Learning objectives
The course gives knowledge on basic statistical techniques for Marketing and Management applications.
In particular, the course addresses:
a) Basic statistical plots and univariate measures;
b) Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing for means and proportions, together with p-value interpretation;
c) Simple linear regression.
The aim of the course is threefold:
1. To provide both a theoretical and a practical understanding of basic statistical methods.
2. To provide a Marketing-driven context for the study of these methods.
3. Using real data and a learning-by-doing approach, to illustrate the application and the interpretation of these methods.
Computational aspects of the methods are addressed through the use of MS Excel.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
The aim of the course is to describe the use of basic statistical techniques, with a focus on applications in Marketing and Management. Specifically,
the course will address:
a) A short review of basic statistical measures and plots, for the summary of business information;
b) An inferential approach to Statistics, crucial for taking business decisions under uncertainty;
c) Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, for the analysis of sample data;
d) Simple linear regression, which allows the analysis of bivariate
relationship and is a prerequisite for more complex statistical modeling.
All these techniques will be applied to business data through MS Excel.
Full programme
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Bibliography
1) The textbook:
Riani M., Laurini F., Morelli G.: Applicazioni statistiche con Excel - Volume 1, Uni.nova, Parma, 2023 Section 1.7 + Chapters 2-3 (with the exception of Sections 3.2.2 and 3.6.3).
2) The course slides, available through Elly.
Teaching methods
Lectures; practical work (assisted and individual).
Teaching materials (course slides and data for replicating analyses) are provided through Elly.
Further material, including data for practical work and advanced readings, is also provided through Elly, as well as details on the updated timetable.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written exam of 50 minutes, at which the student can bring the textbook, the course slides and a calculator.
Knowledge and understanding are assessed by methodological questions, marked 3 grade points each.
The ability of applying knowledge are assessed by questions on applications and on the use of statistical functions in MS Excel, marked 3 grade points each. Learning and understanding skills are assessed by questions on the conclusions to be drawn from basic statistical analysis, marked 3 grade points each.
Details on examination procedures are provided to the class and made available through Elly at the start of the course.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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