By David Eakin
Hello! My name is David Eakin, and I am a peer tutor here at Rutgers-Camden. After working at the Learning Center for about 3 years, mainly tutoring various Statistics courses, I wanted to share some advice with anyone wanting a better grade in their course.
Math =/= Statistics
First, Mathematics and Statistics are not the same discipline. Statistics involves the use of math, but it is really more of an art than something closed form like Mathematics. The core of Statistics is really about trying to make generalizations to a greater population using models, inferences, etc. rather than solving for some variable or taking a derivative/integral. For those of you who are “bad at math” (which I don’t believe any of you are), fear not! Statistics has much more of a focus on interpretation and problem solving than anything else. In practice, Statistics and Data Science are done using computer programming and dedicated software, so any math that needs to be done is handled by a computer! With that in mind, be sure to fully understand the inferences you’re trying to make as you go through the course rather than simply memorizing formulas; most of the professors have open book exams anyway.
Succeeding in Statistics
Over the years, I find myself giving students similar advice when they ask me how to succeed in their statistics courses. This advice can be narrowed down to a handful of simple tips!
Outline WHAT you are trying to do first in words: I find many students rush to start putting numbers into formulas, finding numbers and statistics without understanding what they are trying to accomplish, which leads to mistakes and wrong inferences. Instead of immediately using formula ABC, shift your focus to the fact you are trying to accomplish XYZ; it just so happens you use formula ABC to get there.
Make a formula sheet for exams: At Rutgers-Camden, almost all of the exams are open book. However, I find this to be a trap for students; many students take this for granted and haven’t consolidated what they need for the exam, forcing them to waste time rifling through their notes instead of working through the problems. By making a formula sheet, you can save a lot of time on exams so you can focus on actually solving problems rather than finding the formula you need.
Double check your work: This may not exactly be a Statistics-only piece of advice, but I can’t stress how important it is to check your work if time allows. You’re given the whole period to take your exam; you might as well use all of that time to make sure you didn’t make any mistakes that lose you points. I find mistakes in my own exams all the time when I double check. If I had just turned my exam in without double checking, I would have received a lower grade.
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