Admission requirements
None.
Description
From medical records to gene expressions to ecological field experiments, biology requires a large variety of possible statistical analyses. Basic Statistics for Master Students teaches you everything from basic comparisons up to multiple linear regression, with a strong emphasis on generalized linear models (GLM). GLMs are a flexible class of models that can be used to analyze all sorts of outcomes, which makes it a useful starting point for various types of biological research. You will also learn how to prepare, visualize and analyze data using the open source programming language R.
Statistical methods covered:
Univariate tests (t-test, chi-squared test, F-test)
Multiple testing correction
ANOVA
Simple linear regression
Multiple linear regression
GLM
Survival analysis
Should I choose Basic Statistics or Advanced Statistics?
Contrary to Advanced Statistics, Basic Statistics assumes little background knowledge of statistics, nor programming. To make the choice easier, ask yourself the following questions:
Are you familiar with most of the statistical methods covered?
Do you have previous experience programming in R?
Unless you confidently answered yes to both questions, we recommend taking Basic Statistics first.
If you obtained your bachelor degree elsewhere, Basic Statistics brings you up to speed with the level of statistics and R programming required to follow the Advanced Statistics course.
If you obtained your bachelor degree at the IBL, but are not required to follow Advanced Statistics (for example, because you are following Biology and Business Studies master track), Basic Statistics still has a lot to offer you, because the course takes a different approach than the bachelor course, with more emphasis on GLM, and new topics like publication-grade graphics and survival analysis.
Course Objectives
After completion of the course, students can:
1. Recognise the correct definition of important concepts in statistics (false positive/negative, p-value) and repeat the basic steps of a typical statistical analysis.
2. Explain a programming or statistical problem and solicit help from a statistical consultant.
3. Calculate false positive rates.
4. Perform basic statistical analyses themselves.
5. Interpret output from statistical tests and models.
6. Convert data to a tidy format, create subsets and evaluate the quality of collected data.
7. Judge the validity of simple statistical analyses used in published articles.
8. Design simple studies with maximal power and minimal risk of bias.
9. Produce publication-grade figures and tables in R.
10. Open, edit and run basic scripts in R, using RStudio, and use literate programming to compile a report that includes code, output and commentary.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
Lectures, tutorials, and assignments.
Assessment method
The final grade consists of the following partial grades:
Written exam (75%)
Graded assignment (25%)
The graded assignment requires you to program in R-Studio.
Minimum grade:
Courses require a minimum, unrounded 5.5 grade to complete.
If a course has 2 or more written partial exams, the minimum grade only applies to the weighted average of the exams.
For partial grades from components other than exams (e.g. practicals, seminars, writing assignments), the bottom grade does apply to the individual components.
Please refer to the Student Charter for an overview of regulations.
Reading list
An online ebook accompanying the course will be published on Brightspace. In preparation, please try to install/update the necessary software as explained here: https://youtu.be/jvL10YqZSEA.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Prospective students website for more information on how to apply.
Contact
Coördinator: F.J. Rodenburg
E-mail: f.j.rodenburg@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Inspection and feedback on the examination: exam can be reviewed and discussed during a class session, and assignments can be reviewed in person.
Brightspace will be used for communication, Q&A, lecture summaries, screencasts, and handouts.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.