FAQ
Please carefully read the following FAQs:
Seeking feedback
I have a question about the course material. What should I do?
We are ready and happy to help you! It is so exciting that after the Covid hiatus, we’re finally able again to engage with you in-person. It really is the only viable way of supporting your learning: so please come and attend our weekly consultations or feel free to chat with me before/during/after the lecture! We are excited to meet you!
At the same time we want to make it clear that we view electronic communication (emails, discussion fora, etc.) as ineffective learning/teaching tools. As such, we will not respond, for example, to emails seeking clarification on course material; it is simply not practical to answer questions that cover technical material via email. We’d much rather talk to your in person.
When are consultations?
The most up to date consultation times are posted on the home page here.
What is your email address?
Send a message to EMET2007@anu.edu.au. (Do NOT send a message to my individual ANU email address!)
Computer lab logistics
I have a time conflict this week and am unable to attend my regular lab. What should I do?
Please feel free to attend any of the other labs (no need to seek my permission). That’s fine on occasion without affecting your participation mark, provided you return to your regular lab in the following week.
I am sick this week and am unable to attend my regular lab and any of the other labs. What should I do?
Feel better soon! And then come see us during consultations and we will help you catch up on the missed course material. We also encourage you to ask your class mates to go through / share their notes with you.
I have tested positive for Covid and cannot attend my lab and any of the other labs. What should I do?
Follow the ANU’s COVID advice: https://www.anu.edu.au/covid-19-advice
Feel better soon! And then come see us during consultations and we will help you catch up on the missed course material. We also encourage you to ask your class mates to go through / share their notes with you.
Will you upload the solutions from the computer labs?
No, as a general rule we do not post any solutions. The best way to learn is by working through the exercises. Of course you can always attend our weekly consultations to seek help and we are very happy to be there for you and support you in your learning journey.
Quizzes and Assignments
Will you post the correct answers to the quiz questions?
No. By not providing the answers we offer you a learning opportunity: try to figure out the answer yourself, or discuss challenging quiz questions with your classmates.
I still can’t figure out the correct answer to a quiz question. What should I do?
Of course we are available and more than happy to help you! We wouldn’t want to hang you out to dry: If you still need more help on answering a quiz question, please attend my weekly consultations or feel free to chat with me before/during/after lectures. (I do not respond to emails seeking answers to quiz questions.)
Can I have an extension on my assignment/quiz?
No. We are not trying to deliberately be mean, but there is already plenty of time allowed for you to complete and hand in your assignments and a reasonably wide window for quizzes. We strongly suggest you submit your assignments a few days early (and do quizzes early) rather than leaving them to the last minute (saying ‘technology failed’, ‘dog ate my homework’, ‘had the flu’ are not valid excuses either)!
Can I work on the assignment with my class mates?
We encourage you to collaborate with your class mates on assignments and discuss the questions with each other! However, what you submit must still be your own original work – meaning you can’t copy from anyone else or get anyone else to do the assignment for you.
Participation marks
How do participation marks work?
Take a look at the class summary, there is an awesome description plus marking rubric there.
I have attended every computer lab, but only received a participation mark of 7 (out of 10). Why didn’t I get 10 (out of 10)?
For attendance, you indeed deserve 10 (out of 10). But we assess your participation, which above and beyond your mere physical presence also measures your engagement and involvement during the weekly labs. The class summary offers more explanation, including a handy marking rubric which explains the breakdown of marks.
Miscellaneous
What degrees of freedom adjustment should I use for the variance/standard error/etc.?
For this course, we typically have large sample sizes (in the hundreds or thousands), so whether we use n, or (n – 1), or (n – 2) in the denominator of our calculations really does not have an effect on our asymptotic (meaning large n) results. You won’t be penalised for doing any of those.
What critical values do we use when we do hypothesis testing/confidence intervals/etc.?
Again, we have typically have large sample sizes in this course, so it seems safe to use the approximate critical values that should be familiar from STAT1008 (1.96 for a 95% confidence level, etc.)