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.

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.

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 Online Course – An Introduction to Basic Statsistics for Biologists using R – 6th to 9th July 2020

Before we start our summer series of GIS courses, we will be running a new instructor-led online course 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 6th to the 9th of July 2020, with one session being held each day between 14:00 and 17:00 British Summer Time (we are based in Scotland so this is the time zone we operate in). This allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course. However, if these times are not suitable for you, please let us know as we may be able to provide the same sessions at other times of day, depending on demand.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 19 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 PM us 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 Book: An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R

We are happy to announce the release of our new book titled ‘An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R’.

This compliments our existing range of GIS books, and uses the same flow diagram-based approach for teaching key skills to biologists in a practical and easy-to-follow manner. It also furthers our aim of encouraging biologists to integrate GIS and statistical skills using free software packages like QGIS and R.

It is available from Amazon and all good book shops. More information about it is provided below, while free PDF extracts can be downloaded from from our website at www.gisinecology.com/stats-for-biologists-1.

MacLeod, C.D. and MacLeod, R. (2020) A Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. 244 pages. ISBN: 978-1-909832-07-7. RRP: UK: £22.99; US: $29.99; EU: €27.99.

‘An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R’ is a new book which provides biologists with a uniquely easy-to-understand introduction to conducting statistical analysis in R. It uses a series of practical exercises based on easy-to-follow flow diagrams to show biologists exactly how to do a variety of key tasks.

These include: 1. Importing data sets and preparing them for analysis; 2. Creating graphs from biological data; 3. Assessing and transforming distributions; 4. Using statistical analysis to compare groups; 5. Using correlations and regression analysis.

Together, these represent the key tasks biologists need to be able to carry out to start analysing their data using R. This means it provides the perfect practical introduction for any biologist interested in learning how to use R to do statistics.

This book is also well-suited to act as a course text for those who wish to teach introductory statistics courses using R to undergraduate, masters or postgraduate students in any biological field. It not only provides a practical guide suitable for accompany the teaching of statistical theory, it also provides off-the-shelf exercises, complete with suitable data sets, that can be used as the basis for practical classes.

For more information, including free PDF extracts, visit: www.gisinecology.com/stats-for-biologists-1

New Book: An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) Using QGIS And R

We are pleased to accounce the publication of ‘An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) Using QGIS And R’. This is second book in our new ‘GIS For Biologists Workbooks’ series, which has been created to accompany ‘GIS For Biologists: A Practcial Introduction For Undergraduates‘.

To purchase it from Amazon.com, click here. To purchase it from Amazon.co.uk, click here. It is also avaiable to order through all good book shops and other online stockists.

‘An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) Using QGIS’ has been specially written based around free-to-access, open source software. Specifically, it uses two such packages, QGIS for the GIS-based components, and R for statistical analyses. Working with both of these packages, rather than just one or other, allows you to make the most of the specialist tools available within  each of them.

It contains five exercises which will introduce you to the basic spatial processing and analytical techniques required to create a biologically meaningful species distribution model (SDM). Taken together, these exercises allow you to work through an example of an SDM from processing your survey data and making raster data layers of environmental variables to constructing an SDM, visualising its predicted spatial distribution and validating its predictive ability. The exercises  are designed to be followed in the order they are presented, and work with a specific data set which is available to download from the link provided.

Working through these five exercises will help the user obtain experience in creating SDM using QGIS and R, and provide them with the confidence to apply these skills to their own research. These exercises are presented in the same easy-to-follow flow diagram-based format used in ‘GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates’. They are accompanied by images which show the user how their GIS project should look as they progress through the exercises, allowing them to compare their own work to the expected results.

Note: An earlier version of this book based around ArcGIS was previously published under the title ‘An Introduction To Using GIS In MArine Biology: Supplementary Workbook Three’.

The PSLS series of books uses Task-Oriented Learning (TOL) to teach the practical application of research skills to the life sciences. This involves demonstrating how these skills can be used in the specific circumstances in which they are likely to be required rather than concentrating on teaching theoretical frameworks or on teaching skills in a generic or abstract manner. By seeing how the similar processes are used to achieve a variety of different goals within a specific field, it becomes easier for the reader to identify the general rules behind the practical application of these processes and, therefore, to transfer them to novel situations they may encounter in the future.

New Book: An Introduction To Integrating QGIS And R For Spatial Analysis

We are pleased to accounce the publication of our latest GIS book. This is ‘An Introduction To Integrating QGIS And R For Spatial Analysis’. This is the first volume in our new ‘GIS For Biologists Workbooks’ series, which has been created to accompany ‘GIS For Biologists: A Practcial Introduction For Undergraduates‘.

To purchase it from Amazon.com, click here. To purchase it from Amazon.co.uk, click here. It is also avaiable to order through all good book shops and other online stockists.

‘An Introduction To Integrating QGIS And R For Spatial Analysis’ has been specially written based around free-to-access, open source software. Specifically, it uses two such packages, QGIS for the GIS-based components, and R for statistical analyses. Working with both of these packages, rather than just one or other, allows you to make the most of the specialist tools available within each of them.

It contains five exercises which demonstrate how to integrate QGIS and R to allow you to conduct high quality spatial analyses by accessing and combining the powerful mapping, data layer creation, editing and processing tools from QGIS and the equally powerful analytical tools from R. These exercises are based around data from a real biological field study and include: creating a GIS project to process your data and create a map suitable for publication; creating environmental raster data layers; linking environmental data to biological data and creating graphs from the resulting data set; and running statistical analyses (GLMs and GAMs) to investigate spatial relationships in this combined data set.

Working through these five exercises will help the user obtain experience in integrating QGIS and R for spatial analysis, and provide them with the confidence to apply these skills to their own research. These exercises are presented in the same easy-to-follow flow diagram-based format used in ‘GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates’. They are accompanied by images which show the user how their spatial analysis project should look as they progress through the exercises, allowing them to compare their own work to the expected results.

The PSLS series of books uses Task-Oriented Learning (TOL) to teach the practical application of research skills to the life sciences. This involves demonstrating how these skills can be used in the specific circumstances in which they are likely to be required rather than concentrating on teaching theoretical frameworks or on teaching skills in a generic or abstract manner. By seeing how the similar processes are used to achieve a variety of different goals within a specific field, it becomes easier for the reader to identify the general rules behind the practical application of these processes and, therefore, to transfer them to novel situations they may encounter in the future.

GIS For Biologists: Tip #9 – How To Add A Google Earth Or Bing Maps Image To A GIS Project

This video is the ninth in a series of helpful hints and handy tips for biologists who want to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in their research. It demonstrates how to add an image from Google Earth or Bing maps to a GIS project using QGIS, the leading freely available open source GIS software. For those working in the commercial ArcGIS software package, a similar end can be achieved by adding the World Imagery basemap from ESRI to a GIS project.

If you are wondering why you would want to add such images to a GIS project, they open up some very interesting and useful possibilities. Firstly, and most basically, they provide a nice background to help put any data you are displaying in your GIS project in a wider context. For example, you can see areas of woodland, or lakes, or see their proximity to other features, such as rivers, houses and roads.

Secondly, and this is where things get interesting, once you have such images in your GIS project, you can create new data layers and trace features from the image into them. Through this process, you can create high-resolution data layers of features within your study area, such as the above mentioned areas of woodland and lakes. In fact, this is one of the quickest and best ways to generate high-resolution data layers of features in your local environment, especially for small study areas and parts of the world where there are few sources of suitable existing data layers.

While this video only covers the adding of Google Earth and Bing maps images to your GIS project in QGIS, you can find information on how to make new data layers here.  Similarly, the QGIS OpenLayers Plugin, which is used to import these images, can also be used to import images from OpenStreetMap, MapQuest and other potential source of GIS data that are likely to be useful to biologists, so it is really useful to know how to use this plugin.

If you have any questions or queries about this video, feel free to comment on this post and I’ll do my best to answer them.

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Dr Colin D. MacLeod,
Founder, GIS In Ecology
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GIS For Biologists: Tip #8 – How To Change How A Data Layer Is Displayed In A GIS Project

This video is the eighth in a series of helpful hints and handy tips for biologists who want to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in their research. It provides a brief introduction on how to change how data layers are displayed in A GIS project using QGIS.

While it is often tempting to stay with the default display option selected by your GIS software when you add a new data layer to a GIS project, by changing the way that your data layers are displayed, you can greatly enhance both the contents of your GIS project, and any maps that you create from it. This video takes you through some of the different options which are available for displaying different types of data layers, including point data layers, polygon data layers and raster data layers. While these are demonstrated in QGIS, the same options are available in other GIS software packages.

If you have any questions or queries about this video, feel free to comment on this post and I’ll do my best to answer them.

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Dr Colin D. MacLeod,
Founder, GIS In Ecology
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