The core of the learning process is the work carried out by students. Students learn by working, and the role of the teaching staff is to support this process by providing information, indicating sources where it can be found, and guiding the process so that learning can take place effectively. In line with these ideas, and in accordance with the objectives of the course, its development is based on the following activities:

Lectures

Students acquire the scientific and technical knowledge specific to the course by attending lectures and complementing them with personal study of the topics covered.

Problem-solving sessions and practical work

Problem-solving sessions and practical work are conducted in small groups of students with a dual purpose. On the one hand, they reinforce the scientific and technical knowledge presented in lectures, helping to complete understanding and deepen it through various activities, from solving problems to discussing practical cases. On the other hand, these sessions provide a forum for jointly discussing the development of the practical work, contributing the necessary knowledge to carry it out or indicating where and how it can be acquired.

The more practical component of this course is designed as a pathway to guide students through a statistics fieldwork project at each of its stages. It involves working on the different concepts introduced throughout the course using Excel spreadsheets and the statistical tools included in the software.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as support during practical sessions. However, the analysis and final resolution must be the responsibility of each student, as well as the critical reflection on the results obtained with the use of AI. Under no circumstances may AI be used in in-person assessed activities. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in an assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in partial or total penalties in the grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

In the assessment, the scientific and technical knowledge of the subject acquired by the students will be evaluated, as well as their capacity for analysis and synthesis, critical reasoning, and the application of their knowledge to the resolution of practical cases.

This course does not provide for a single-assessment system.

Assessment will be continuous and will pursue several key objectives: to monitor the teaching–learning process, allowing both students and teaching staff to understand the level of competence achieved and, where possible, to correct any deviations; and to encourage sustained effort rather than last-minute overexertion, which is often ineffective.

Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment consists of the submission of problem sets completed on three different days during the course, an evaluation of the practical sessions, and a final exam.

The final grade for the course will be based on the problem submissions (grade C), the practical assessment (grade P), and the final exam (E1). Grade C accounts for 20%, P for 30%, and the final exam E1 for 50% of the overall grade.

Using the grades C, P, and E1, the final course grade (N) is calculated as follows:

N = 0.50 × E1 + 0.20 × C + 0.30 × P

Resit and/or Improvement of the Exam Grade

The course is passed if N is greater than or equal to 5 and, at the same time, both E1 and P are greater than or equal to 5. Otherwise, or if a student wishes to improve their grade, there is the option to improve the exam grade by taking a resit exam (E2). The final grade is then calculated as:

NF = 0.50 × max(E1, E2) + 0.20 × C + 0.30 × P

Observations

Grades C and P from continuous assessment are not recoverable.

A student is considered to have sat the examination session if they take either of the two exams (E1 or E2). Otherwise, the result will be recorded as “Not attended”, even if the student has obtained some continuous assessment grades (C and/or P).

Taking the resit exam E2 implies that the maximum possible final grade for the course is 7.

To obtain a distinction with honours (“Matrícula de Honor”), it is recommended to achieve an excellent result in all three components.

“Not Assessable” Grade

Students who have only participated in assessment activities that together account for 50% or less of the total will receive a “Not assessable” grade.

Without prejudice to any other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, any irregularities committed by students that may lead to a modification of an assessment grade will be marked with a zero. Therefore, copying or allowing copying in any practical work or other assessment activity will result in a grade of zero for that activity and, if it is necessary to pass in order to pass the course, the entire course will be failed.

Such activities will not be eligible for reassessment and, therefore, the course will be automatically failed with no possibility of recovery within the same academic year.

Exam dates and deadlines for submitting assignments will be published on the virtual campus and may be subject to change for organizational reasons. Any changes will always be communicated via the virtual campus, as it is the usual platform for communication between teaching staff and students.