Ecological Statistics

Course Type	Course Code	No. Of Credits
Foundation Elective	SHE2ED328	2

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Ecological Statistics is designed as a course in ecological research design and analysis for post- graduate students who plan to undertake quantitative field-based research. It is aimed at developing skills for robust research design and collecting, handling, exploration and analysis of observational/experimental data in the area of ecosystem management. The students will learn to design simple observational studies and field experiments in the ecological context, keeping in mind the needs and assumptions of different statistical frameworks (primarily parametric and non-parametric statistics). They will also learn to develop and analyses empirical models in ecology and ecosystem management and independently carry out data exploration and statistical analysis using a basic spreadsheet programme such as Excel.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The emphasis of this course would be on familiarize students with properties of data including its type and dispersion. This understanding would be used through series of hand-on example to use parametric and non-parametric statistical test for answering a given research question. Student would apply ecological and statistical rigor in identifying, analyzing and interpreting a problem under study.

Train the students for statistical analysis in ecological research.
Know the basis of types of data and their properties.
Train students to ask ecological questions with the clear understanding of treatment of collected data.
Ability to recognize cause-and-effect relationships, define problems, formulate hypotheses.
Ability to analyses and synthesize data from a variety of sources.
Learn about software for quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

COURSE CONTENT

S. No.	Module
	Basics of Data and Data Description
	Measures of Dispersion
	Basics of Probability
	Random Variables & Normal Probability Distribution
	Statistical Inference
	Statistical tests for difference in population means, tests of independence- I
	Statistical tests for difference in population means, tests of independence- II
	Non-parametric Statistical Methods- I
	Non-parametric Statistical Methods- II
	Concepts in Study design
	Simple Regression Models
	Choosing the Right Statistic

INDICATIVE READING LIST

J. Gotelli; A.M. Ellison, 2004. A Primer of Ecological Statistics. Sinauer Associates.
Weiss, P. 2005. Elementary Statistics. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
R.R. Sokal; P.J. Rohlf. Biometry, The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research. W.H. Freeman Co.

ASSESSMENT STRUCTURE