Statistics explained: an introductory guide for life scientists

An understanding of statistics and experimental design is essential for life science studies, but many students lack a mathematical background and some even dread taking an introductory statistics course. Using a refreshingly clear and encouraging reader-friendly approach, this book helps students understand how to choose, carry out, interpret and report the results of complex statistical analyses, critically evaluate the design of experiments and proceed to more advanced material. Taking a straightforward conceptual approach, it is specifically designed to foster understanding, demystify difficult concepts and encourage the unsure. Even complex topics are explained clearly, using a pictorial approach with a minimum of formulae and terminology. Examples of tests included throughout are kept simple by using small data sets. In addition, end-of-chapter exercises, new to this edition, allow self-testing. Handy diagnostic tables help students choose the right test for their work and remain a useful refresher tool for postgraduates.

1. Introduction -- 2. Doing science: hypotheses, experiments, and disproof -- 3. Collecting and displaying data -- 4. Introductory concepts of experimental design -- 5. Doing science responsibly and ethically -- 6. Probability helps you make a decision about your results -- 7. Probability explained -- 8. Using the normal distribution to make statistical decisions -- 9. Comparing the means of one and two samples of normally distributed data -- 10. Type 1 error and Type 2 error, power and sample size -- 11. Single-factor analysis of variance -- 12. Multiple comparisons after ANOVA -- 13. Two-factor analysis of variance -- 14. Important assumptions of analysis of variance, transformations, and a test for equality of variances -- 15. More complex ANOVA -- 16. Relationships between variables: correlation and regression -- 17. Regression -- 18. Analysis of covariance -- 19. Non-parametric statistics -- 20. Non-parametric tests for nominal scale data -- 21. Non-parametric tests for ratio, interval, or ordinal scale data -- 22. Introductory concepts of multivariate analysis -- 23. Choosing a test.