Quantitative Methods 1

This subject develops skills in descriptive and inferential statistical analysis that underpin data-informed decision-making in the various specializations within the faculty. It provides a foundation for all second-year quantitative subjects in the commerce degree. The topics covered include describing data visually and numerically; probability and probability distributions for discrete and continuous random variables; sampling distributions and estimation; hypothesis testing for one and two samples, and simple regression. Practical examples are drawn from economics, management, marketing, accounting, and finance. Students will gain experience in the use of Excel to visualise and communicate key features of data, and in the use of data to inform decisions made in business and economics.

• 1Graph economic data using methods that facilitate analysis.
• 2Explain concepts relevant for summarising and interpreting data.
• 3Explain how the concepts of random variables and probability distributions are useful for drawing inferences.
• 4Explain the concepts of population, samples and sampling distributions.
• 5Estimate unknown population quantities and test hypotheses about them.
• 6Conduct simple regression analysis to model the relationship between variables and draw inferences about relationships.
• 7Apply common analytical techniques relevant for financial decision making.