Lecture 8 First steps in statistics. Literature Planning Data Analysis Interpretation Defining the...
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Lecture 8 First steps in statistics. Literature Planning Data Analysis Interpretation Defining the problem Identifying the state of art Formulating specific
Literature Planning Data Analysis Interpretation Defining the
problem Identifying the state of art Formulating specific
hypothesis to be tested Study design, power analysis, choosing the
analytical methods, design of the data base, Observations,
experiments Meta analysis Statistical analysis, modelling Comparing
with current theory Publication Scientific writing, expertise How
to perform a biological study Theory
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Preparing the experimental or data collecting phase Lets look a
bit closer to data collecting. Before you start any data collecting
you have to have a clear vision of what you want to do with these
data. Hence you have to answer some important questions For what
purpose do I collect data? Did I read the relevant literature? Have
similar data already been collected by others? Is the experimental
or observational design appropriate for the statistical data
analytical tests I want to apply? Are the data representative? How
many data do I need for the statistical data analytical tests I
want to apply? Does the data structure fit into the hypothesis I
want to test? Can I compare my data and results with other work?
How large are the errors in measuring? Do theses errors prevent
clear final results? How large might the errors be for the data
being still meaningful?
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How to lie with statistics
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Representative sampling
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Scientific publications of any type are classically divided
into 6 major parts Title, affiliations and abstract In this part
you give a short and meaningful title that may contain already an
essential result. The abstract is a short text containing the major
hypothesis and results. The abstract should make clear why a study
has been undertaken The introduction The introduction should
shortly discuss the state of art and the theories the study is
based on, describe the motivation for the present study, and
explain the hypotheses to be tested. Do not review the literature
extensively but discuss all of the relevant literature necessary to
put the present paper in a broader context. Explain who might be
interested in the study and why this study is worth reading!
Materials and methods A short description of the study area (if
necessary), the experimental or observational techniques used for
data collection, and the techniques of data analysis used. Indicate
the limits of the techniques used. Results This section should
contain a description of the results of your study. Here the
majority of tables and figures should be placed. Do not double data
in tables and figures. Discussion This part should be the longest
part of the paper. Discuss your results in the light of current
theories and scientific belief. Compare the results with the
results of other comparable studies. Again discuss why your study
has been undertaken and what is new. Discuss also possible problems
with your data and misconceptions. Give hints for further work.
Acknowledgments Short acknowledgments, mentioning of people who
contributed material but did not figure as co-authors. Mentioning
of fund giving institutions Literature
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The source data base Each row gets a single data record.
Columns contain variables. Variables can be of text or metric type.
Never use the original data base for calculations. Use only a
replicate. Take care of empty cells. In calculated cells take care
of impossible values.
