Faculty of Arts and Science - Statistics
STA304H1 F
Surveys, Sampling and Observational Data (formerly STA322H1)
Fall 2024 Syllabus
Course Meetings
STA304H1 F
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Section
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Day & Time
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Delivery Mode & Location
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LEC0101
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Thursday, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
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In Person: AH 100
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Refer to ACORN for the most up-to-date information about the location of the course meetings.
Course Overview
Design of surveys, sources of bias, randomized response surveys. Techniques of sampling; stratification, clustering, unequal probability selection. Sampling inference, estimates of population mean and variances, ratio estimation. Observational data; correlation vs. causation, missing data, sources of bias.
The work of applied statisticians, regardless of their specific job title and area of application, is the most important and exciting work in the world right now. The ability to gather data, analyse it, and communicate your understanding of the underlying process is incredibly valuable. In this course you will learn and apply the essentials of this.
We focus on surveys, sampling and observational data. The very stuff of statistical science! We will approach these topics from a practical perspective. You will actually run surveys and learn how messy it is to put one together. You will learn how to think about sampling, how to implement it, and why the details matter. You will forecast an election. And you will conduct original research. More generally, you will learn how to obtain and analyse data and use it to make sensible claims about the world.
Marking Scheme
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Assessment
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Percent
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Details
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Due Date
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In-class group
reflection exercise
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12%
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These largely draw on end-of-
chapter “Tutorial” questions. Done in groups randomly created by the instructor. Only best three of six
count.
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2024-09-05,2024-09-
12,2024-09-19,2024-
10-03,2024-10-
10,2024-11-14
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Term papers
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30%
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Only best one of two term papers counts, but both should be
submitted. Term paper 1 is
individual. Term paper 2 is groups of 1-3 and will involve forecasting the US election.
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2024-11-04,2024-09-
27
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Conduct peer review
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6%
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You are expected to provide peer review, via GitHub Issues, for
three peers. Papers will be
distributed by a spreadsheet—
add a link to the Issue/PR to a
paper and submit your review to Quercus. You will only have 24
hours to do this. Students are not assigning grades to other
students, but are instead getting
the mark based on the quality of
the feedback they provide to other students.
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2024-09-25,2024-10-
23,2024-11-27
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LLMs prompting competition
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1%
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Experiment to develop a
sampling-based approach to pick an optimal LLM prompt.
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2024-10-04
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Mid-term
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10%
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An in-class mid-term. Questions largely draw on end-of-chapter “Quiz” questions.
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2024-10-17
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Complete survey
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1%
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Complete a survey to better
understand how you used LLMs in this course.
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2024-11-29
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Final paper
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40%
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Due at 5pm.
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2024-11-29
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Please be aware that there are two industry-sponsored awards for final papers written in this class:
• "Investigative Journalism Foundation Award for Best Paper" - The Investigative
Journalism Foundation is sponsoring a prize for the best final paper written using their
procurement dataset. An IJF reporter will come to class to discuss the details of this later in the term.
• “Open Data Toronto Award for Best Paper” - The City is sponsoring a prize for the best final paper written using data from their Open Data Portal.
Late Assessment Submissions Policy
If no extension has been granted and no accommodation applies, then late submissions will not be accepted.
Policies & Statements
Late/Missed Assignments
Late submissions
If no extension has been granted and no accommodation applies, then late submissions will not be accepted.
Missed submissions
In-class group reflection exercise
Only the best three of six count, and so if some are missed then it is not an issue. If you have a accommodation or situation that makes even this impossible, then please consult your faculty/department/college advisor and then email me.
Term Paper I
Please submit something for Term Paper I, even if it gets zero. That one is done individually, while the other term paper is (optionally) done in groups. If you have a situation or accommodation that makes it impossible for you to submit something for Term Paper I, then in that situation Term Paper II must be done individually to ensure fairness with the rest of the class. Again, please consult with your faculty/department/college advisor and then email me.
Term Paper II
If you have an accommodation or situation which means you cannot submit Term Paper II, then the mark for Term Paper I will be used for this 30%.
If you do not submit Term Paper I and Term Paper II, then the 30% will be distributed: 15% to the mid-term, and 15% to the final paper.
Peer review
There are many opportunities to get the peer review marks through Term Papers I and II and the Final Paper, so if you cannot do any for a particular paper, then just do the others. If you have a situation or accommodation that makes this impossible, then please consult your faculty/department/college advisor and then email me.
Mid-term
If you miss the mid-term, due to a medical situation or accommodation, then you will have the opportunity to do it in Week 8.
Final paper
The Final Paper is a critical piece of assessment. If you have a situation or accommodation that makes it impossible for you to submit the final paper, then please email me before Week 11, and cc your faculty/department/college advisor so that we can work out a alternative plan. If you have an emergency situation, then please consult your faculty/department/college advisor and then email me.