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BIOL30030

Academic Year 2024/2025

Working with Biological Data (BIOL30030)

Subject:
Biology
College:
Science
School:
Biology & Environment Science
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Jonathan Yearsley
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module aims to equip you with the skills to professionally interpret and communicate technical information in the life and environmental sciences.

Topics covered include the data management, data visualisation, statistical modelling, design and analysis of biological and environmental experiments, introduction to linear models and hypothesis testing using R.

Students will require their own laptops.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Learning Outcomes:
1. Organise and manipulate data on a computer;
2. Design a biological / environmental experiment, taking due account of independence, allocation of replicates and controls;
3. Fit and validate a statistical model to biological data;
4. Test a null-hypothesis using a fitted statistical model;
5. Accurately communicate data using graphs, tables and written text;
6. Answer research questions and draw strong defensible conclusions using statistical data analysis.

Skills:
The module will contribute towards the development of the following skills:
• Effective presentation and writing of technical information
• Transparency and collaboration on data analysis projects (open science)
• Spreadsheet (Excel), R statistical language and general computer skills

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

93

Lectures

5

Practical

19

Online Learning

8

Total

125


Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
A mixture of lectures, practicals and online learning

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (Open Book): 2 hour open book exam on data analysis and experimental design. End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
Graded No
50
No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: In-class exercises Week 2, Week 4, Week 6, Week 8, Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
30
No
Practical Skills Assessment: Online test on data analysis in R Week 12 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
20
No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Practice online tests give formative feedback prior to the final online tests. Individual feedback on online tests and the final exam is available by contacting the module coordinator.

Beckerman, Childs and Petchey (2017) Getting started with R : an introduction for biologists (Oxford University Press, Oxford) [electronic resource] http://library.ucd.ie/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2147070

Crawley (2015) Statistics : an introduction using R (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, London) [electronic resource] http://library.ucd.ie/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2103637

Raykov and Marcoulides (2013) Basic statistics : an introduction with R (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Plymouth). [electronic resource] http://library.ucd.ie/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1961859

Barnard, Gilbert and McGregor (2011) Asking questions in biology: a guide to hypothesis testing, experimental design and presentation in practical work and research projects (Pearson) [electronic resource] http://library.ucd.ie/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1880444

Ruxton and Colegrave (2016) Experimental design for the life sciences (Oxford University Press, Oxford)

Underwood AJ (1997) Experiments in ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).



Name Role
Dr Paul Brooks Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr John Finarelli Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Adam Kane Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Marcin Penk Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Jonathan Willans Tutor
Ultan Ò'Donnell Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 23, 24, 25, 26 Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 12:00 - 13:50