540—Computing in Statistics. (3) (Prereq: A grade of C or higher in STAT 515, STAT 509, STAT 512, or equivalent) An introduction to statistical packages such as R and SAS with special focus on data management and computing procedures such as Monte Carlo simulation.

Sample Course Homepage: Recent Semester

Usually Offered: Fall Semesters

Purpose: To help students learn computing skills that will be useful to them both in academic endeavors and as working statisticians. To introduce students to programming using the free software package R and the widely used commercial software SAS. Programming skills, rather than straightforward data analyses, are emphasized in this course.

Current Textbooks:
The Little SAS Book: A Primer, 4th edition, by Delwiche and Slaughter, SAS Publishing, 2008.
Basics of R: A Primer, by Don Edwards (available for download)

 

Topics Covered	Text	Time
Objects in R; Inputting and Outputting Data in R	Edwards	1.5 weeks
R Graphics, Functions, Arithmetic, Logicals, Conditional Execution, Subsetting, Sorting, Iteration	Edwards	2 weeks
Graphics in R; Function Writing in R	Notes	2 weeks
Introduction to SAS; Reading and Writing Data	D&S	2 weeks
Working with Your Data; Sorting, Printing, Summarizing Data	D&S	2 weeks
Modifying and Combining Data Sets	D&S	1 week
MACRO Programming in SAS; PROC SQL	D&S	2.5 weeks

 

The above textbook and course outline should correspond to the most recent offering of the course by the Statistics Department. Please check the current course homepage or with the instructor for the course regulations, expectations, and operating procedures.  

Contact Faculty: David Hitchcock, John Grego