ECON 3318-001: Data Analysis and Visualization
Fall 2018
Course Syllabus
Instructor(s): Malcolm Kass
Office Number: COB 326
Office Telephone Number: 817-272-3221
Email Address:
Faculty Profile:
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1PMor by appointment (other times that I can do by appointment are Wednesdays 5PM or after Class Tuesdays at 7 PM)
Section Info 001
Time and Place of Class Meetings: Tuesdays - Thursdays 5:30 PM to 6:50 PM, COB 349
Description of Course Content:
This course develops an understanding of statistical and econometric techniques so participants can evaluate claims made by others, come to their own conclusions, and make better judgments about future events. There is a dual focus on underlying theory and on the application of the techniques on data sets. It provides the opportunity to learn how to use Microsoft Excel as a statistical package and as a tool for the visual display of data. Key will be the application of these techniques to real data for practical managerial decision making. Topics include descriptive statistics, statistical inference, simple and multiple regression analysis, specification, data issues, different functional forms and heteroscedasticity. Material covered has many practical applications in various fields.
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will know the key assumptions, strengths and weaknesses of the Classical Linear Model.
- Students will understand how to handle non-linear relationships in the Classical Linear model
- Students will utilize regression analysis to test hypotheses about economic behavior, with examples draw from economics and other social sciences.
- Students will know who to correctly intercept coefficients for binary variables.
- Use other statistical methods to test the applicability of the regression results.
- Gain a working knowledge of Excel and how to visually display information in the program
- Utilize techniques that allow for statistical analysis of data that violate the basic classical linear
regression assumptions.
Class Description:
The application of economic theory and statistical techniques for the purpose of testing hypotheses and estimating and analyzing economic phenomena. Prerequisite: STAT 3321 or MATH 3313.
Required Textbooks and Other Course Materials:
Textbook: Practical Econometrics, 7th edition, Studenmund. ISBN: 9780134182742
Software: We will use Microsoft Excel for this class.
Below are some videos to help you with Excel
1. Basic functions
2. Formula, formatting, sorting
3. Mean, Mode, Median
4. Add charts and graphs
5. More about charts
I will also upload a PDF of some of the more basic commands on BB.
Data: I will provide data that accompanies the textbook. Other data and programs will be placed in blackboard during the semester.
Calculator: A plain calculator will be sufficient, such as the one below.
Blackboard:
I will use Blackboard, an electronic learning software platform, for the distribution of course information. Go to
to log in. Be sure to check our Blackboard site on a regular basis for announcements, exam reviews, and other material related to class. There are detailed instructions on the use of Backboard that can be accessed at
Expectations for Classroom Behavior:
Class participation, questions, discussion are strongly encouraged. Please be respectful of each other, the instructor, and any guest presenters while in class. We are all here to learn! Any disrespectful or disruptive behavior may result in your being dismissed from class and/or an academic penalty.
All cell phones are to be silenced during class and not to be used. In addition, if you do show up late or leave before class is over, please sit in the back of the class and be as cordial to others as possible.
For this class, I will not allow open laptops given the current research about laptops and class performance. See the links below for evidence.
For many of you, this will be the most difficult class that you have had at UTA given its analytical nature, but please try to follow along in class. Trust me, if Excel is new to you, having a working knowledge of the program is a very basic requirement for many business positions and it can save you a significant amount of time if you are proficient with it. Using this class as a tool to better your job prospects.
Prerequisites:
Prerequisite: STAT 3321 or MATH 3313.
Grading:
Your final grade will be determined by 6 quizzes and 2 exams. Because of the size of the class, homework and projects simply are not feasible. They will be weighted as follows:
6 quizzes based on the class material (slides, material on the board, homework problems, Excel work) (40%)
-Lowest grade is dropped
-worth 8% each
-The quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice questions, open ended questions, and Excel work. Closed book, closed notes, only basic calculator allowed. You do not need scantrons. The material builds on each other, so you will need to understand the previous material to understand the current material. Quizzes will be conducted on Blackboard. Sometimes, just questions, other times you will need to perform some analysis in Excel.
2Exams based on the class material, homework problems, and Excel work (60%)
-Worth 30% each
Your letter grade will be determined by the percentage of total points earned as follows:
A 90% or above
B 80 –89.99%
C 70 – 79.99%
D 60 – 69.99%
F Below 60%
Curve: You should not depend on a curve, as there is a reasonable probability that there will not be
one. If there is a curve, it would be small at best.
Grades: I want all of you to get the highest grade you want, but I believe you reap what you sow.
So if you want a certain grade, please visit me during the semester so I can help you get that
grade. The week before the exam may be too late to earn the grade that you want.
Students are expected to keep track of their performance throughout the semester and seek guidance from available sources (including the instructor) if their performance drops below satisfactory levels; see “Student Support Services,” below.
Attendance:
At The University of Texas at Arlington, taking attendance is not required. Rather, each faculty member is free to develop his or her own methods of evaluating students’ academic performance, which includes establishing course-specific policies on attendance. As the instructor of this section, I have decided that attendance at class meetings is not required but strongly encouraged. If you must miss class, you are responsible for obtaining any class notes and homework assignments distributed in class.
Homework:
Throughout the semester on a near weekly basis, I will assign homework. This homework will not be graded nor will I collect this homework, but it is to be used to help prepare for quizzes and exams along with the book and slides other material. This does not mean questions on the exams will be exact questions from the homework. Many, but not all of the concepts tested will be concepts from the homework. For instance, the slides that I will want you to go over before class can be material that I will ask on quizzes as well.
Missed Quizzes:
Missed quizzes will be given a grade of zero unless adequate evidence (official documentation with contact information from a medical/legal professional for example) is presented to indicate that missing the quiz could not be avoided.
Exams:
The exam will test you on theory and your ability to correctly interpret Excel results. The exams are closed book, closed notes, where the only thing you need to provide are pencils/erasers. You may have something for drinking, but otherwise, you must have a clear desk area, including headwear and mobiledevices. There will be other restrictions as well. Missed exams will be given a grade of zero unless adequate evidence (official documentation with contact information from a medical/legal professional for example) is presented to indicate that missing the exam could not be avoided.
Allquizzes and exams will be closed book, closed notes, where the only thing you need to provide are pencils/erasers and the proper calculator. You may have something for drinking, but otherwise, you must have a clear desk area, including headwear and mobile devices. There will be other restrictions as well.
Final note on quizzes and exams: Students may not use a programmable calculator for examinations. A simple four function calculator is sufficient for all problems. I recommend the TI-503 which should be available at the book store.
Make-up Quizzes and Exams and Exam policy: Quiz and Exam dates will not be changed unless the university has been closed; I will adjust the material if we get behind. Make up quizzes will not be given for the first missed quiz with an excused absence and they will require documentation and possible follow up by me or the department. For an excused absence, I will compute your quiz as if the missed quiz never existed. I will provide make up for the exams, and even then, only under extenuating circumstances that will require documentation and possible follow up by me or the department.
Expectations for Out-of-Class Study: Beyond the time required to attend each class meeting, students enrolled in this course should expect to spend at least an additional 7 to 8 hours per week of their own time in course-related activities, including working on homework, preparing for quizzes and exams, etc.
Note, this is NOT the type of class you can get away with cramming.
Speakers: We may have time for a speaker. If so and who they are will be announced later.
Assignments & Academic Calendar:
Readings from the textbook are listed for when they are supposed to have been read. Quiz and Exam dates are also listed below. If we get behind, the dates for exams will not change unless the university has been closed. I will change the material covered in exams to accommodate where we are.
I will try supply the material/slides a few hours before class. It should be noted that some of the material I will ask you to look at beforehand and this is material. See
Week Jan 16 Chapter 1 (While I will not go over much Excel much of this week, butshould be dedicated to getting familiar with Excel if currently not the case.) *I should note here that this class is assuming an understanding of distributions and sampling from business statistics class. I have uploaded a review of this material on BB if needed.
Week of Jan 23Chapter 2. Introduction of OLS as a tool to use sample expectations to true population model. Understanding the error term. Derive simple OLS estimatorsas FONC. Its basic properties and interpretation. Introduce Goodness of Fit. (Quiz 1 on Jan 25)
Week of Jan 30Chapter 3. How to use regression. Interpretation. Intro to Binary variables. Deep dive into Excel.
Week of Feb 5Finish Chapter 3 and Excel. Chapter 4, model assumptions and Standard errors. (quiz 2 on Feb 7)
Week of Feb 12Finish Chapter 5. Chapter 5. Inference. Hypothesis testing of coefficients. Tstats, pvalues, Confidence Intervals. (For this week, fully expect some material that you will need to review on your own, some of this is going to be review from B-stats, so I do not want to spend much time in class rehashing this.)
Week of Feb 19Chapter 5 continued. (quiz 3 on Feb 21)
Week of Feb 26Chapter 5, Joint hypothesis test. Linear combination of coefficients test. Start Chapter 6, Specification, Choosing the correct independent variable. Omitted Variables and omitted variable bias. Catch up.
March 6Exam #1 Review.
March 8Exam #1 (Ch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Week of March 13Spring Break
Week of March 20Finished Chapter 6. Start Chapter 7.
Week of March 27Chapter 7, Specification, functional form. How to handle nonlinearity. Nonlinear terms. Interaction terms with binary variables. (Quiz 4 on March 29)
Week of April 3Chapter 7, Interaction terms with binary variables. Chapter 8, Multicollinearity and other select topics (this may deviate from the book, I will provide material here)
Week of Apr 10Finish Chapter 8. Catchup(Quiz 5 on Apr 12)
Week of Apr 17Start Chapter 10, heteroscedasticity.
Week of Apr 24Ch. 10 continued. Start Chapter 9. (Quiz 6)
Week of May 1Chapter 9. Serial Correlation. Final Review of Exam 3.
May 8Exam 2 (from 5:30 PM to 8 PM)Chapters 6, 7, 8, 10, 9 (if get to it)
“As the instructor for this course, I reserve the right to adjust this schedule in any way that serves the educational needs of the students enrolled in this course. – Malcolm J Kass
Communication: Check Blackboard frequently. I will communicate exclusively via the email feature in Blackboard, when possible. You are responsible for accessing your email account and blackboard on a daily basis during the week.
Grade Grievances: Any appeal of a grade in this course must follow the procedures and deadlines for grade-related grievances as published in the current University Catalog.
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