SUBJECT

Title

Data management and modelling in human biology

Type of instruction

practical

Level

master

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Part of degree program

Biology MSc

Credits

Recommended in

Semesters 1-4

Typically offered in

Autumn/Spring semester

Course description

1. Statistics of growth standards: normality, distance and velocity standards, sampling of growth standards (population, representativity, sample size)

2. Hypothesis tests in human biology: statistical decisions, hypotheses, significance, one sided and double sided probes, transformation of variables having non-normal distribution

3. Checking homogenity and comparison of typical parameters between groups I: chi-square test, statistical tests of variables having non-normal distribution (F-test, Student t-test, D-test, ANOVA)

4. Checking homogenity and comparison of typical parameters between groups II: non parametric tests (sign test, Man-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis H-test, Spearman correlation)

5. Correlation and regression in human biological studies: correlation coefficient, assessment error, multiple correlation

6. Regression equations, regression surfaces, partial correlation

7. Statistics of longitudinal surveys: individual data in longitudinal surveys, curve fitting, LMS method

8. Modelling human growth I: purposes of modelling in human growth, types of models, quantitative models of human growth, modelling prenatal and postnatal growth periods, modelling the transition between growth periods

9. Modelling human growth II: parametric models (Count model, Gompertz model, Bock triple-logistic model, Berkey–Reed model, Jenss–Bayley model, Preece-Baines model)

10. Modelling human growth III: non-parametric models (Largo and Gasser models), switch-off model

11. Modelling human growth IV: qualitative models of human growth, biological models of human growth, regulation model, catastrophe theory model of human growth

12. PC softwares in human biological data analyses: softwares for managing tables, data management in Excel, softwares for database management

13. Computerized statistical analyses in human biology: descriptive statistical analyses in Excel and in SPSS

14. Hypothesis tests in Excel and SPSS, statistical tests for variables having normal and non-normal distribution in SPSS, correlation and regression in SPSS

Readings

Bogin, B.: Patterns of human growth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.1999, ISBN 9780521564380
Sigismund Peller: Quantitative Research in Human Biology and Medicine, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2013, isbn 9781483281087