Biology 300: Fundamentals of Biostatistics
January-April 2015
Instructor: Greg Bole (bole@zoology.ubc.ca)
Office hours: Wed. 10:0-11:30am, BioSciences 1026).
TAs:
Kira Delmore (Head TA) kdelmore@zoology.ubc.ca
Kat Anderson kat@zoology.ubc.ca
Aaron Greenberg a.greenberg@fisheries.ubc.ca
Matt Strimas-Mackey mstrimas@gmail.com
Remi Matthey-Doret remi.matthey-doret@unil.ch
Lectures: MWF 2-3 p.m., Scarfe 100
Labs: BioSciences 2078, starting second week of term (Jan. 12-16) See schedule below
• L21: Mon 12-2 p.m.
• L22: Tue 8-10 a.m.
• L23: Tue 2-4 p.m.
• L24: Mon 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
• L25: Wed 9-11 a.m.
• L26: Thu 8-10 a.m.
• L27: Wed 12-2 p.m.
• L28: Fri 12-2 p.m.
Course Materials
Textbook: The Analysis of Biological Data, by Whitlock and Schluter. We will be using the new 2nd
edition, but you can also use the first edition. It is up to you to be aware of any new material. The
assignment questions will come from the 2nd edition, but will be posted online for users of the 1st edition.
It is available for purchase at the UBC bookstore or online. Note: the book is cheaper online than at the
UBC bookstore (also at Amazon.ca), but allow at least two weeks for it to arrive. In the meantime, the first
three chapters are available online: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3). You should read each chapter just
before we cover it in lecture.
Lecture material: For your convenience, I will post slides from lectures on Conenct, usually before I
present the material. Note, however, that I sometimes tinker with lecture material, so the details may
change. Make sure you pay attention in class and take notes – online lecture material should not be viewed
as a substitute for attending class.
Lab manual: The lab manual will be available during the first week of class at Copiesmart in the UBC
Village, for about $12, or as a PDF on Connect (I recommend getting the Copiesmart version, which is
nicely bound). See below for the lab schedule.
Formulae sheet and stats tables: These will be available during exams, and we provide them
together here as a PDF file so you can get familiar with them ahead of time.
JMP-IN software: This is used in the labs, and is also available optionally to BIOL 300 students as a free
temporary license, for use on your own computer (educational uses only). Instructions will be provided.
Homework Assignments
Assignments are due on Fridays at noon (12 PM) sharp in your TA’s assignment box. Late
assignments will not be accepted (except in cases of emergency).
Assignment 1 will be due Jan. 17.
Practice and Review Materials
Answers to textbook “practice problems” are in the back of the book.
Here are some exams from previous years. Try doing the problems before looking at the keys. Note that the
material covered on this term’s exams may differ somewhat from that covered on earlier exams.
Example midterms and final exams will be provided.
Tests and Grading
To promote fairness for all students, I will only answer questions about the scope and format of
exams when the whole class has the opportunity to hear or read the answer.
Mid-term exam: Feb. 27th in class. This will cover chapters 1-10 of the textbook (excluding sections 9.2
and 9.5). The exam will include both short-answer questions and some longer-answer questions (e.g.,
hypothesis testing or estimation), some involving calculation. You are allowed to use a non-programmable
calculator, and will be provided the formula sheet and statistical tables (you should practice using them in
advance).
Final exam: time and place to be announced. The final exam will cover material from the whole course. It
will last 2.5 hours.
The course grade will be calculated as follows (this may change a bit later):
• Final 50%
• Mid-term 30%
• Homework 10%
• Lab reports 10%
Policies
Your performance on the exams is expected to reflect your own work, not that of other people.
University policy dictates stern penalties for those who copy the work of others or allow their own
work to be copied. On assignments, it is acceptable to work in groups, but it is not acceptable to copy
another’s work or allow your work to be copied.
If you miss the midterm with a legitimate excuse (either by pre-arrangement or an acceptable medical
emergency with doctor’s note), no make-up midterm will be offered. Rather, the final exam grade will be
used in place of the midterm in the final grade assessment, after adjustment to take into account the relative
difficulty of the midterm and final.
Week
Jan. 5-9
Jan. 12-16
Jan. 19-23
Topic
NO LABS
1. Introduction and graphics
2. Sampling
Jan. 26-30
3. Describing data
Feb. 2-6
Feb. 10-13
Reading
week
Feb. 23-27
Mar. 2-6
4. Probability
5. Frequency data and proportions (no Monday lab)
Other stuff
Sample means applet and Confidence
intervals applet
Let's make a deal
NO LABS except Monday; midterm Feb. 27 in class
6. Contingency analysis
Contingency table simulation
7. Normal distribution and one-sample inference;
Mar. 9-13
Sample means applet
Lab report assigned
Robustness applet and Left-right
Mar. 16-20 8. Comparing two groups; Draft 1 of lab report due
dexterity game
9. Comparing more than two groups: ANOVA; Draft
Mar. 23-27
1 of lab report returned
Mar. 3010. Regression and correlation; Review; Draft 2 of
Transformation applet
Apr. 2
lab report due (No Friday Lab)
Apr. 6-10 NO LABS except Friday