Statistical Methods In Biology

Written in simple language with relevant examples, Statistical Methods in Biology: Design and Analysis of Experiments and Regression is a practical and illustrative guide to the design of experiments and data analysis in the biological and agricultural sciences. The book presents statistical ideas in the context of biological and agricultural scien

Generations of biologists have relied on this useful book, which presents the basic concepts of statistics lucidly and convincingly. It recognizes that students must be aware of when to use standard techniques and how to apply the results they obtain. Because many biologists do not have a strong mathematical background, the arguments are gauged in terms that can be easily understood by those with only an elementary knowledge of algebra. Mathematical derivations are avoided and formulae are only used as a convenient shorthand. Although the subject is presented with great simplicity, the coverage is wide and will satisfy the needs of those working in many disciplines. New material for this third edition includes consideration of pocket electronic calculators and a special chapter devoted to a discussion of problems associated with numerical calculation, electronic calculators, and computers.

Written in simple language with relevant examples, Statistical Methods in Biology: Design and Analysis of Experiments and Regression is a practical and illustrative guide to the design of experiments and data analysis in the biological and agricultural sciences. The book presents statistical ideas in the context of biological and agricultural sciences to which they are being applied, drawing on relevant examples from the authors’ experience. Taking a practical and intuitive approach, the book only uses mathematical formulae to formalize the methods where necessary and appropriate. The text features extended discussions of examples that include real data sets arising from research. The authors analyze data in detail to illustrate the use of basic formulae for simple examples while using the GenStat® statistical package for more complex examples. Each chapter offers instructions on how to obtain the example analyses in GenStat and R. By the time you reach the end of the book (and online material) you will have gained: A clear appreciation of the importance of a statistical approach to the design of your experiments, A sound understanding of the statistical methods used to analyse data obtained from designed experiments and of the regression approaches used to construct simple models to describe the observed response as a function of explanatory variables, Sufficient knowledge of how to use one or more statistical packages to analyse data using the approaches described, and most importantly, An appreciation of how to interpret the results of these statistical analyses in the context of the biological or agricultural science within which you are working. The book concludes with a guide to practical design and data analysis. It gives you the understanding to better interact with consultant statisticians and to identify statistical approaches to add value to your scientific research.

Clearly presents basic concepts, standard techniques, applications of results, and an explanation of the reasoning behind the more important procedures. Avoids mathematical derivations, using formulae only as a convenience. Latest edition includes non-parametric methods, distribution-free tests, and work with pocket calculators. Provides a useful summary of statistical formulae.

The third edition of this popular introductory text maintains the character that won worldwide respect for its predecessors but features a number of enhancements that broaden its scope, increase its utility, and bring the treatment thoroughly up to date. It provides complete coverage of the statistical ideas and methods essential to students in agriculture or experimental biology. In addition to covering fundamental methodology, this treatment also includes more advanced topics that the authors believe help develop an appreciation of the breadth of statistical methodology now available. The emphasis is not on mathematical detail, but on ensuring students understand why and when various methods should be used. New in the Third Edition: A chapter on the two simplest yet most important methods of multivariate analysis Increased emphasis on modern computer applications Discussions on a wider range of data types and the graphical display of data Analysis of mixed cropping experiments and on-farm experiments

Systems Biology is now entering a mature phase in which the key issues are characterising uncertainty and stochastic effects in mathematical models of biological systems. The area is moving towards a full statistical analysis and probabilistic reasoning over the inferences that can be made from mathematical models. This handbook presents a comprehensive guide to the discipline for practitioners and educators, in providing a full and detailed treatment of these important and emerging subjects. Leading experts in systems biology and statistics have come together to provide insight in to the major ideas in the field, and in particular methods of specifying and fitting models, and estimating the unknown parameters. This book: Provides a comprehensive account of inference techniques in systems biology. Introduces classical and Bayesian statistical methods for complex systems. Explores networks and graphical modeling as well as a wide range of statistical models for dynamical systems. Discusses various applications for statistical systems biology, such as gene regulation and signal transduction. Features statistical data analysis on numerous technologies, including metabolic and transcriptomic technologies. Presents an in-depth presentation of reverse engineering approaches. Provides colour illustrations to explain key concepts. This handbook will be a key resource for researchers practising systems biology, and those requiring a comprehensive overview of this important field.

This progressive book presents the basic principles of proper statistical analyses. It progresses to more advanced statistical methods in response to rapidly developing technologies and methodologies in the field of molecular biology.

Advances in computers and biotechnology have had a profound impact on biomedical research, and as a result complex data sets can now be generated to address extremely complex biological questions. Correspondingly, advances in the statistical methods necessary to analyze such data are following closely behind the advances in data generation methods. The statistical methods required by bioinformatics present many new and difficult problems for the research community. This book provides an introduction to some of these new methods. The main biological topics treated include sequence analysis, BLAST, microarray analysis, gene finding, and the analysis of evolutionary processes. The main statistical techniques covered include hypothesis testing and estimation, Poisson processes, Markov models and Hidden Markov models, and multiple testing methods. The second edition features new chapters on microarray analysis and on statistical inference, including a discussion of ANOVA, and discussions of the statistical theory of motifs and methods based on the hypergeometric distribution. Much material has been clarified and reorganized. The book is written so as to appeal to biologists and computer scientists who wish to know more about the statistical methods of the field, as well as to trained statisticians who wish to become involved with bioinformatics. The earlier chapters introduce the concepts of probability and statistics at an elementary level, but with an emphasis on material relevant to later chapters and often not covered in standard introductory texts. Later chapters should be immediately accessible to the trained statistician. Sufficient mathematical background consists of introductory courses in calculus and linear algebra. The basic biological concepts that are used are explained, or can be understood from the context, and standard mathematical concepts are summarized in an Appendix. Problems are provided at the end of each chapter allowing the reader to develop aspects of the theory outlined in the main text. Warren J. Ewens holds the Christopher H. Brown Distinguished Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of two books, Population Genetics and Mathematical Population Genetics. He is a senior editor of Annals of Human Genetics and has served on the editorial boards of Theoretical Population Biology, GENETICS, Proceedings of the Royal Society B and SIAM Journal in Mathematical Biology. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Science. Gregory R. Grant is a senior bioinformatics researcher in the University of Pennsylvania Computational Biology and Informatics Laboratory. He obtained his Ph.D. in number theory from the University of Maryland in 1995 and his Masters in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. Comments on the first edition: "This book would be an ideal text for a postgraduate course...[and] is equally well suited to individual study.... I would recommend the book highly." (Biometrics) "Ewens and Grant have given us a very welcome introduction to what is behind those pretty [graphical user] interfaces." (Naturwissenschaften) "The authors do an excellent job of presenting the essence of the material without getting bogged down in mathematical details." (Journal American Statistical Association) "The authors have restructured classical material to a great extent and the new organization of the different topics is one of the outstanding services of the book." (Metrika)