1st Edition

Quantitative Investigations in the Biosciences using MINITAB

By John Eddison Copyright 2000
    472 Pages
    by Chapman & Hall

    472 Pages
    by Chapman & Hall

    Until recently, acquiring a background in the basic methodological principles that apply to most types of investigations meant struggling to obtain results through laborious calculations. The advent of statistical software packages has removed much of the tedium and many of the errors of manual calculations and allowed a marked increase in the depth and sophistication of analyses. Although most statistics classes now incorporate some instruction in using a statistics package, most introductory texts do not.

    Quantitative Investigations in the Biosciences using MINITAB fills this void by providing an introduction to investigative methods that, in addition to outlining statistical principles and describing methods of calculations, also presents essential commands and interprets output from the statistics package MINITAB.

    The author introduces the three basic elements of investigations-design, analysis, and reporting-using an extremely accessible approach that keeps mathematical detail to a minimum. He groups statistical tests according to the type of problem they are used to examine, such as comparisons, sequential relationships, and associations.

    Quantitative Investigations in the Biosciences using MINITAB draws techniques and examples from a variety of subjects, ranging from physiology and biochemistry through to ecology, behavioral sciences, medicine, agriculture and horticulture, and complements the mathematical results with formal conclusions for all of the worked examples. It thus provides an ideal handbook for anyone in virtually any field who wants to apply statistical techniques to their investigations.

    Preface
    Introduction
    Introduction
    The Process of Conducting an Investigation
    Summary
    DATA FAMILIARIZATION AND PRESENTATION
    Exploring, Summarizing and Presenting Data
    Introduction
    Organizing Data using MINITAB
    Numerical Methods of Data Description
    Graphical Methods of Data Description
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    Reliability, Probability and Confidence
    Introduction
    Reliability
    Probability
    Confidence Intervals
    Graphical Representation of Reliability and Confidence
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    Sampling
    Introduction
    Sampling Techniques
    Sample Size Determination
    QUESTIONS OF COMPARISON
    General Introduction
    Single Sample Comparisons
    Introduction
    Comparisons of a Large Sample (or where a population standard deviation is known)
    Comparison of a Small Sample
    Comparisons of Samples that have not been Drawn from Normal Distributions
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    Comparing Two Samples
    Introduction
    Comparing Two Independent Samples
    Comparison of Two Related (or Paired) Samples
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    Multiple Comparisons
    Introduction
    Comparisons Involving Many Levels of a Single Factor
    Comparisons Involving more than One Factor
    Data Transformations
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    SEQUENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS
    General Introduction
    Non-Causal and Causal Relationships
    Introduction
    Correlation
    Regression
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    QUESTIONS OF ASSOCIATION & AGREEMENT
    General Introduction
    Tabular Relationships
    Introduction
    The Contingency Table
    Goodness-of-Fit
    Summary of MINITAB Commands
    Concluding Remarks
    Solutions
    Statistical Tables
    References
    Index
    Plus each chapter contains a chapter summary and exercises

    Biography

    John Eddison

    "This book takes the reader through the structured steps necessary for quantitative investigations. The text is suitable for those students with limited knowledge and ability with mathematics but who may, nonetheless, wish to use statistical techniques appropriately. …Analyses are illustrated by full-worked examples and the author discusses the type of biological question to which each technique should be applied. The text will be a useful starting point for student of applied statistics who need to integrate their studies with Minitab."
    - International Statistics Institute

    "With 458 pages, this is a substantial work. As a handbook of statistical methods, it should appeal particularly to researchers and lectuers in ecology, and in the agricultural and medical sciences. It could also be a recommended text for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.

    "I found the book well organized, readable, and comprehensive…The need for careful justification of numbers in animal experiments is emphasized, so that defensible group sizes can be presented to ethical committees. This is one of the book's real strengths, along with the attention given to procedures for sampling.

    … I was impressed with Eddison's balancing of algebra versus Minitab and his introductory survey of the statistics landscape without being overly technical. …Overall, I would see this as a useful reference handbook for the advanced undergraduate and postgraduate, or professional biologist, who wants to use statistical methods in an insightful and responsible way, and with Minitab as the executive tool."
    - Learning & Teaching Support Network