4 hours. 3 hours lecture and 2 hours lab per week.
Introduction to Natural Resource Statistics
Course Description
Introduction to the collection, quantification, and analysis of natural resources data, including descriptive statistics, probability/uncertainty, and inference. Topics include sampling, basic experimental design, exploratory data analysis, hypothesis testing, and data visualization. Students will use a variety of software tools for analysis and reporting using realistic datasets.
Athena Title
Intro Nat Res Stat
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ECOL 2550
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
After finishing this course, students will be able to characterize a dataset with descriptive stats and standard graphs.
After finishing this course, students will be able to generate testable statistical hypotheses from data summaries in two or more variables.
After finishing this course, students will be able to select and perform an appropriate statistical test for these hypotheses.
After finishing this course, students will be able to communicate results effectively using standard textual and visual idioms.
After finishing this course, students will be able to recognize common errors and misrepresentations in statistical communications.
Topical Outline
Intro: Why Do We Measure the Natural World?
Basics of Statistics; Sampling and Distributions
Sample Design, Randomization, Observational vs. Manipulative Experiments
Describing Data: Summary Statistics (Intro to R I)
Visualizing Data I: Center, Variability, Outliers (Intro to R II)
Visualizing Data II: Scatterplots, Correlation, Distributions, Simple Linear Regression
Writing about Data: Communicating Assumptions, Methods, Predictions, and Limitations
Sampling Distributions for Proportions and Means
Statistical Inference: Hypothesis Tests on Proportions and Means
Confidence Intervals for Means
Making the Case: Interpreting and Visualizing Coefficients and Uncertainty
