News

SFB 1381 Workshop “Basic Principles of Biostatistics”

Feb 16, 2022

The online workshop “Basic Principles of Biostatistics” with Dr. Maral Saadati, organized by SFB 1381, will be taking place

 

April 4 – 7, 2022 (Monday to Thursday)

Each day from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

Online via Zoom

 

This course establishes a fundamental understanding of statistics for young researchers in life sciences. It clarifies basic concepts of statistics that are commonly encountered in scientific publications. The goal is to give participants a firm understanding of basic statistical concepts as well as to sensitize them to common errors and pitfalls.

Prerequisites: High school level mathematics, no particular statistical knowledge required.

Course Contents:

  • Fundamentals and descriptive statistics:
    • Measures of location, measures of variation
    • Biological vs. technical replicates
  • Distribution and quantiles:
    • Normal and t-distribution
  • Confidence intervals:
    • Standard error and statistical reasoning
    • How to construct a confidence interval for the mean
  • How to plot (and how not to plot) your data
  • The principles of statistical testing:
    • Hypothesis formulation
    • Types of errors and error probabilities
  • Statistical tests for quantitative variables:
    • t-test (paired vs. unpaired, one vs. two sample test)
    • One-sided vs. two-sided testing
  • Interpretation of p-values:
    • Statistical significance vs. biological relevance
    • Multiple testing, reporting bias, and other pitfalls
  • Evaluation of fold change data:
    • Transformation and data summarization
    • Testing and reporting of results
  • Experiment and study design:
    • Sample size calculation
    • Untangling relationship btw. power, type I error, and sample size
    • Multi-level data and sources of variation

Expected Outcome:
After the course the participants will have a solid understanding of basic statistical concepts used in scientific practice. They will know how to interpret and evaluate published results with a critical eye for common pitfalls and limitations.

If you are interested in participating, please send an email for registration to sfb1381@biochemie.uni-freiburg.de until March 23rd, 2022.