Biostatistics

Prerequisite: Matriculation in the Master of Science program in Biology or consent of instructor Corequisite: BIOL 544L This course is an introduction to statistical methods used in the biological sciences, with emphasis on application and statistical literacy. It addresses the concept of variability in nature, the tools we use to describe it and some basic methods of statistical inference. Specific topics include graphical and numerical description of data, basics of sampling and experimental design, commonly used probability distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing. Emphasis will be placed on writing about statistical results and interpreting results presented in the professional literature. Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory weekly. Offered spring semester.