SENIOR PAPER IN STATISTICS (Stat 4893W)

All Statistics majors, BA or BS, need to take Stat 4893W, Senior Paper (1 credit, prerequisite, Senior in Statistics). It must be taken for a Statistics BA to meet the CLA Major Project requirement. Stat 4893W is also necessary for a Statistics BS, since it is the only way to satisfy the upper division writing-intensive course requirement. This states in part that “At least one upper-division W-I course should be taken within the student’s major or program area.” Since Stat 4893W is the only such course in the major, all majors need to take it.

You can complete Stat 4893W in several ways:

• Directed study resulting in a paper on a specialized area of statistics. This is the most common choice.

• Writing a case study report. This might be a report on a consulting assignment or on analysis of data the you have access to through an outside job. It can also be a report describing your collection and analysis of data.

• Writing and documenting a computer program to implement a nontrivial statistical technique. This must include appropriate documentation for users of the program including a description of the technique implemented with references.

• Writing a report comparing the capabilities of three or more computer programs in a particular area of statistics such as categorical data analysis, analysis of variance or regression analysis.

• Writing a paper exploring the statistical issues related to an area of public policy.

• Writing a paper on the history and application of a statistical methodology.

• Writing a biographical paper about a prominant statistician and his or her importance to Statistics.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. If you have an idea for a paper that doesn’t seem to fit any of the above categories, run it by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

You can register for Stat 4893W in any semester of your Senior year or in the summer term. Since this is a degree requirement, it is prudent to register for Stat 4893W, pick a topic, and start the paper the term preceding the final term. If you’re not done by the end of the term, you can request that an Incomplete (“I”) be submitted. You will be required to sign a contract specifying when it will be completed.

You should choose the topic of the paper in consultation with a Statistics faculty member who agrees to supervise your work. Often the faculty member will be your instructor in a 5xxx Statistics course and the material will build on material from the course. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is the default supervisor.

There is no fixed expectation for the length of the paper except that it is usually in the range of 10 to 15 pages. It is up to the faculty supervisor to judge whether the paper is long enough and well written enough to fulfill the requirement.

The time required varies but according to University policy that each credit should require 3 hours per week, you should expect to spend about 45 hours researching, writing and revising your paper.

It is important to keep in touch with the faculty supervisor while working on the paper. Unless you are told otherwise, you will be expected to provide progress reports and/or drafts at intermediate stages. Presenting a “finished” product without consultation is risky.

Steps to take

1. Register for Stat 4893W; it is offered every semester and in the summer.

2. Choose a faculty member who is willing to supervise the project.

3. Select a topic in consultation with the faculty supervisor.

4. Prepare an outline and go over it with your supervisor.

5. Prepare a first draft and show it to your supervisor.

6. Prepare additional drafts as needed until the paper is finished.

7. Provide two copies of the final draft to the supervisor who will then report a grade to the School of Statistics Office.

All drafts should be dated and have page numbers.

If you have trouble getting started, you may find help from a writing consultant in the Center for Writing’s Student Writing Support program (SWS). You can get help at all stages of the writing process. SWS provides help at several campus locations. You can schedule an appointment online.

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