The online workshop “Basic Principles of Biostatistics” with Dr. Maral Saadati, organized by SFB 1381, will be taking place
April 4 – 7, 2022 (Monday to Thursday)
Each day from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Online via Zoom
This course establishes a fundamental understanding of statistics for young researchers in life sciences. It clarifies basic concepts of statistics that are commonly encountered in scientific publications. The goal is to give participants a firm understanding of basic statistical concepts as well as to sensitize them to common errors and pitfalls.
Prerequisites: High school level mathematics, no particular statistical knowledge required.
Course Contents:
- Fundamentals and descriptive statistics:
- Measures of location, measures of variation
- Biological vs. technical replicates
- Distribution and quantiles:
- Normal and t-distribution
- Confidence intervals:
- Standard error and statistical reasoning
- How to construct a confidence interval for the mean
- How to plot (and how not to plot) your data
- The principles of statistical testing:
- Hypothesis formulation
- Types of errors and error probabilities
- Statistical tests for quantitative variables:
- t-test (paired vs. unpaired, one vs. two sample test)
- One-sided vs. two-sided testing
- Interpretation of p-values:
- Statistical significance vs. biological relevance
- Multiple testing, reporting bias, and other pitfalls
- Evaluation of fold change data:
- Transformation and data summarization
- Testing and reporting of results
- Experiment and study design:
- Sample size calculation
- Untangling relationship btw. power, type I error, and sample size
- Multi-level data and sources of variation
Expected Outcome:
After the course the participants will have a solid understanding of basic statistical concepts used in scientific practice. They will know how to interpret and evaluate published results with a critical eye for common pitfalls and limitations.
If you are interested in participating, please send an email for registration to sfb1381@biochemie.uni-freiburg.de until March 23rd, 2022.
