CQUniversity Unit Profile
BIOL12105 Scientific Analysis and Statistics
Scientific Analysis and Statistics
All details in this unit profile for BIOL12105 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

An understanding of experimental design, statistical methods, ethics and the ability to critically analyse scientific reports is essential for graduates in the biological sciences. In this unit, you will study experimental design, ethics and commonly used statistical procedures. You will be introduced to hypothesis testing and experimental design, parametric and non-parametric analyses, one, two and multi sample analyses (including one way, two way, nested and randomised block ANOVA designs), correlation and regression, and data transformation. The learning and teaching strategy uses a clear, conceptual approach, which assumes that you have little or no statistical background.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 2
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 7
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: SCIE11024 Science Investigation

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 3 - 2018

Distance

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Residential Schools

This unit has a Optional Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 25%
2. Practical Assessment
Weighting: 25%
3. Examination
Weighting: 50%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Self reflection.

Feedback

Face to face tutorials were conducted, however, attendance was very low (one student). This was likely due to students not being able to attend at the time specified by timetabling.

Recommendation

Allow students an opportunity to select a preferred day/time for tutorials, form a list of available day/time slots.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Describe the uses, pitfalls and limitations of parametric and non-parametric statistical tests
  2. Choose an appropriate statistical test for a set of data
  3. Correctly use software programs for analysing scientific data
  4. Know when experiments require ethical clearance and explain the basic principles of ethical experimentation
  5. Critique scientific reports and research proposals in terms of the quality of their experimental design
  6. Design realistic experiments with appropriate control and replicates
  7. Explain the rationale behind statistical testing and probability levels.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Written Assessment - 25%
2 - Practical Assessment - 25%
3 - Examination - 50%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment - 25%
2 - Practical Assessment - 25%
3 - Examination - 50%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

Statistics Explained

Edition: 2nd (2012)
Authors: McKillup, S.C.
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge Cambridge , UK
ISBN: 978-0-521-18328-4
Binding: Paperback

Additional Textbook Information


IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • IBM SPSS Statistics Graduate Pack edition. Version 19 or higher.
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Olivia Daniels Unit Coordinator
o.daniels@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 05 Nov 2018

Module/Topic

  • Introduction to Scientific Analysis and Statistics
  • The scientific method of 'doing' science

Chapter

1 and 2 of the study guide.

Textbook Chapters:

  • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 1 and 2

                                OR

  • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 1 and 2

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 12 Nov 2018

Module/Topic

  • Types of data
  • Essential concepts of sampling and experimental design

    Chapter

    3 and 4 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 3 and 4

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 3 and 4

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 3 Begin Date: 19 Nov 2018

    Module/Topic

    • Making decisions about the result of an experiment
    • Working with samples


    Chapter

    5 and 6 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 5 and 6

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 6 and 8


    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 4 Begin Date: 26 Nov 2018

    Module/Topic

    • Normal distributions - simple tests for one and two samples
    • Type I errors, Type II errors and sample size


    Chapter

    7 and 8 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 7 and 8

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 9 and 10


    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Vacation Week Begin Date: 03 Dec 2018

    Module/Topic

    Chapter

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 5 Begin Date: 10 Dec 2018

    Module/Topic

    • Normal distributions - tests for more than two independent samples
    • Multiple comparisons after doing a one factor ANOVA

    Chapter

    9 and 10 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 9 and 10

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 11 and 12

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 6 Begin Date: 17 Dec 2018

    Module/Topic

    • Two factor analysis of variance
    • Assumptions of ANOVA tests
    • Transformations

    Chapter

    11 and 12 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 11 and 12

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 13 and 14

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Critique of a scientific paper Due: Week 6 Friday (21 Dec 2018) 11:55 pm AEST
    Week 7 Begin Date: 31 Dec 2018

    Module/Topic

    • Correlation analysis
    • Simple linear regression

    Chapter

    13 and 14 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 14 and 15

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 16 and 17

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 8 Begin Date: 07 Jan 2019

    Module/Topic

    • Non-parametric statistics

    Chapter

    15 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapter 16

                                   OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapter 19

    Events and Submissions/Topic


    Week 9 Begin Date: 14 Jan 2019

    Module/Topic

    • Non-parametric tests for nominal scale and categorical data

    Chapter

    16 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapter 17

                                OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapter 20

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 10 Begin Date: 21 Jan 2019

    Module/Topic

    • Rank correlation and tests for ratio, interval and ordinal scale data
    • Introduction to multivariate analysis

    Chapter

    17 and 18 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapter 18

                                OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 21 and 22

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Practical Assessment Due: Week 10 Friday (25 Jan 2019) 11:55 pm AEST
    Week 11 Begin Date: 28 Jan 2019

    Module/Topic

    • Choosing the right statistical test
    • Ethics

    Chapter

    19 and 20 of the study guide.

    Textbook chapters:

    • McKillup (2005) - Chapters 19 and 20

                                    OR

    • McKillup (2012) - Chapters 23 and 5

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Week 12 Begin Date: 04 Feb 2019

    Module/Topic

    Chapter

    Revision

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Exam Week Begin Date: 11 Feb 2019

    Module/Topic

    Chapter

    Events and Submissions/Topic

    Term Specific Information

    You unit coordinator for this term is  Dr Olivia Daniels.

    My contact details are:

    o.daniels@cqu.edu.au

    (07) 4930 6775

    Assessment Tasks

    1 Written Assessment

    Assessment Title
    Critique of a scientific paper

    Task Description

    You are required to critique one published scientific paper, chosen from a list of four papers provided on the unit Moodle site. Your assessment of the published scientific paper should include the following:

    • A clear and succinct description of the experiment(s)
    • Comments on ethical clearance or lack of
    • Flaws in the experimental design
    • Interpretation of results and conclusions drawn.

    You are also required to provide your own constructive suggestions for improvement. Links to four scientific papers are provided on the unit Moodle site. Please choose one of these papers for your critique. There is more information and help with the assignment on the Moodle site for BIOL12105.

    Your assessment should be approximately 1500 words (absolute maximum of 1800 words). Penalties will apply for assessments that go over the maximum word count. Your assessment must be written using correct grammar and English expression. Your assessment should also be well presented using a plain text such as Times New Roman or Arial size 12 font. Please use ‘double space’ line spacing and do not use background images or themes. Your assessment should have your name, student number and a title on the first page of your critique.

    All essays will automatically be submitted to the similarity detection website Turnitin, in accordance with CQUniversity policy. Please ensure all work is your own and has not previously been submitted anywhere.


    Assessment Due Date

    Week 6 Friday (21 Dec 2018) 11:55 pm AEST

    Please submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site by the due date / time.


    Return Date to Students

    Week 9 Friday (18 Jan 2019)

    Your marked assessment will be uploaded to the unit Moodle site.


    Weighting
    25%

    Minimum mark or grade
    50 %

    Assessment Criteria

    A breakdown of the marks is as follows:

    • Correct grammar and English expression (40 marks)
    • Adheres to the word count (5 marks)
    • Double spaced, correct font size and well presented (5 marks)
    • Tables / graphs, if used, are titled correctly and well presented (5 marks)
    • Correct citing / referencing of the journal paper that has been used for your critique (5 marks)
    • Clear and succinct description of the experiment (10 marks)
    • Faults in experimental design and interpretation identified (20 marks)
    • Deficiencies in experimental design explained well (20 marks)
    • Realistic suggestions for improvements of the experimental design (20 marks)
    • Constructive diplomatic style used throughout the assessment (20 marks)
    • Positive aspects of the paper identified (20 marks)
    • Original style explaining concepts in your own words and explained clearly and logically (20 marks)

    Your overall mark for this assessment will be converted to a percentage for example, 190 marks = 100 % = HD


    Referencing Style

    Submission
    Online

    Submission Instructions
    Please submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site.

    Learning Outcomes Assessed
    • Describe the uses, pitfalls and limitations of parametric and non-parametric statistical tests
    • Know when experiments require ethical clearance and explain the basic principles of ethical experimentation
    • Critique scientific reports and research proposals in terms of the quality of their experimental design


    Graduate Attributes
    • Communication
    • Problem Solving
    • Critical Thinking
    • Information Literacy
    • Ethical practice

    2 Practical Assessment

    Assessment Title
    Practical Assessment

    Task Description

    You are required to evaluate the data from three different experiments, suggest an appropriate statistical test for each, carry out the tests using IBM SPSS statistics package and interpret the results. An assessment template, which includes the three data sets and further instructions will be provided on the unit Moodle site. You must use this template to complete the assessment.

    All assessments will automatically be submitted to the similarity detection website Turnitin, in accordance with CQUniversity policy. Please ensure all work is your own and has not previously been submitted elsewhere.


    Assessment Due Date

    Week 10 Friday (25 Jan 2019) 11:55 pm AEST

    Please submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site by the due date / time.


    Return Date to Students

    Week 12 Friday (8 Feb 2019)

    Your marked assessment will be uploaded to the unit Moodle site.


    Weighting
    25%

    Minimum mark or grade
    50 %

    Assessment Criteria

    Marks will be awarded for:

    • Appropriate choice of test (30 marks)
    • Correct use of the software (30 marks)
    • Hypothesis tested clearly stated (15 marks)
    • Complete statistics presented (60 marks)
    • Correct interpretation of the results (30 marks)
    • Complete discussion of the results (60 marks)
    • Graphs presented, correctly titled and referred to in the text (15 marks)
    • Relevant tables presented, correctly titled and referred to in the text (15 marks)
    • Correct grammar/English expression (30 marks)

    Your overall mark for this assessment will be converted to a percentage for example, 285 marks = 100 % = HD


    Referencing Style

    Submission
    Online

    Submission Instructions
    Students must submit the assessment via the unit Moodle site.

    Learning Outcomes Assessed
    • Choose an appropriate statistical test for a set of data
    • Correctly use software programs for analysing scientific data


    Graduate Attributes
    • Communication
    • Problem Solving
    • Critical Thinking
    • Information Technology Competence

    Examination

    Outline
    Complete an invigilated examination

    Date
    During the examination period at a CQUniversity examination centre

    Weighting
    50%

    Length
    180 minutes

    Minimum mark or grade
    50 %

    Exam Conditions
    Closed Book

    Materials
    Dictionary - non-electronic, concise, direct translation only (dictionary must not contain any notes or comments).
    Academic Integrity Statement

    As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

    Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

    When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

    Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

    As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

    What is a breach of academic integrity?

    A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

    Why is academic integrity important?

    A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

    Where can I get assistance?

    For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

    What can you do to act with integrity?