Quantitative Analyses in Biology

The course presents classical methods of statistical analyses for biological data, focusing on the relationships between the biological questions, the study design, and the statistical models used to analyse the data. Emphasis is also placed on the interpretation and presentation of statistical analyses. The course comprises lectures, exercises, discussions of the scientific literature and an obligatory assignment.

The different statistical models presented in the course are: linear models, generalized linear models (with Poisson, Binomial and negative binomial distribution), and mixed effect models. Analyses are performed with R.

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• Understand and use statistical models to perform quantitative analyses in biology.
• Understand how to apply specific statistical models to different experimental designs in biology.
• Use the statistical software R to perform data analyses and present the results.
• Interpret results from statistical analyses.
• Critically evaluate statistical analyses presented in the literature.
• Design experiments in biology and perform the statistical analyses of the data.

Lectures (ca. 30 hours), exercises (ca. 30 hours). During the exercises, students analyse data from experiments in biology and interpret and present the results of these analyses. Lecture also include discussions of statistical analyses presented in the scientific literature. Examples are primarily based on studies in ecology and evolution, but data from other fields in biology are also used. For the obligatory semester assignment, groups of students analyse data and present orally the research question, the method used, the results, and their interpretation.