Resource Library

This introductory probability textbook, freely available here in pdf format, emphasizes the use of computing to simulate experiments and make computations. A set of programs that go with the book and the answers to the odd-numbered problems are also available from this site. Chapter headings include: Discrete Probability, Continuous Probability Densities, Combinatorics, Conditional Probability, Distributions and Densities, Expected Value and Variance, Sums of Random Variables, Law of Large Numbers, Central Limit Theorem, Generating Functions, Markov Chains, and Random Walks.

This article provides a data collection and analysis activity for illustrating simple linear regression and outlier analysis. The activity was designed to involve students in the process of data collection and to motivate studying the relationship between two quantitative variables. Students collect data on occurrences of letters in English text. These data are used to study the relationships between how often a letter occurs in English text, and: (1) the letter's Morse Code units and (2) the relative frequency of Scrabbleä‹¢ game tiles for the letter. Worksheets and answers to the activities are provided.

This article presents a dataset containing actual monthly data on computer usage in Best Buy stores from August 1996 to July 2000. This dataset can be used to illustrate time-series forecasting, causal forecasting, simple linear regression, unequal error variances, and variable transformation. Key Words: Model-building; Seasonal Variation.

The dataset presented in this article comes from a South African study of growth of children. This data is a useful example of Simpson's paradox. Key Words: Categorical data; Comparing proportions.

This article describes a dataset containing monthly household electric billing charges for ten years. The data can be used to illustrate graphing, descriptive statistics, correlation, seasonal decomposition, a variety of smoothing methods, ARIMA models, forecasting, and multiple regression.

The dataset presented in this article contains body measurements for 252 men and can be used to illustrate multiple regression and to provide practice in model building.

This article describes Galileo's data on falling bodies and projectiles and its use as an aid in teaching polynomial and nonlinear regression. Key Words: Independent and dependent variables; Graphical analysis.

This article presents data from 1997 Big Ten Conference men's basketball games involving the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. The data can be used to demonstrate bivariate statistical inference techniques such as confidence regions, paired comparisons, and simultaneous confidence intervals. Key Word: Bivariate data; Scatterplot.

This article presents data for examining the ability of individuals to choose numbers randomly. Three datasets of six-tuples selected by a lottery game, generated by S-Plus, and chosen by college students can be compared using descriptive statistics and goodness of fit tests to explore bias and randomness. Key Words: Boxplots; Chi-squared tests; Minimum gap; QQ plots.

The datasets described in this article contain information for all National Football League (NFL)regular season and playoff games played from 1993 to 1996. In addition to game scores, the data give oddsmakers' pointspreads and over/under values for each game. Key Words: Predictions; Wagering.