This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Related Resources

The following are useful resources that are frequently used during the course of the semester:

Standard normal, t, chi squared tables for use on exams (PDF)

Summary of various significance tests (PDF)

R and R-studio

R is an industrial strength open source statistical package. We'll use it for simulation, computation and visualization. Don't worry if you are not familiar with R, we will provide plenty of tutorials and guidance in its use.

R takes 2 minutes to install. Here are the steps:

  • Go to the main page of the R project. Click the 'CRAN' link on the left. Then choose any of the mirror sites.
  • Download and install.
  • On the Mac download the R-3.02.pkg. You double-click to install.
  • On Windows just follow the instructions.
  • If you're using Linux you should be able to figure out how to install R.

We will also be using R-studio which provides an integrated environment for working in R. It is also a 2 minute install. Here are the steps.

  • Go to the Download RStudio page and choose the version for your computer (probably the one 'recommended for your system')
  • Download and install.
  • On the Mac open the downloaded .dmg file and copy the R-studio application to your Applications folder.
  • On Windows install from the downloaded .exe.
  • If you're using Linux you should be able to figure out how to install R-studio.

Typically, R is used to make calculations. These tables are for exams when students do not have computers or calculators.