald.
See also Prof. Yang's post on learning R in 15 minutes.

Help with typing math: TeX, etc.

You are encouraged to type your assignments. You can access LaTeX in the computer labs; more information and help can be found on this departmental page. Note: for Macs, I recommend TeXShop.
You might also consider using the what-you-see-is-what-you-get text editor TeXmacs; it makes it unnecessary for you to learn the LaTeX typesetting language while producing output of comparable quality. The program is freely downloadable, available for various platforms, able to import and export LaTeX files.

Math 563: Mathematical Statistics

Required coursework

Homework Homework problem sets will be posted online at least one week before the due date. Typically, there will be weekly homework, with possible exceptions around exam time. There will also be reading assignments to which you will be asked to respond (typically on Piazza).

Important note: Solutions to homework problems and exams must be written clearly, legibly, and concisely and will be graded on mathematical correctness and presentation. Points will be deducted for sloppiness, incoherent or insufficient explanation, or for lack of supporting rationale. Include enough detail in your solutions so that your explanation is convincing to someone who hasn’t thought about the problem before. The proofs/arguments should be presented so that your classmates could read them and follow the logic (step-by-step). If you use software to compute something, make sure to include your code in the assignment write-up, so your work can be graded properly.

You will TYPICALLY have to solve FIVE to SIX problems in the weekly homework assignment. In addition, you may also have to either solve 2-3 additional homeworks that will require independent reading of topics not covered in class.
In lieu of the additional homework assignments, some students may choose to complete a project involving an application of statustics in their area of study, or study of an advanced topic in statistics. If a student opts to do a project, a specific written project proposal (after consultation with the instructor) must be submitted by February 25th. The final report submission and presentation would be completed before April 29th

Exams There will be a regular in-class exam sometime mid-semester, the date to be determined at least two weeks in advance. Exam dates and topics covered will be announced on the course homepage and in class. Make-up exams will be given only in case of a documented emergency. A comprehensive final exam will be given during the IIT final exam week.
Exams may generally consist of three types of problems: (1) examples, counterexamples, definitions; (2) algorithms, computations and applications; (3) proofs (some routine, some of moderate difficulty).
Participation Regular class attendance and class participation is important and expected. You are expected to come to lectures, participate in discussions, read the textbook (including examples not covered in class), and ask questions. Students are responsible for all announcements and supplements given within any lecture. All cell phones must be silenced before entering the classroom. You may not use your phones, computers, etc., for anything other than class-related activities.

From time to time, there may be a 5-10 minute quiz at the beginning or end of a lecture (open book, open notes). Quizzes will usually cover topics from two most recent HWs and are there mainly for practice. They may also be given on Piazza for you to complete at home at your own pace.

This term we will be using Piazza for class discussion. The system is highly catered to getting you help fast and efficiently from classmates, the TA, and myself. Rather than emailing questions, I encourage you to post your questions on Piazza. If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email team@piazza.com. Find our class page here; or simply log into Blackboard and click on Piazza link after following the "INFO" link in the main course menu; you will then be logged in automatically. There is a read-me page with more instructions.

Multiple absences from class without permission from instructor, or insufficient activity on Piazza's Q&A discussions forum, will result in deductions from the `HW and Participation' score at the discretion of the instructor.