Description

Maybe you know the situation: You conduct an experiment in order to find out about your research. You have the data at hand and are not sure how to analyse or interpret your experiment. How do I correctly compare multiple groups? How sure can I be about my results? What influence does variation (the noise in the data) have on my results? Was my sample size big enough at all? What if there are outliers in my data, and if there are, am I allowed to remove them? These may be questions that you have asked yourself already. Even if you have never used statistics so far or are afraid of using it – you are not alone: the majority of young scientists has similar concerns and questions. And in this workshop, you will learn how to approach and answer these questions, turning concern into confidence and gain a broader understanding on methods that are commonly used.

Beside the questions that are of practical purposes you will learn ways how to better plan your experiment, defining minimum sample sizes, understanding the influence of variation and the effect on identifying outliers. Also, you will get to know terms like statistical significance, P values, confidence intervals, null hypothesis significance testing, T-Tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA), as well as outlier tests and tests of normality.

Most importantly, we will combine these statistical terms with practical applications so that you will be able to apply statistical tools correctly on your research and interpreting what you are allowed to interpret. For all topics covered, there will be small interactive exercises that will deepen the understanding. The „little companion“, a small exercise book, will be supplied so that we together can solve small statistical challenges along the way. All exercises can be solved by hand and with a calculator (or mobile phone) so that you will understand on several levels how a broad array of statistical tools work, why they work and how you can avoid most frequent statistical mistakes.

There is no statistical background necessary to attend this workshop. Furthermore, no statistical software is required. Whoever is interested in better understanding the foundations of statistics by playing little games instead of reading heavy books, broadening their view on statistical topics or getting more detailed information about them, is very welcome. Whether you have just started your PhD, writing up your thesis or wanting a better statistical basis for your future career, this workshop will be helpful for you.

 

Content

• Variability as the basis of statistics, what can we learn from our small sample
• Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST), P values and confidence intervals
• Outlier tests and tests for normality and when we need them
• Finding minimum sample sizes
• False positive and false negative results and statistical power to control for error rates
• Testing for differences vs. testing for equivalence
• Statistical error bars, how to read a scientific figure and scientific data presentation
• Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) und Post-Hoc Tests

 

Learning outcome

• being more confident in applying statistics to gain knowledge about the research topic that you are working on
• to support you to conduct better science
• to get an understanding on how most frequently used statistical tools work
• to correctly apply this tools and to avoid common statistical errors

 

Date

March 11, 2024 (09:00 am – 12:30 pm)
March 14, 2024 (09:00 am – 12:30 pm)
March 18, 2024 (09:00 am – 12:30 pm)
March 21, 2024 (09:00 am – 12:30 pm)

 

Overview

Target group	Doctoral candidates, young researchers
Trainer	Dr. Peter Paul Heym
Format	online (link will be shared close to the course date)
Fee	no fee for members of the TUBAF
Language	English
Credit Points	0.5
Work unit (AE)	16
Financially supported by	Dr.-Erich-Krüger-Stiftung
Registration Deadline	March 03, 2024

 

Registration

Here you can register for the course.
Please fill out each field carefully. Your data will be used for internal processes.

If you cannot sign up via this form, please go back to the workshops and use the link for the waiting list.