Full of biological applications, exercises, and interactive graphical examples, Foundational and Applied Statistics for Biologists Using R presents comprehensive coverage of both modern analytical methods and statistical foundations. The author harnesses the inherent properties of the R environment to enable students to examine the code of complicated procedures step by step and thus better understand the process of obtaining analysis results. The graphical capabilities of R are used to provide interactive demonstrations of simple to complex statistical concepts.

Assuming only familiarity with algebra and general calculus, the text offers a flexible structure for both introductory and graduate-level biostatistics courses. The first seven chapters address fundamental topics in statistics, such as the philosophy of science, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, sampling, and experimental design. The remaining four chapters focus on applications involving correlation, regression, ANOVA, and tabular analyses.

Unlike classic biometric texts, this book provides students with an understanding of the underlying statistics involved in the analysis of biological applications. In particular, it shows how a solid statistical foundation leads to the correct application of procedures, a clear understanding of analyses, and valid inferences concerning biological phenomena.

Web ResourceAn R package (asbio) developed by the author is available from CRAN. Accessible to those without prior command-line interface experience, this companion library contains hundreds of functions for statistical pedagogy and biological research. The author's website also includes an overview of R for novices.

Reviews

"The book is written in an accessible style for undergraduate students and is built in a lecture-style format. Each chapter commences with a brief description of its contents in the 'how to read this chapter' section and finishes with a summary and exercises to help the students practice using the notions that they discovered within the chapter. The book also contains an extensive appendix of mathematical concepts and has the advantage of a large collection of references, which can be accessed for further studies."
-Zentralblatt MATH 1306

"The book contains a host of examples to illustrate various methods of analysis and statistical concepts ... The statistical concepts described are illustrated with some terrific interactive GUIs and sliders; code to implement these is provided in the R package asbio, which accompanies the text. More than a plaything for the distracted statistician, these are great resources for teaching students and conveying statistical ideas to the non-statistically trained. ... does this book offer anything new, not available elsewhere in the crowded market of statistics books using R? Yes it does. The approach, focusing on statistical foundations first, building upwards from basic philosophical concepts, before progressing to implementation and real world applications, is certainly novel. I would, without a doubt, recommend this book to those statisticians working with biologists ..."
-Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 2015

"This is a terrific intermediate-level modern applied statistics text for biologists or anyone else who is interested in data analysis. ... a thorough job of introducing and detailing the main concepts, the methods, and the pleasures of modern data analysis. It is a visually pleasing book with good layouts, nice typefaces, and great tables and graphics and the R code to produce them! A great way for a class to really engage with R graphics. ... The author has put effort into making the book. A website and a companion R package, asbio, serve two audiences: introductory classes and more advanced classes. He has succeeded nicely in writing a dual-level book. ... I would strongly recommend the book for mature students ... I look forward to using it with my upper-level undergrads and the Masters and PhD students I continue to work with."
-MAA Reviews, September 2014

Book Information
ISBN 9781032477411
Author Ken A. Aho
Format Paperback
Page Count 618
Imprint Chapman & Hall/CRC
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 1440g