Department of Environmental Sciences
Huxley College of the Environment
Western Washington University

ESCI 340 Biostatistical Analysis
Winter 2009
MW 9-11 AM ES 310
F 9-11 AM AH 5

Course Web Site: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~jmcl/Biostat/syl2009w.htm
Please note: some hyperlinks may not be activated until class time.

Text: (Recommended) J. H. Zar. 1999. Biostatistical Analysis, 4^th ed. Prentice Hall
Additional readings available in course binder in Huxley Library, ES 545.

Prerequisite: one year of general biology.

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to data analysis and statistical tests commonly used in the biological and environmental sciences. Much of the material will be developed with a series of exercises during which you will collect data to address research questions and analyze those data using appropriate methods. In a broad sense, the main objective of the course is to help you understand the principles, methods, and limitations of data analysis. After successfully completing the course, you should be able to identify appropriate applications of common statistical methods, to perform the methods competently, and to interpret statistical results critically.

Course Evaluation:
Grades will be based on homework assignments and three examinations. Homework assignments will comprise 50% of the course grade. Two "midterm" exams will contribute 15% each toward the course grade. The final exam will contribute the remaining 20%.

Homework:
Homework will be posted online to the links below, generally before class time on Friday.
It is due at the beginning of class the following Friday. Meet the deadline for full credit.

Homework Guidelines:
(1) Be clear, neat, complete, and concise. The teaching assistant has many assignments to grade;
it will be to your advantage to organize your work to make his job easier.

(2) Staple your work, if you submit more than one page.

(3) Put your name, course name, assignment number, and date submitted somewhere at the top of the first page.

(4) Show your work. Correct methods will be worth as much as correct answers. For full credit, show all formulas used. Numerical tools (calculators, spreadsheets, SPSS, R) often combine several steps their calculations; you must show formulas for each step. When you use SPSS or R computer programs, indicate commands or menu options that you used to obtain your results.

(5) For assignments based on data collected in lab, state assumptions that you made in your analysis.

Course Schedule:
Please note: some hyperlinks may not be activated until after class.

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Homework Assignments
Assignments are due at noon on the date listed.

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