BUS105e Copyright © 2014 SIM University Page 1 of 8 ECA – January Semester 2014
BUS105e End-of-Course Assessment – January Semester 2014 Statistics __________________________________________________________________________________________
INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS: 1. This End-of-Course Assessment paper comprises EIGHT (8) pages (including the cover page). 2. You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Title, Your PI, Your Name, and Submission Date.
3. As the End-of-Course Assessment is in lieu of an examination, late submission will NOT be accepted by the University.
IMPORTANT NOTE ECA Submission Deadline: 13 March 2014, 12 noon
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ECA Submission Guidelines
Please follow the submission instructions stated below:
A - What Must Be Submitted
You are required to submit the following THREE (3) items for marking and grading:
• A Report (you should submit this item first as it carries the highest weightage). • A Video Presentation: o UniSIM conducts Walk-in Clinic Sessions on how to record ECA video presentation for SBIZ students every semester. Please see MyUniSIM Blackboard L01 group for details. o ECA video recording and submission online tutorials/guides are also available in MyUniSIM Blackboard at the FAQs tab under the category “Submitting End of Course Assessment [ECA]”.
• The set of Powerpoint slides upon which the video presentation is based.
Please verify your submissions after you have submitted the above THREE (3) items.
B - Submission Deadline
• The THREE (3) items of Report, Video and Presentation Summary are to be submitted by 12 noon on the submission deadline.
• You are only allowed a ONE-TIME submission for each of the THREE (3) items.
• As the ECA is in lieu of an examination, late submission of any of the THREE (3) items will NOT be accepted by the University.
• It will be taken that you have withdrawn from the course if o you failed the ECA due to late and/or non-submission of any of the THREE (3) items. o the Report is not submitted on time.
C - How the (3) Items Should Be Submitted
• The Report: submit online to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) via TurnItIn (for plagiarism detection)
• The Video: submit online to MyUniSIM Blackboard (refer to MyUniSIM Blackboard at the FAQs tab under the category “Submitting End of Course Assessment [ECA])
• The Presentation Summary: submit online to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) (TurnItIn submission not required)
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• Avoid using a public WiFi connection for submitting large video files. If you are using public wireless (WiFi) connection (e.g. SG Wireless at public areas), you might encounter a break in the connection when sending large files.
D - Additional guidelines on file formatting are given as follows: 1. Report • Please ensure that your Microsoft Word document is NOT of the type .docx as this is generated by Microsoft Word 2007 or higher version and it is NOT readable by earlier versions of Microsoft Word.
• If you are using Microsoft Word 2007 or higher version, kindly ensure that you save your Report in .doc format so that your marker can read your Report.
2. Video Showing your powerpoint projection in the background is NOT required.
Your video file should be readable by current video player applications such as Windows Media Player and QuickTime Player.
Do ensure that your video file conforms to these requirements: a) Time Duration: a minimum of 3 minutes and a maximum of 6 minutes b) File Size: No more than 50MB c) File Formats: • .wmv (recommended) • .mov
If we are unable to view your video file, we will treat it as non- submission of the video component.
Note: Please refer to the FAQs in MyUniSIM Blackboard under the category “Submitting End of Course Assessment [ECA]” for the following online tutorials/guides: a) MyUniSIM Blackboard ECA Submission b) Windows Movie Maker.
Under the sections “Online Tutorials”, computer-based training are available on how to use Windows Movie Maker to record ECA presentation video on your PC.
3. Presentation Summary
• Please ensure that your Powerpoint slides are NOT of the type .pptx as this is generated by Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 or higher version and it is NOT readable by earlier versions of Microsoft Powerpoint.
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• If you are using Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 or higher version, kindly ensure that you save your Powerpoint slides in .ppt format so that your marker can read your Powerpoint slides.
• The maximum number of slides is fifteen (15).
• Please do NOT download and use PPT slide design templates from the Internet.
E – Please be Aware of the Following:
Submission in hardcopy or any other means not given in the above guidelines will not be accepted. You do not need to submit any other forms or cover sheets (e.g. form ET3) with your ECA.
You are reminded that electronic transmission is not immediate. The network traffic may be particularly heavy on the date of submission deadline and connections to the system cannot be guaranteed. Hence, you are advised to submit your work no later than the day before the date of submission deadline. MyUniSIM (Blackboard) will allow you to submit your work late but your work will not be marked. You should therefore not jeopardise your course result by submitting your ECA at the last minute.
Once you have submitted your ECA, the status is displayed on the computer screen.
Any extra files, missing appendices or corrections received after the cut-off date will also not be considered in the grading of your ECA.
F - Plagiarism and Collusion
Plagiarism and collusion are forms of cheating and are not acceptable in any form in a student’s work, including this ECA. Plagiarism and collusion are taking work done by others or work done together with others respectively and passing it off as your own. You can avoid plagiarism by giving appropriate references when you use other people’s ideas, words or pictures (including diagrams). Refer to the APA Manual if you need reminding about quoting and referencing. You can avoid collusion by ensuring that your submission is based on your own individual effort.
The electronic submission of your ECA will be screened by a plagiarism detection software. For more information about plagiarism and collusion, you should refer to the Student Handbook (Section 5.2.1.3). You are reminded that UniSIM takes a tough stance against plagiarism or collusion. Serious cases will normally result in the student being referred to UniSIM’s Student Disciplinary Group. For other cases, significant mark penalties or expulsion from the course will be imposed.
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Video Presentation Evaluation Criteria
Note: Students will be assessed on the quality of the presentation and not the quality of the video recording. However, the recording is expected to have video and audio clarity. Showing your powerpoint projection in the background is NOT required.
Organisation of Presentation /8 • Logical flow of presentation
Posture & Body Language /5 • Posture: Standing, straight back etc… • Body language: – Hand gestures supporting oral arguments, etc… Eye-Contact /5 • Looking at the video camera • No reading of slides or notes or cue cards
Pace & Articulation /7 • Pace: Speaks neither too fast nor too slow • Articulation: Oral expression is clear and confident in the presentation. TOTAL /25
Presentation Summary Evaluation Criteria
Format and Style of Slides /3 • Layout, clarity of text elements, colour blends, graphical enhancements
Clarity and Coherence /4 • Proper flow - title page, introduction, body, results, recommendations / discussion points, conclusion/summary; quick to understand, free from grammatical errors
Creativity /3 • Ability to use creative elements to value-add to the presentation so as to enhance understanding and clarity of difficult concepts TOTAL /10
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SECTION A (Total 65 marks)
GenXY Motors Pte Ltd sells second hand cars. The company has four shops in different locations either within or outside of the city area.
Mr. Branson Lim, the general manager of GenXY, would like to expand their business by adding four more locations. The main objective is to maximise revenue by increasing the number of cars sold and the prices of transactions. Mr. Lim would like know the followings:
Where should the new locations be? What make (brand) of cars should they hold in these locations? What models of cars should they hold in these locations? What features should be built in as standard in these cars? What features should be added optionally?
Mr. Lim came across a study done by the Car Dealers Association (CDA) on sales of cars in year 2012. The sample had 1000 transactions randomly selected from car dealers in the country. The sample proportions for make, model and locations are similar to those of the population. Mr. Lim speculates that this study could help him to address the above questions but he is not sure how to interpret this study. Mr. Lim has engaged you as a consultant to help and has provided you an excel file “cars_dataset.xlsx” with this random sample of 1000 transactions. The variables in the data are:
CarID: Autogenerated ID of transactions in the sample Price$: Price of car sold in Singapore Dollars Mileage: Number of kilometres completed MakeID: Numeric ID of the make (or brand) of the car Make: Make (or brand) of the car ModelID: NumericID of the model of the car Model: Model of the car which briefly describes the main features of the car Engine Capacity: Size of the engine capacity Doors: Number of doors in the car Sound: Sound upgrading; 1 indicates an upgrade and 0 indicates no upgrade LocationID: Numeric ID of the location Store Location: Location; 1 indicates within the city and 2 indicates outside of the city
Make ID Make
Model ID Model Doors
Location ID
Store Location
1 Chery
1 2D Sedan 2
0 Non-city
2 Proton
2 4D Sedan 4
1 City
3 Hyundai
3 5D Hatchback 5 4 Nissan 4 MPV 5 5 Toyota 5 2D Sports 2 6 Honda 6 4D Sports 4 7 Others 7 4D Luxury 4 MPV: Multipurpose Vehicle
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Part I 1. Select three (3) factors (variables) from the data. There should be at least one (1) quantitative and one (1) qualitative variable. Describe the data by using appropriately chosen charts. Explain why you have chosen the charts you used. 2. Calculate and interpret the measures of location and dispersion for these variables. Explain when these measures are suitable for analysing the variables. 3. Identify the probability that a random transaction has a price that is more than $95,000. From past data, the population distribution for Price$ is normal with a mean of $82,333 and a standard deviation of $20,100. Discuss whether the probability can be computed if the population distribution is not normal. (15 marks)
Part II
Execute a statistical test to analyse which variables affect the price of cars significantly. You must do the following:
1. First, state your hypothesis and select an appropriate test to test your hypothesis. You must explain why you choose the test. 2. Identify and fit a suitable linear regression model to the data and interpret relevant statistics. 3. Determine two (2) Makes and two (2) Models that GenXY Motors should stock. Explain your choices. 4. Describe the relationship between the price and variables implied by the regression model you have estimated in question 2. 5. Discuss whether the assumptions used in estimating the regression model are valid for the data. (20 marks)
Part III
1. Apply a Correlation Analysis between Price$ and each independent variable. Compare this analysis with the method used in Part II. Discuss which method you would prefer to explain the variations in prices. 2. Discuss any statistical limitations (if any) in this analysis and give explanations on how they could affect this analysis. 3. State possible improvements which you would recommend in terms of how data may be collected and analysed in any follow-up work. (15 marks)
Part IV
1. Describe your findings in a 300-word executive summary for GenXY Motors Pte Ltd. The purpose of an executive summary is to provide an overview of your analysis. Summarise your analysis by including the following: a. Your findings, conclusions, limitations and recommendations.
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b. Essential analysis that support your findings, conclusions, limitations and recommendations. c. A concise description of how your analysis was done. (10 marks)
Part V
1. Consider the company you are working for, or one you have worked at in the past. Identify a situation in which you believe a linear regression model could be applied. Identify the dependent and explanatory variables of interest for this model. (5 marks)
SECTION B (Total 25 marks)
Prepare a video recording of the presentation of at least 3 minutes but not exceeding 6 minutes for Parts II and III. (25 marks)
SECTION C (Total 10 marks)
Prepare a set of Powerpoint slides upon which the video presentation is based.
(10 marks)
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