Prerequisites

Prerequisites: Students should have a basic understanding of algebra and arithmetic. No previous background in probability or statistics is required, nor is experience with statistical computing.

Software Required: The course employs the commercial graphing and analysis program, GraphPad Prism v9.5 (licensing fee required), to graph and analyze data that amplify the concepts presented in the previous lecture. Students are required to have GraphPad Prism installed on their laptop computers and activated before the start of the course. Download GraphPad Prism from UNC software acquisition (software.unc.edu). The cost for a 1-year license is ~$32 (pro-rated for fall only is ~$10; license renewal date – Nov 30). Access to a laptop, tablet, or device with video streaming capabilities and a stable internet connection is also required.

Textbooks (Optional): Samuels and Witmer, Statistics for the Life Sciences

NOTE: This course is recommended for doctoral trainees in the biological and biomedical sciences (2nd Year+), as the culmination of the course is a final project based on your own data, which you will work on in stages throughout the semester. You must have access to a data set that you can analyze in order to complete the final project, and its most helpful and exciting if its your own data/project that you are currently working on.

BONUS: If you are applying for a fellowship or writing a grant, use this course as a jumping off point to get your pilot data analyzed; planning to write up your results for a conference, get a head start; or working on your thesis project, delve into your field’s favorite analyses and explore how to apply them to your topic. Ideally, everything you do in this course should allow you to apply your new knowledge to something you are actually doing in lab, in your research, of course in your analyses, and eventually in your publications. Or at least, that’s our goal!