The fundamental concepts and methods of biostatistics will be presented and critically discussed. Hands-on sessions in computer lab will provide practice on the use of spreadsheets for the statistical analysis of biological data.

Main topics:

• Descriptive statistics
• Probability theory and probability distributions
• Inferential statistics
• Sampling distributions
• Correlation and regression
• Hypothesis testing (p-value)
• Multisample inference (ANOVA)

Aims:

The course will introduce the basic concepts of statistics for the analysis of biological data. The objectives of the course are the development of critical ability and practical skills concerning:

1. the choice of the proper statistical methods and the interpretation of analysis outcomes;
2. the automatic organization and handling of biological data by means of spreadsheets.

The course is mainly addressed to PhD students of the life sciences area.

Suggested year of attendance:

I year

Prerequisites:

participants should have (at least) basic notions in the use of spreadsheets. The teachers will make use of Excel to propose exercises for the hands-on sessions, but participants can use any other spreadsheet application on their personal computers.