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Quantitative Methods in Geography

Quantitative Methods in Geography. Geography 391. Introductions and Questions. What (and when) was the last math class you had? Have you had statistics before? What do you expect from this class? What to you hope to learn in this class?. General Course Overview. Class Foci

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Quantitative Methods in Geography

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  1. Quantitative Methods in Geography Geography 391

  2. Introductions and Questions • What (and when) was the last math class you had? • Have you had statistics before? • What do you expect from this class? • What to you hope to learn in this class?

  3. General Course Overview • Class Foci • Basic statistical techniques • Introduction to spatial statistics • Statistical terminology & symbols • Conducting statistical analyses using computer software • My goal is for this course to be as practical as possible

  4. Course Topics • Statistics and Geography (ch1) • Univariate Descriptive Statistics (ch2, ch3) • Probability Theory (ch5) • Random Variables and Probability Distributions (ch6) • Sampling (ch7) • Statistical Inference: Estimation (ch8) • Statistical Inference: Hypothesis (ch9) • Parametric Statistical Inference: Two Samples (ch10) • Correlation Analysis (ch12) • Regression Analysis (ch13)

  5. Course Information • Class: 204 Saunders, 2:00 – 2:50 MWF • Office Hours: 317 Saunders, 3:00 – 4:00 Wednesday (or by appointment)

  6. Course Schedule • Monday & Wednesday – Lecture • Lecture notes will be available online after class • Friday – Technique demonstration & work day • Bring your laptops • Have questions prepared

  7. Course Information • The syllabus, assignments, lecture slides, etc. can be found on blackboard or on the course website • http://www.unc.edu/courses/2008spring/geog/391/001/

  8. Textbook • Burt, J.E. and Barber, G.M. (1995). Elementary Statistics for Geographers, 2nd edition. (ISBN: 0898629993) • Reading assignments will be posted online • You are expected complete the reading before class

  9. Textbook Organization • The textbook is divided into 3 sections • Descriptive Statistics (ch1 – ch3) • Including simple spatial & non-spatial statistics • Inferential Statistics (ch5 – ch11) • Including probability theory, sampling, & hypothesis testing • Statistical Relationships (ch12 – ch14) • Including correlation & regression analyses

  10. Course Organization & Exams • The course will be divided into 3 sections corresponding to those in the textbook • There will be an exam after each section, • Exam #3 will be held during the final exam time (Tuesday, May 6th @ 12:00 PM) • Each exam will be worth 50 points (10%) • Note that section 2 is longer than sections 1 & 3

  11. Homework • There will be 10 homework assignments in this course • Each assignment will be worth 30 points (6%) • You will have a week for completing most assignments, details are available in the syllabus • There will be a 10% per day penalty for late work

  12. Attendance • You are expected to attend all classes and engage in discussions • Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class (don’t be late) • Attendance and participation will ultimately count for 50 points (as much as an exam!!)

  13. Terminology • Terms and symbols are important for communicating methods and results and explaining what they mean, particularly to non-statisticians • Terms and symbols are also the building blocks for more advanced statistical techniques • The textbook does a pretty good job of explaining basic statistical terms

  14. Software • Initially we’ll do stats by hand and/or calculator • Microsoft Excel – should be on your laptop already • Basic functions and the data analysis add-in tools • S-Plus – available through UNC (** for the computer savvy, you may choose to use R instead) • Time permitting, we may use statistical extensions in GIS software

  15. Your To Do List • Contact the software acquisitions office and order S-Plus on CD (we’ll install it later, but get the ball rolling) • Bring your laptop every Friday - we’ll talk about a few Excel basics this week • Read Chapter 1 for Monday

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