Admission requirements
For the Astronomy Bachelor, a passing grade for the course Statistics and Data Analysis (SDA) is required. For the Physics Bachelor, you are very welcome to join this course, but you will need to read up on the material covered in SDA. In addition, a passing grade for Complex Physics of Cooking and Experimentele Natuurkunde is recommended.
Description
In the era of data science, the responsible and accurate use of statistics is of high importance. In this course we first briefly review the foundations of probability theory and statistics. The main focus is on the application of statistics, in particular parameter inference within the Bayesian framework.
The course covers the following themes:
Conditional probability and marginalization
Statistical models and distributions
Likelihood and its connection to generative models
Nested models; hypothesis comparison
Bootstrap confidence intervals
Bayes' Theorem
Bayesian inference, including priors
Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods
Frequentist versus Bayesian framework comparison
Course objectives
This course will give an overview of the basic concepts of statistics and probability theory and provide some practical tools for (parameter) inference with typical datasets in physics and astronomy. After this course, you will be able to:
Explain the difference between least-squares and Bayesian (MCMC) methods for parameter inference
You can implement these two methods and select the best approach for your dataset
Examine the outcome of your analysis and critique its assumptions if needed.
In this course, you will be trained in the following skills:
Problem solving (recognizing and analyzing problems, solution-oriented thinking)
Analytical skills (analytical thinking, abstraction, evidence)
Structured thinking (structure, modulated thinking, computational thinking, programming)
Critical thinking (asking questions, check assumptions)
Writing instructional Notebooks for your peers
Team work, collaborative writing
Using version control software (github)
Timetable
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have successfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go to the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Please note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of instruction
Lectures (interactive)
Exercise classes
Assessment method
There will be a short exam and a written assignment. For the written assignment you will be asked to create one chapter for a website that will contain the lecture notes of this course. You will work in a Python Notebook environment to combine short explanations with code examples. The lecture notes will be combine into a website, to be used by future students of this course (here is one example). You can work in small groups for this written assignment. Each group will also present the content of their chapter in class.
Written assignment, plus short presentation (50%)
Written exam (50%)
Reading list
- No book; relevant material will be distributed via Brightspace
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for registering on time, i.e. 14 days before the start of the course. This can be done via Mystudymap. You do this twice a year: once for the courses you want to take in semester 1 and once for the courses you want to take in semester 2. Please note: late registration is not possible.
Registration for courses in the first semester is possible from July; registration for courses in the second semester is possible from December. First-year bachelor students are registered for semester 1 by the faculty student administration; they do not have to do this themselves. For more information, see this page
In addition, it is mandatory for all students, including first-year bachelor students, to register for exams. This can be done up to and including 10 calendar days prior to the exam or up to five calendar days in case of a retake exam. You cannot participate in the exam or retake without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Contact
Contact details teacher: Dr. S. van Velzen
Remarks
None