Understanding statistics and experimental design
BIO-449
Media
Lectures take place every Monday from 14:15 to 16:00, beginning on September 8, in MA A1 10. The lectures are given on campus, but recordings of last year’s lectures will also be available on Moodle. Exercise sessions are scheduled every Monday from 16:15 to 18:00, beginning on September 29, also in MA A1 10.
You can ask questions in the Moodle forum as well as during the exercise sessions, which are held on campus.
Textbook reference: Understanding Statistics and Experimental Design (Link, Free access for everyone)Exam
Important Announcement
- Date: 14th of January 2026
- Time: 10:15 - 12:15
- Location: CM 1 121
- Please bring a white corrector and a blue/black pen
- No calculators or other materials allowed during the exam
Week 1: September 8
This week's lecture: 14.15-16.00
This week's exercise: no exercise!
Slides: Lecture 1
Lecture Recording: Link to recorded lecture
Book Chapter: Basic Probability Theory
- P values, the ‘gold standard’ of statistical validity, are not as reliable as many scientists assume.
- What Educated Citizens Should Know About Statistics and Probability
- Published estimates of group differences in multisensory integration are inflated
September 15 & 22
- No class on September 15 (cancelled).
- No class on September 22 (public holiday).
- Next session: September 29 → Chapter 2 will be covered then.
If you have questions about the first session, please post them on the forum or email the TAs so they can assist you.
Week 2: September 29
This week's lecture: 14.15-16.00
This week's exercise: 16.15-18.00
Lecture Slides: Lecture 2
Exercise questions: Week 2 - Exercises, z_table
Exercise solutions: Week 2 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture
Book Chapter: Experimental Design and the Basics of Statistics: Signal Detection Theory (SDT)
Week 3: October 6th
This week's lecture: 14.15-16.00
This week's exercise: 16.15-18.00
Lecture Slides: Lecture 3
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture
Exercise questions: Week 3 - Exercises, t-table
Exercise Solutions: Week 3 - Solutions
Book Chapter: The Core Concept of Statistics
Week 4: 16 October
This week's lecture: 14.15-16.00
This week's exercise: 16.15-18.00
Lecture Slides: same as Week 3
Lecture Recording: Recording
Exercise questions: Week 4 - Exercises, Week 4 dataset
Exercise answers: Week 4 - Solutions
Book Chapter: Experimental Design: Model Fits, Power, and Complex Designs
Week 5: 27 October
This week's exercise: 16.15-18.00
Important: Slide 38 - Assumptions for t-test is updated!
Lecture Slides: Lecture 4
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture
Exercise questions: Week 5 - Exercises, Jostmann et al., (2009), Gpower, Wilcoxon Table
Exercise solutions : Week 5 - Exercise Solutions, Question 3 Solution
Book Chapter: Experimental Design: Model Fits, Power, and Complex Designs
Link to the Survey: https://forms.gle/5LRfVASMdv7kzgqe9
Week 6: November 3
Lecture Slides: Lecture5, Lecture6
Lecture Recording: Link to recorded lecture
Exercise questions: Ex. 1 from Week 5; Week 6 - Exercises
Exercise answers: Week 6 - Solutions
Book chapter: The multiple testing problem
Week 7: November 10
Lecture Slides: Lecture 6 (same as in Week 6), Lecture 7
Lecture Recording: Link to recorded lecture
Exercise questions: Week 7 - Exercises
Exercise solutions: Week 7 - Solutions
Book chapter: ANOVA
Week 8: November 17
Important Announcement
- No class on 17th November 2025 (cancelled).
Week 9: November 24
Lecture Slides: Lecture 7, Lecture 8, PCA
Exercise solutions: Week 8 - Solutions 1, Week 8 - Solutions 2
Exercise questions: Week 8 - Exercise 1, Week 8 - E1 data, Week 8 - Exercise 2, Week 8 - E2 data
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture
Book Chapter: Experimental Design: Model Fits, Power, and Complex Designs
Week 10: December 1st
Lecture Slides: PCA, Bayes, Test Validity
Exercise questions: Week 10 - Exercises
Exercise solutions: Week 10 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: No recording available
Week 11: December 8th
Lecture Slides: Lecture 9, Lecture 10, Lecture 9 - updated
Exercise questions: No exercise this week
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture 9, Linked to the recorded lecture 10
Book Chapter: Meta-analysis
Week 12: December 15th
Lecture Slides: Lecture 11, Lecture 12
Exercise questions: No exercises this week
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture, Link to the recorded lecture p2
Book Chapter: Magnitude of Excess Success
Summary: Jan 8th
Week 13: Dec 18th
Lecture Slides: Lecture 12
Exercise: please feel free to ask all the questions from previous weeks
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture
Book Chapter: Suggested Improvements and Challenges
Week 4: 12 October
Lecture Slides: Lecture 3, same as in week 3
Exercise questions: Week 4 - Exercises, Exercise dataset
Exercise solutions : Week 4 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 10th Nov)
Link to the recorded lecture gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Experimental Design: Model Fits, Power, and Complex Designs
Survey Link (Until 15th Oct): https://forms.gle/Fxh32C7vMYHyvAmEA
Week 5: 19 October
Lecture Slides: Lecture 4 (slide 57 is changed)
Exercise questions: Week 5 - Exercises, Jostmann et al., (2009), Gpower
Exercise solutions : Week 5 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to recorded lecture (Until Nov 17)
Link to recorded lecture Gdrive (Until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Experimental Design: Model Fits, Power, and Complex Designs
Week 6: 26 October
Lecture Slides: Lecture 5, Lecture 6
Exercise questions: Week 6 - Exercises
Exercise solutions : Week 6 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (Until 25th Nov)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (Until the end of the semester)
Book chapter: The multiple testing problem
Week 7: 2 November
Lecture Slides: Lecture 6, as same as in Week 6
Exercise questions: Week 7 - Exercises
Exercise solutions : Week 7 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 1st Dec)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book chapter: ANOVA
Week 8: 9 November
Lecture Slides: Lecture 7, Lecture8
Exercise questions: Week 8 - Exercises ANOVA, Exercice1_data.csv
Exercise solutions : Week 8 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 7th Dec)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Experimental Design: Model Fits, Power, and Complex Designs
Week 10: 23 November
Lecture Slides: Lecture 8 - Validity, Lecture 9
Exercise questions: Week 10 - Exercises
Exercise solutions : Week 10 - Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 20th Dec)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Meta-analysis
Week 11: 30 November
Lecture Slides: Lecture 10
Exercise questions: Week 11 - Exercises & Solutions
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 29th Dec)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Understanding Replication
Week 12: 7 December
Lecture Slides: Lecture 11
Exercise questions: Week 12 - Exercises
Exercise solutions : Week 12 - Solutions, R analysis script
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 5th Jan)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Magnitude of Excess Success
Week 13: 14 December
Lecture Slides: Lecture 12
Exercise: please feel free to ask all the questions from previous weeks
Lecture Recording: Link to the recorded lecture (until 12th Jan)
Link to the recorded lecture Gdrive (until the end of the semester)
Book Chapter: Suggested Improvements and Challenges