Services for Educational Institutions

We offer a number of services for universities, colleges and other educational institutions (including high schools). Firstly, and most importantly, we allow free use of our supporting materials for An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R by all educational institutions who wish to use them via our websites.

These materials consist of 32 short, but informative, narrated presentations linked directly to the content and exercises in the book. When combined with the 19 practical exercises from the book, they create an on-demand course covering the basic skills needed to conduct statistical analysis of biological data using R. The course consists of five sessions (one based around each of the exercise-based chapters in An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R) which will take students a total of between 12 and 15 hours of practical time to complete. This to allows any institution anywhere in the world to provide an introductory practical course on basic statistics for biologists using R based around the exercises in this book. In addition, it has been specifically designed so that can be easily integrated into more general teaching of statistical theory and application. The materials have been prepared in such a way that the resulting course can be taught in-person in a computer lab, in a classroom using the students’ own laptops, or by distance-learning using video-conferencing platforms, such as Zoom. In addition, they can be used for independent remote-learning, with students using the on-demand online materials and the instructions from the book when and where they choose. As the same materials are used in the same way regardless of whether they are being used on-side or remotely, they are well-suited for blended teaching that mixes these different options, or for sudden changes from one form of teaching to another, whether by individuals or the entire class/course. A full list and description of these supplementary materials can be found here.

As with the other options outlined below, this free-to-access option will still require your students (or your institution, if you prefer) to purchase copies of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R in order to complete the associated practical exercises. While this does have a financial cost, we have found that having a physical book to work from gives students the best learning experience as they can follow the instructions without having to continuously switch back and forth between electronic instructions and the task they are trying to complete on the same computer. If they purchase the book for themselves, it also allows them to make notes within the physical book and highlight important sections, further enhancing their learning experience. Finally, having a physical book provides them with a resource they can refer back to at a later date when they come to apply the skills gained from this course to their own data analysis projects. This makes it more likely they will be able to use what they have learned when then need to in the future

For those institutions who would like to use these materials on their own websites, we have two different options. Both options allow you to choose between either using the course as it is provided on this website or creating your own shorter course(s) by picking exactly which videos and exercises you wish to include. The first option is that we can licence the materials from our website for use on your own, and we can provide all the html code required to allow you to replicate our webpages containing these supplementary materials on your own servers. The only requirement for this is confirmation that you have included the book these supplementary materials are designed to support (An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R) as a required text (rather than simply a suggested or recommended text) for all the students who will be expected to access our materials. This ensures that we can cover the costs associated with a large number of students accessing them in a short space of time. We also benefit because all the materials retain our branding, raising our profile with your students. This free licence needs to be renewed annually.

The second option is that we can provide access to specially prepared versions of our supporting materials, including bespoke opening and closing titles featuring your own institutions logos, course information and contact details for the course organiser, as well as all the required html code to embed them in your institution’s webpages in whatever order or combination you wish. These bespoke supplementary materials will be prepared specifically for you, and to your specifications (which is why we need to charge for this service). This option means that the only branding that will appear on any of the online materials will be for your own institution (so there is no need for anyone to know that they are provided by an external third party). The cost for this depends on the number of students that are expected to access the materials each academic year. They start at GBP 199 per year for up to 50 students with an additional GBP 3 per additional student above this number, up to a maximum of GBP 900. The licence for this will need to be renewed each year to allow continued access. This helps us cover the costs of hosting your bespoke materials on our servers.

If you wish to integrate additional learning and testing into these practical sessions via Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle or other Virtual Learning Environments, we can also provide suggestions for short multiple choice test questions related to the contents of this course and advice on ways of implimenting rapid, and easy, assessment of the outputs produced during the practical sessions and additional assessment exercises. For more information on this option, please email info@GISinEcology.com.

Full List and Description of Supporting Materials We Provide for An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R

You can view the entire course, as a student would, by clicking here. This will allow you to see how these online materials can be integrated with the exercises provided in the book to create a practical on-demand course. However, if you wish to just see a summary of the videos included in it, this information is provided below.

  1. How Does This Course Work? This video provides an introduction to how the course works and what it covers, including an introduction to the instructions for the practical exercises provided in An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 6 minutes 6 seconds.
  2. What is R and How Does it Work? This video provides an introduction to R, including what it is, where you can download it from, how you can use it, the structure of R code and the special terms you need to know to be able to use it. It is based on the information in Chapters One and Two of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 7 minutes 24 seconds.
  3. How to Download and Install R and RStudio: This video provides information on how to download and install both R and RStudio (the course and the exercises within the book can both be completed with either of these options for accessing R). It is based on the information in Chapter Two of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 52 seconds.
  4. Session One – Introductory Video: This video provides a summary of the introductory information from Chapter Three of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R, which you can find on page 18. It provides an introduction to what will be learned in session one, including how to import data sets into R in a variety of different ways, as well as how to error check it, divide it into subsets, join it with other data sets and calculate summary statistics from it. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 28 seconds.
  5. Session One – Getting Started: This video outlines what you need to do to get ready to start the practical exercises in Chapter Three. The instructions for doing this are provided on pages 18 to 20. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 59 seconds.
  6. Session One – How to Import Data into R: This video introduces Exercise 1.1 from the book, including the different data formats that you will learn to import into R and how your data need to be structured in order to import it. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 20 and 21 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 10 seconds.
  7. Session One – How to Check a Data Set for Errors in R: This video introduces Exercise 1.2, including why it is important to error-check your data, and what sort of errors may be present in a biological data set that you need to look for and correct before you analyse them. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 27 and 28 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 21 seconds.
  8. Session One – How to Divide a Data Set into Subsets in R: This video introduces Exercise 1.3, where you will learn how to divide a data set into subsets using R. This is a summary of the information provided on page 33 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 15 seconds.
  9. Session One – How to Join Data Sets Together in R: This video introduces Exercise 1.4, where you will learn how to join data sets in R. This is a summary of the information provided on page 38 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 49 seconds.
  10. Session One – How to Calculate Summary Statistics from a Data Set in R: This video introduces Exercise 1.5, including the summary statistics you can calculate in R, how you can calculate them, and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to do this. This is a summary of the information provided on page 42 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 4 seconds.
  11. Session Two – Introductory Video: This video provides a summary of the introductory information for Chapter Four of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R, which you will find on page 46. It introduces the viewer to five different types of graphs that are commonly made from biological data in R. These are frequency distribution histograms, bar graphs of count data, bar graphs of summary statistics with error bars, box plots and scatter plots. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 3 seconds.
  12. Session Two – Getting Started: This video outlines what you need to do to get ready to start the practical exercises in Chapter Four of the book. The instructions for doing this are provided on pages 46 to 48 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 2 seconds.
  13. Session Two – How to Make a Frequency Distribution Histogram: This video introduces Exercise 2.1, including what a frequency histogram is and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to make one in R. This is a summary of the information provided on page 49 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 1 second.
  14. Session Two – How to Make a Bar Graph Based on the Number of Records in Different Categories in a Data Set: This video introduces Exercise 2.2, including what a bar graph is, how they differ from histograms, and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to make a bar graph based on the number of records in different categories or groups in a data set. This is a summary of the information provided on page 57 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 17 seconds.
  15. Session Two – How to Make a Bar Graph of Mean or Median Values with Error Bars: This video introduces Exercise 2.3, including how bar graphs of means or medians differ from bar graphs of count data, why it is important to have error bars on them, what the error bars can show, and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to make such a bar graph in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 68 and 69 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 24 seconds.
  16. Session Two – How to Make a Boxplot to Show the Spread of Data within Different Groups in a Data Set: This video introduces Exercise 2.4, including what box plots are, why they are useful in biology, and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to make them in R. This is a summary of the information provided on page 81 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 55 seconds.
  17. Session Two – How to Make a Scatter Plot in from Biological Data: This video introduces Exercise 2.5, including what scatter plots can be used for in biology, and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to make such a bar graph in R. This is a summary of the information provided on page 89 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 10 seconds.
  18. Session Three – Introductory Video: This video provides a summary of the introductory information for Chapter Five of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R, which you will find on pages 102 and 103. It covers what a normal distribution is, why it is important to objectively test whether your data have a normal distribution, how to test for normality and how mathematical transformations can be used to normalise non-normal data so you can apply parametric statistical tests to them. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 38 seconds.
  19. Session Three – Getting Started: This video outlines what you need to do to get ready to start the exercises in Chapter Five. The instructions for doing this are provided on pages 103 to 105 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 57 seconds.
  20. Session Three – How to Assess Whether a Biological Data Set has a Normal Distribution using R: This video introduces Exercise 3.1, including what it will cover, why it is important and how your data need to be structured to run a normality test on your own data. This is a summary of the information provided on page 106 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 36 seconds.
  21. Session Three – How to Normalise Biological Data using a Mathematical Transformation in R: This video introduces Exercise 3.2, including what it will cover, why it is important and how your data need to be structured to apply mathematical transformations to your own data. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 116 and 117 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 51 seconds.
  22. Session Four – Introductory Video: This video provides a summary of the introductory information for Chapter Sixof An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R, which you will find on pages 127 and 128. It covers using tests to compare the central values (means or medians) of two groups, tests to compare the central values of paired groups, tests to compare the variance between groups, tests to compare three or more groups and tests to compare frequency of occurrence data.If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 30 seconds.
  23. Session Four – Getting Started: This video outlines what you need to do to get ready to start the exercises in Chapter Six. The instructions for doing this are provided on pages 128 to 130 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 4 seconds.
  24. Session Four – How to Test for Differences in the Central Values (Means/Medians) of Two Groups: This video introduces Exercise 4.1, including the tests that you can use to compare central values of two groups, and the structure that your data need to have in order to be able to do this in R. This is a summary of the information provided on page 130 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 42 seconds.
  25. Session Four – How to Test for a Difference in the Central Values (Means/Medians) of Two Paired Groups: This video introduces Exercise 4.2, including the tests that you can use to compare central values of two paired groups, and the structure that your data need to have in order to be able to do this in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 144 and 145 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 24 seconds.
  26. Session Four – How to Test for a Difference in the Variances of Two or More Groups: This video introduces Exercise 4.3, including what variance is, what tests you can use to compare the variances of two or more groups, and the structure that your data need to have in order to be able to do this in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 154 and 155 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 35 seconds.
  27. Session Four – How to Test for Differences Between Three or More Groups: This video introduces Exercise 4.4, including why you need specific tests to compare data form three or more groups, what tests you can use to do this, and the structure that your data need to have in order to be able to do this in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 167 and 168 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 54 seconds.
  28. Session Four – How to Test for Differences in Frequencies of Occurrence Measured on an Ordinal or Categorical Scale: This video introduces Exercise 4.5, including what frequency data are, what tests can be used to compare them, and and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to run a chi-squared test in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 177 and 178 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 4 minutes 56 seconds.
  29. Session Five – Introductory Video: This video provides a summary of the introductory information for Chapter Sevenof An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R,which you will find on pages 190 and 191. It covers how to use correlations and regressions to determine whether there are relationships between different variables in a data set. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 25 seconds.
  30. Session Five – Getting Started: This video outlines what you need to do to get ready to start the exercises in Chapter Seven. The instructions for doing this are provided on pages 191 to 193 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 0 seconds.
  31. Session Five – How to Test for a Correlation Between Two Variables: This video introduces Exercise 5.1, including what a correlation is, what tests you can use to test for the existence of correlations, and the structure that your data need to have in order to be able to do this in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 193 and 195 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 5 minutes 5 seconds.
  32. Session Five – How to Test for a Relationship between Two Variables using Linear Regression: This video introduces Exercise 5.1, including what the difference is between correlations and regressions, and the structure that your data need to have in order to be able to conduct a regression analysis in R. This is a summary of the information provided on pages 207 and 208 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you wish to view this video directly, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 54 seconds.