Research Methods for Life Science

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject provides students with an introduction to a number of statistical techniques which are frequently used in agriculture, science and business situations. Course content will be set within the context of practical problems. Technology will be used to support statistical calculations.

Topics include an introduction to sampling techniques and experimental design; descriptive treatment of sample data; introduction to elementary probability and distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing of means and proportions; the chi-square distribution; simple and multiple regression and correlation; one-factor and two-factor analysis of variance; and use of statistical computer packages.

The objectives of this subject are to provide students with:

• a basic understanding of how to ask and answer questions in agricultural, biological and business research,
• familiarity with the kinds of data generated in research,
• an understanding of the statistical models and analyses that can be applied to different kinds of biological and business data, and
• be able to interpret and present results of statistical analyses.

A 3-hour final examination (60%), a mid-semester test in Week 6 (10%), and three assignments, each equivalent to 1000 words, due in Weeks 4, 8 and 12 (30%).

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.