EC2303: Foundation for Econometrics
This is a core Economics module on statistics. It is a purely mathematics module and quite straightforward in my opinion. It covers descriptive statistics, random variables, probability distributions, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, and linear regression. Distribution tables will be provided and only scientific calculators allowed for exams. However, for normal schoolwork, a Graphic Calculator will be useful to double check answers, especially for Binomial, Poisson and Normal Distributions. Some of the material taught in this module will have been covered in H2 Mathematics in Junior College.
The lectures for this module are really fun and I absolutely enjoyed them. Dr. Emily Beam is as cute as her name suggests. She makes the lectures really interactive and enjoyable. She is quite clear in her delivery and she is very open to questions from students. As for tutorials, I do not have much to comment, as they mainly consist of a quick overview of the week’s lecture, student presentations of answers, and tutor pointers and tips on answering the question.
Assessment:
Online quizzes: 5%
Tutorial participation: 5%
Problem set: 15%
Midterm: 30%
Final exam: 45%
There are weekly online quizzes after every lecture which altogether will comprise of 5% of your total grade. There is no competition or pressure for these quizzes as you can attempt them as many times as you want before the quiz closes, which is right before the next week’s lecture begins. Also, there is no bell curve for this, as you simply get 1 point for every quiz in which you score more than 80% correct. If you complete all the quizzes, you get the full 5% of the grade. I actually really liked this system because it gives you an incentive to revise your material every week. The quiz itself should not take more than 20 minutes as there is usually only 10 MCQ questions. It tests concepts, so if you get a wrong answer, you know you were either careless or your understanding of the concepts are not clear.
Tutorial participation is relatively simple as you just need to attend the tutorials and present your answer to a question about two times throughout the semester to get the 5%. (Note that the 2 presentations is an estimate. The number of presentations you need will ultimately depend on the competitiveness of your cohort. Although, it is really unnecessary to waste so much time and effort for 5%.)
For problem sets, same as always, discuss with your friends and aim to score full marks on the assignments. You can even ask Dr. Beam for hints. The aim is to learn, not just score, so she will be more than happy to help you.
Lastly, Midterm and Final should not be a problem as long as you know your concepts and have done consistent practice. Your greatest enemy will be carelessness, especially since you will be using your calculator and referring to distribution tables. Try to write your numbers as legibly as possible to avoid mistakes.
Workload:
2-1-0-4-3 Workload
Components : A-B-C-D-E
A: no. of lecture hours per week
B: no. of tutorial hours per week
C: no. of lab hours per week
D: no. of hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork etc per week
E: no. of hours for preparatory work by a student per week
Source
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