Online Course Announcement – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R – 25th to 28th July 2022

We will be running a new instructor-led online course in July 2022 based around our book titled An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. It will be held over the Zoom video-conferencing platform and will provide all the practical knowledge and experience you need to get started with analysing biological data using R. As a result, no previous experience with R or statistical analysis is required to do this course.

It will run from the 25th and the 28th of July 2022. The course will consist of four three-hour sessions, and one session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 UK Time (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 19:00 to 22:00 UK Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 24 people per session. The fees for this course are GBP 295 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 245 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place, or for more information, you can either email us at info@GISinEcology.con or click on the link below.

http://gisinecology.com/stats-for-biologists-1/live-online-course-an-introduction-to-basic-statistics-for-biologists-using-r/

About the Course:

This is a practical course and it is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to carry out basic data processing and statistical analyses on biological data using R. This includes importing data sets into R, error-checking and processing them to prepare them for analysis, calculating basic summary statistics, creating graphs, assessing and transforming their distributions, and running statistical tests such as Shapiro-Wilk tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs tests, F-tests for equality of variance, Levene’s tests, ANOVAs, Kruskal-Walis tests, chi-squared tests, correlations and linear regressions. It will also cover how to use R, how to work out how to do things for yourself in R and how to create annotated R script archives of what you have done.

Each session will consist of a series of background talk covering specific topics (more details are provided below), followed by related practical exercises based on instructions from An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. As a result, all participants will receive a free copy of this book shipped to their address in advance of the start of the course. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available throughout the course for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will be hosted by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, one of the authors of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R..

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

Now Open for Registration – An Introduction To Using GIS/QGIS In Biological Research, 6th – 9th September 2021

GIS In Ecology will be holding a new online training course on using GIS in biological research between the 6th and 9th of September 2021. It will be held using the Zoom video-conferencing platform, and will consist of four three-hour sessions. One session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 British Summer Time (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 British Summer Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 24 people per session. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place on it, or for more information, visit  the course’s dedicated webpage at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-using-gis-qgis-in-biological-research/,  Alternatively, you can email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line Introductory Online GIS Course September 2021.

This course will be taught by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, the author of GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates (Pictish Beast Publications), and will provide an introduction to using GIS in a wide variety of biological research situations ranging from the basics of making maps through to studying the spread of diseases and creating maps of species biodiversity. It will consist of a series of background sessions on using GIS mixed in with practical sessions where you will work directly with GIS software to complete various tasks which biological researchers commonly need to be able to do.

Each three-hour session will consist of a background talk covering a specific topic, followed by practical exercises based on instructions from one of our workbooks. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will primarily be based around QGIS (also known as Quantum GIS), which provides a user-friendly, open-source, free alternative to commercial GIS software packages, and it is becoming increasingly widely used in both academic and commercial organisations As a result, it is aimed at both those with no GIS experience, but wish to learn how to to do GIS with QGIS, and also those who are familiar with using commercial GIS software, such as ArcGIS, but who wish to learn how to use QGIS as an alternative. However, this course is taught using software-independent approach, and it is also open to those who wish to learn how to use ArcGIS to do biological GIS.

When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction for Undergraduates as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

To attend this course, you must have your own laptop computer with an appropriate GIS software package installed on it. Our recommended GIS software for this course is the freely available QGIS software. For those wishing to use QGIS, you will need to download and install QGIS 2.8.3 (for those using Windows computers) or 2.8.4 (for those using Macs) rather than the latest version. The best way to download the correct version of QGIS for this course is to use the links on our GIS For Biologists webpage, which can be found here. If you would prefer to use ESRI’s ArcGIS software instead of GIS, this can be accommodated, but please let us know at the time of booking that this is the option you would like to use.

This course will be followed by a second, more advanced online course that will be held between the13th and the 16th of September 2021 titled ‘An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) In The Marine Environment’. More information on this course can be found at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-species-distribution-modelling-in-the-marine-environment/.

Dates for our Autumn/Winter 2021 Online Courses for Ecologists and Biologists

GIS In Ecology offers a range of introductory data analysis online courses via Zoom designed specifically for ecologists and biologists. This includes courses on using GIS, R, basic statistics, spatial analysis and making data visualitaions.  We are pleased the announce the dates for our Autumn/Winter 2021 courses and these are now all open for registration.

Each course will be held online via the Zoom video-conferencing platform and will consist of four 3-hour long sessions across four consecutive days.  Each course costs £250 per person, with a discounted rate of £195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities.

To book a place on a course, you can visit http://gisinecology.com/training-courses/ or click on the link for an individual course provided below.

6th – 9th September 2021: An Introduction To Using GIS/QGIS In Biological Research. Location: Online Course.Instructor: Dr. Colin D. MacLeod. Length: 4 three-hour session over four days. Cost: GBP 295 (GBP 200 students/unwaged/NGOs). This course will provide an introduction to using GIS in a wide variety of biological research situations ranging from the basics of making maps through to studying the spread of diseases and creating maps of species biodiversity. It will consist of a series of background sessions on using GIS mixed in with practical sessions where you will work directly with GIS software to complete various tasks which biological researchers commonly need to be able to do. It will primarily be based around QGIS (also known as Quantum GIS), which provides a user-friendly, open-source, free alternative to commercial GIS software packages, and it is becoming increasingly widely used in both academic and commercial organisations As a result, it is aimed at both those with no GIS experience, but wish to learn how to to do GIS with QGIS, and also those who are familiar with using commercial GIS software, such as ArcGIS, but who wish to learn how to use QGIS as an alternative. However, this course is taught using software-independent approach, and it is also open to those who wish to learn how to use ArcGIS to do biological GIS.NOTE: When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of the book GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book.Maximum number of attendees: 24. You do not need any experience with GIS to attend this course. Registration: For more information or to book a place on this course, click here, or email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line September 2021 QGIS Course Registration.

13th – 16th September 2021: An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling In The Marine Environment. Location: Online Course. Instructor: Dr. Colin D. MacLeod. Length: 4 three-hour session over four days. Cost: GBP 295 (GBP 200 students/unwaged/NGOs). This course will provide an introduction to species distribution modelling in the marine environment.Species distribution modelling (also known as habitat modelling, predictive habitat modelling, ecological niche modelling, habitat suitability modelling and essential habitat modelling) is becoming increasingly widely used in marine biology. This course aims to provide an introduction to the concept and practical application of species distribution modelling (SDM) in the marine environment, and how to integrate species distribution modelling with GIS. This includes selection of environmental variables, the creation of raster data layers of environmental variables in a GIS-based environment, processing survey data in GIS, creating spatial visualisations and predictions from SDMs, and validating the predictive ability of SDMs. The practical sessions will involve working through a complete SDM project using an existing data set from start to finish, including creating an SDM using Generalised Additive Modelling (GAM). This means you do not need have your own data to attend. The practical sessions will be conducted in QGIS (our recommended option) or ArcGIS, and R (but no prior experience with R is required). NOTE: When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of the book An Introduction To Species Distribution Moddelling (SDM) Using QGIS And R (GIS For Biologists Workbooks) as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book.Maximum number of attendees: 24. This course does require basic experience with GIS. If you have not previously used GIS, you can learn how to do so on our introductory GIS course that is being run a few weeks prior to this course. Registration: For more information or to book a place on this course, click here or email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line September 2021 Species Distribution Modelling Course Registration.

4th – 7th October 2021: An Introduction To Integrating QGIS/GIS And R For Spatial Analysis. Location: Online Course. Instructor: Dr Colin D. MacLeod. Length: 4 three-hour session over four days. Cost: GBP 250 (GBP 195 students/unwaged/NGOs). GIS and R are two of the most fundamental software tools for modern biologists wishing to conduct spatial analyses. This course will provide an introduction to the integration of GIS and R to create a combined tool set that makes the most of the strengths of each of these individual tools. It will consist of a series of background sessions on using GIS and R for spatial analysis, mixed in with practical sessions where you will work directly with GIS and R software to complete an example of a spatial analysis project starting with creating a high quality map for publication through creating raster data layers of environmental variables, joining data together based on their spatial relationships and analysing the combined data set using R (including creating summary statistics, conducting linear regressions and conducting generalised additive modelling – GAMs). It will primarily be based around QGIS (also known as Quantum GIS), which provides a user-friendly, open-source, free alternative to commercial GIS software packages, and it is becoming increasingly widely used in both academic and commercial organisations, and R. However, this course is taught using software-independent approach, and it is also open to those who wish to learn how to use ArcGIS to do biological GIS. NOTE: When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of the book An Introduction To Integrating QGIS/GIS And R For Spatial Analysis (GIS For Biologists Workbooks) as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book. Maximum number of attendees: 24 per session. You do not need any experience with GIS to attend this course. Registration: For more information on this course, or to book a place on it, click here or email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line October 2021 QGIS And R Course Registration.

25th – 28th October 2021: An Introduction To Basic Statistics For Biologists Using R. Location: Online Course. Instructor: Dr Colin D. MacLeod. Length: 4 three-hour session over four days. Cost: GBP 250 (GBP 195 students/unwaged/NGOs). This is a practical course and it is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to carry out basic data processing and statistical analyses on biological data using R. This includes importing data sets into R, error-checking and processing them to prepare them for analysis, calculating basic summary statistics, creating graphs, assessing and transforming their distributions, and running statistical tests such as Shapiro-Wilk tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs tests, F-tests for equality of variance, Levene’s tests, ANOVAs, Kruskal-Walis tests, chi-squared tests, correlations and linear regressions. It will also cover how to use R, how to work out how to do things for yourself in R and how to create annotated R script archives of what you have done. No previous experience with R or statistical analysis is required to do this course. To book a place, or for more information on the contents of this course, you can email info@GISinEcology.com. NOTE: When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of the book An Introduction To Basic Statistics For Biologists Using R (Practical Statistics for Biologists Workbooks series) as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book. Maximum number of attendees: 24 per session. You do not need any experience with GIS to attend this course. Registration: For more information on this course, or to book a place on it, click here or email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line October 2021 Introductory Statistics Course Registration.

8th – 11th November 2021: An Introduction To Making Graphs and Maps For Biologists Using R. Location: Online Course. Instructor: Dr Colin D. MacLeod. Length: 4 three-hour session over four days. Cost: GBP 250 (GBP 195 students/unwaged/NGOs). Visualising and displaying your data is important not just for presenting your results in publications, but also for getting to know your data better before you analyse it.This course will provide an introduction to making high quality and informative graphs and maps based on biological data using R. This includes making graphs using the GGPlot package, making graphs displaying groups of data, such as bar graphs, making graphs displaying individual data points, such as X-Y scatter plots, making pie charts, making bubble graphs, making mixed type graphs, making simple X-Y plots of tracking data and making maps from biological data in R. In addition, you will learn how to use a variety of different R packages and how to create workflows for making any type of graph, map or data visualisation in R. NOTE: When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of the book An Introduction To Basic Statistics Making Graphs and Maps For Biologists Using R (Practical Statistics for Biologists Workbooks series) as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book.Maximum number of attendees: 24 per session. You do not need any experience with R to attend this course. Registration: For more information on this course, or to book a place on it, click here or email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line November 2021 Introductory Data Visualisation Course Registration.

Online Course Announcement – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R – 22nd to 25th March 2021

We will be running a new instructor-led online course in March 2021 based around our latest book, An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. It will be held over Zoom video-conferencing and will provide all the practical knowledge and experience you need to get started with analysing biological data using R. As a result, no previous experience with R or statistical analysis is required to do this course.

It will run from the 22nd and the 25th of March 2021. The course will consist of four three-hour sessions, and one session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 Greenwich Mean Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 24 people. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place, or for more information, you can either email us at info@GISinEcology.com or click on the link below.

Live Online Course – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R

About the Course:

This is a practical course and it is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to carry out basic data processing and statistical analyses on biological data using R. This includes importing data sets into R, error-checking and processing them to prepare them for analysis, calculating basic summary statistics, creating graphs, assessing and transforming their distributions, and running statistical tests such as Shapiro-Wilk tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs tests, F-tests for equality of variance, Levene’s tests, ANOVAs, Kruskal-Walis tests, chi-squared tests, correlations and linear regressions. It will also cover how to use R, how to work out how to do things for yourself in R and how to create annotated R script archives of what you have done.

Each session will consist of a series of background talk covering specific topics (more details are provided below), followed by related practical exercises based on instructions from An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. As a result, all participants will receive a free copy of this book shipped to their address in advance of the start of the course. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available throughout the course for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will be hosted by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, one of the authors of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

New Online Training Course – An Introduction To Using GIS/QGIS In Biological Research, 25th – 28th January 2021

GIS In Ecology will be holding a new online training course on using GIS in biological research between the 25th and 28th of January 2021. It will be held using the Zoom video-conferencing platform, and will consist of four three-hour sessions. One session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 Greenwich Mean Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 24 people per session. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place on it, or for more information, visit  the course’s dedicated webpage at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-using-gis-qgis-in-biological-research/,  Alternatively, you can email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line Introductory Online GIS Course January 2021.

This course will be taught by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, the author of GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates (Pictish Beast Publications), and will provide an introduction to using GIS in a wide variety of biological research situations ranging from the basics of making maps through to studying the spread of diseases and creating maps of species biodiversity. It will consist of a series of background sessions on using GIS mixed in with practical sessions where you will work directly with GIS software to complete various tasks which biological researchers commonly need to be able to do.

Each three-hour session will consist of a background talk covering a specific topic, followed by practical exercises based on instructions from one of our workbooks. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will primarily be based around QGIS (also known as Quantum GIS), which provides a user-friendly, open-source, free alternative to commercial GIS software packages, and it is becoming increasingly widely used in both academic and commercial organisations As a result, it is aimed at both those with no GIS experience, but wish to learn how to to do GIS with QGIS, and also those who are familiar with using commercial GIS software, such as ArcGIS, but who wish to learn how to use QGIS as an alternative. However, this course is taught using software-independent approach, and it is also open to those who wish to learn how to use ArcGIS to do biological GIS.

When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction for Undergraduates as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

To attend this course, you must have your own laptop computer with an appropriate GIS software package installed on it. Our recommended GIS software for this course is the freely available QGIS software. For those wishing to use QGIS, you will need to download and install QGIS 2.8.3 (for those using Windows computers) or 2.8.4 (for those using Macs) rather than the latest version. The best way to download the correct version of QGIS for this course is to use the links on our GIS For Biologists webpage, which can be found here. If you would prefer to use ESRI’s ArcGIS software instead of GIS, this can be accommodated, but please let us know at the time of booking that this is the option you would like to use.

This course will be followed by a second, more advanced online course that will be held between the15th and the 18th of February 2021 titled ‘An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) In The Marine Environment’. More information on this course can be found at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-species-distribution-modelling-in-the-marine-environment/.

Online Course Announcement – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R – 18th to 21st January 2021

We will be running a new instructor-led online course in January 2021 based around our latest book, An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. It will be held over Zoom video-conferencing and will provide all the practical knowledge and experience you need to get started with analysing biological data using R. As a result, no previous experience with R or statistical analysis is required to do this course.

It will run from the 18th and the 21st of January 2021. The course will consist of four three-hour sessions, and one session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 Greenwich Mean Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 20 people. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place, or for more information, you can either email us at info@GISinEcology.com or click on the link below.

Live Online Course – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R

About the Course:

This is a practical course and it is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to carry out basic data processing and statistical analyses on biological data using R. This includes importing data sets into R, error-checking and processing them to prepare them for analysis, calculating basic summary statistics, creating graphs, assessing and transforming their distributions, and running statistical tests such as Shapiro-Wilk tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs tests, F-tests for equality of variance, Levene’s tests, ANOVAs, Kruskal-Walis tests, chi-squared tests, correlations and linear regressions. It will also cover how to use R, how to work out how to do things for yourself in R and how to create annotated R script archives of what you have done.

Each session will consist of a series of background talk covering specific topics (more details are provided below), followed by related practical exercises based on instructions from An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. As a result, all participants will receive a free copy of this book shipped to their address in advance of the start of the course. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available throughout the course for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will be hosted by Dr Ross MacLeod, one of the authors of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

Online Course Announcement – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R – 16th to 19th November 2020

We will be running a new instructor-led online course in November 2020 based around our latest book, An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. It will be held over Zoom video-conferencing and will provide all the practical knowledge and experience you need to get started with analysing biological data using R. As a result, no previous experience with R or statistical analysis is required to do this course.

It will run from the 16th and the 19th of November 2020. The course will consist of four three-hour sessions, and one session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 British Summer (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 British Summer Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 20 people. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place, or for more information, you can either email us at info@GISinEcology.com or click on the link below.

Live Online Course – An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R

About the Course:

This is a practical course and it is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to carry out basic data processing and statistical analyses on biological data using R. This includes importing data sets into R, error-checking and processing them to prepare them for analysis, calculating basic summary statistics, creating graphs, assessing and transforming their distributions, and running statistical tests such as Shapiro-Wilk tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs tests, F-tests for equality of variance, Levene’s tests, ANOVAs, Kruskal-Walis tests, chi-squared tests, correlations and linear regressions. It will also cover how to use R, how to work out how to do things for yourself in R and how to create annotated R script archives of what you have done.

Each session will consist of a series of background talk covering specific topics (more details are provided below), followed by related practical exercises based on instructions from An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. As a result, all participants will receive a free copy of this book shipped to their address in advance of the start of the course. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available throughout the course for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will be hosted by Dr Colin D MacLeod, one of the authors of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. Dr MacLeod has been working in biological research for more than 25 years. He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications and a series of books written to help biologists learn practical skills, such as statistics and GIS.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

New Live Online GIS Training Course – ‘An Introduction To Integrating QGIS/GIS And R For Spatial Analysis’, October 2020

We are now taking bookings for the next run of our live, online course titled An Introduction To Integrating QGIS/GIS and R For Spatial Analysis. It will be held via the Zoom online video-conferencing platform between the 19th and the 22 of October 2020.

The course will consist of a mix of background talks and practical sessions held over four 3-hour sessions. One session needs to be completed each day, and attendees will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 British Summer Time or between 18:00 and 21:00 British Summer Time. This allows the course to be as accessible from as many different time zones as possible.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 24 people per session. It will cost GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place, or for more information, visit http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-integrating-qgis-gis-and-r-for-spatial-analysis/ or email info@GISinEcology.com.

This course is aimed at those who wish to learn how to use and integrate QGIS (the leading freely available GIS software package) and R (the leading freely available data analysis software package) for spatial analysis. It will be taught by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, the author of ‘An Introduction To Integrating QGIS And R for Spatial Analysis’ (Pictish Beast Publications) and a renowned expert in using GIS in biological and ecological research. He is also a co-author of the recently published ‘An Introduction To Basic Statistics For Biologists Using R’, which is a practical guide to carrying out the analysis of biological data in R.  The course assumes no prior knowledge of either QGIS/GIS or R, and so is open to complete beginners as well as those how know how to use one of these software packages, and wish to learn how to integrate it with the other.

GIS and statistical analysis are two of the most fundamental software tools for modern biologists wishing to conduct spatial analyses. However, each have their own sets of software packages, and sometimes it can be difficult to know how to integrate the two. This course will provide an introduction to the integration of QGIS (the leading freely available GIS software package) and R (the leading data analysis software packages used by biologists) to create a combined tool set that makes the most of the strengths of each of these individual software packages. It will consist of a series of background sessions on using GIS and R for spatial analysis, mixed in with practical sessions where you will learn how to use QGIS, how to use R, and how to integrate two to complete a spatial analysis project. This last part will include working through an example project, starting with creating a high quality map for publication through creating raster data layers of environmental variables, joining data together based on their spatial relationships and analysing the combined data set using R (including creating summary statistics, conducting linear regressions and conducting generalised additive modelling – GAMs). While it will primarily be based around QGIS, this course is taught using software-independent approach, and it is also open to those who wish to learn how to use ArcGIS to do biological GIS.

When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of An Introduction To Integrating QGIS And R for Spatial Analysis (GIS For Biologists Workbooks) as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book. NOTE: If you wish to use ArcGIS software for this course, alternative materials will be provided for the practical sessions.

New Online Training Course – An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) In Th Marine Environment, 24th – 27th August 2020

New Online Training Course – An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) In Th Marine Environment, 24th – 27th August 2020

GIS In Ecology will be holding a new online training course on Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) in the Marine Environment between the 24th and 27th of August 2020. It will be held using the Zoom video-conferencing platform, and will consist of four three-hour sessions. One session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 British Summer (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 British Summer Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 20 people. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place on it, or for more information, visit  the course’s dedicated webpage at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-species-distribution-modelling-in-the-marine-environment/,  Alternatively, you can email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line Introductory Online SDM Course August 2020.

This course will be taught by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, the author of An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) Using QGIS and R and a renowned expert in using species distribution modelling in the marine environment. It is aimed at those who want to learn how to integrate GIS into their species distribution modelling projects. The course assumes that you have at least a basic knowledge of GIS, and is not aimed at complete beginners (if you are a complete beginner, you can attend our introductory online GIS course which will be held between the 17th and 20th of August 2020).

Each three-hour session will consist of a background talk covering a specific topic, followed by practical exercises based on instructions from one of our workbooks. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

Species distribution modelling (also known as habitat modelling, predictive habitat modelling, ecological niche modelling, habitat suitability modelling and essential habitat modelling) is becoming increasingly widely used in marine biology. This course aims to provide an introduction to the concept and practical application of species distribution modelling (SDM) in the marine environment, and how to integrate species distribution modelling with GIS. This includes selection of environmental variables, the creation of raster data layers of environmental variables in a GIS-based environment, processing survey data in GIS, creating spatial visualisations and predictions from SDMs, and validating the predictive ability of SDMs. The practical sessions will involve working through a complete SDM project using an existing data set from start to finish, including creating an SDM using Generalised Additive Modelling (GAM). This means you do not need have your own data to attend. The practical sessions will be conducted in QGIS (our recommended option) or ArcGIS, and R (but no prior experience with R is required).

When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) Using QGIS And R (GIS For Biologists Workbooks) as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book. NOTE: If you wish to use ArcGIS software for this course, the older ArcGIS version of this workbook (An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology – Supplementary Workbook Three) will be provided instead.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

To attend this course, you must have your own laptop computer with an appropriate GIS software package installed on it. Our recommended GIS software for this course is the freely available QGIS software. For those wishing to use QGIS, you will need to download and install QGIS 2.8.3 (for those using Windows computers) or 2.8.4 (for those using Macs) rather than the latest version. The best way to download the correct version of QGIS for this course is to use the links on our GIS For Biologists webpage, which can be found here. If you would prefer to use ESRI’s ArcGIS software instead of GIS, this can be accommodated, but please let us know at the time of booking that this is the option you would like to use.

In addition, you will also need to have spreadsheet software, such as Excel, on your computer. Finally, you will also need a working copy of the free statistical software package called R.

New Online Training Course – An Introduction To Using GIS/QGIS In Biological Research, 17th – 20th August 2020

GIS In Ecology will be holding a new online training course on using GIS in biological research between the 17th and 20th of August 2020. It will be held using the Zoom video-conferencing platform, and will consist of four three-hour sessions. One session will need to be completed each day. However, you will have a choice of completing it between 10:00 and 13:00 British Summer (primarily for those living in Europe, Asia and Africa) or 18:00 to 21:00 British Summer Time (primarily for those living in North and South America). This choice of time slots for each session allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 20 people. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place on it, or for more information, visit  the course’s dedicated webpage at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-using-gis-qgis-in-biological-research/,  Alternatively, you can email info@GISinEcology.com with the subject line Introductory Online GIS Course August 2020.

This course will be taught by Dr Colin D. MacLeod, the author of GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates (Pictish Beast Publications), and will provide an introduction to using GIS in a wide variety of biological research situations ranging from the basics of making maps through to studying the spread of diseases and creating maps of species biodiversity. It will consist of a series of background sessions on using GIS mixed in with practical sessions where you will work directly with GIS software to complete various tasks which biological researchers commonly need to be able to do.

Each three-hour session will consist of a background talk covering a specific topic, followed by practical exercises based on instructions from one of our workbooks. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available for you to ask any questions you wish at any point.

This course will primarily be based around QGIS (also known as Quantum GIS), which provides a user-friendly, open-source, free alternative to commercial GIS software packages, and it is becoming increasingly widely used in both academic and commercial organisations As a result, it is aimed at both those with no GIS experience, but wish to learn how to to do GIS with QGIS, and also those who are familiar with using commercial GIS software, such as ArcGIS, but who wish to learn how to use QGIS as an alternative. However, this course is taught using software-independent approach, and it is also open to those who wish to learn how to use ArcGIS to do biological GIS.

When you attend this course you will receive a free copy of GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction for Undergraduates as the practical exercises in that course are based on the ones contained in that book.

At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request.

To attend this course, you must have your own laptop computer with an appropriate GIS software package installed on it. Our recommended GIS software for this course is the freely available QGIS software. For those wishing to use QGIS, you will need to download and install QGIS 2.8.3 (for those using Windows computers) or 2.8.4 (for those using Macs) rather than the latest version. The best way to download the correct version of QGIS for this course is to use the links on our GIS For Biologists webpage, which can be found here. If you would prefer to use ESRI’s ArcGIS software instead of GIS, this can be accommodated, but please let us know at the time of booking that this is the option you would like to use.

This course will be followed by a second, more advanced online course that will be held between the 24th and the 27th of August titled ‘An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) In The Marine Environment’. More information on this course can be found at http://gisinecology.com/online-course-an-introduction-to-species-distribution-modelling-in-the-marine-environment/.