Course Catalogue

Statistical Analysis and Methods ACCFIN2018

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: Adam Smith Business School
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

The general aim of this introductory course in statistics is to provide a challenging and interesting introduction to the application of statistics for conducting business and financial research.

Timetable

Lectures: 10x3 hours of Lectures

Labs: 5x1 hour Labs

Tutorials: 4x1 hour Tutorials

Requirements of Entry

Only available to students enrolled in the BAcc and BFin programmes and visiting students by agreement. 

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

1. Written Assignment, including Essay; Group; 1500 words; 25%; ILOs 1, 5-7.
2. Degree exam: in-person; Individual; 120 minutes; 75%; ILOs 1-6.

Main Assessment In: December

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? No

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

Course Aims

This course aims to encourage students to acquire statistical reasoning and thinking skills and to relate those skills to business problem solving and conducting business research.

Students will explore:

1. Frameworks and concepts relevant for developing statistical reasoning.

2. Frameworks and concepts relevant for statistical thinking.

3. How statistical models, concepts and reasoning can be used to examine the relationships across business and financial variables.

4. How to communicate effectively with peers, colleagues and specialists.

5. How to work with others in a problem-solving context.

Students will also build skills in identifying the sources of business and financial data for statistical analysis.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Utilise different types of graphical displays and descriptive statistics appropriate to characterise different types of business and financial data.

2. Compare the characteristics of different probability distributions relevant to business and financial research.

3. Be aware of the different types of sampling techniques.

4. Estimate population mean using point and interval estimators.

5. Conduct rigorous hypothesis test using sample information.

6. Use linear regression models to estimate the relationship between variables.

7. Work collaboratively in a group to produce a combined piece of coursework.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions