2023-2024 / ENVT0048-2

Statistics applied to the environment: introduction to the statistical approach and aspects of univariate statistics

Duration

15h Th, 15h Pr

Number of credits

 Advanced Master in Environmental Sciences and Management in Developing Countries (Registrations are closed)2 crédits 

Lecturer

Laurent Loosveldt

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course is a basic introduction to statistics. It presents some elementary statistical methods applicable in environmental science and sciences in general.

It presents the main steps of a statistical analysis, tools for descriptive statistics and methods of statistical inference (including point estimation, confidence intervals and hypothesis tests) for univariate statistics.
 
The course will focus on the understanding of the statistical process, the ciritical interpretation of statistical results, and the application of the studied statistical methods. The students will also learn how to use the statistical software R.

 

 

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The course aims at providing the students with the necessary tools to

  • Understand and use elementary (univariate) statistical tools.
  • Understand simple statistical results in their context. Be able to read, in a critical way, numerical or graphical statistical results (linked to the methods seen in the course).
  • Understand the challenges, benefits and limitations of statistical studies.
  • Having the necessary vocabulary/background to be able to interact with a statistician in the context of an environmental problem.
  • Be able to use the statistical software R and interpret its output.
 

 

 

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Notions of mathematics

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Lectures and exercices (written and computer-based)

 

 

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

Both the theory classes and the exercices will be given face-to-face at the campus in Arlon.

 

 

Recommended or required readings

The course notes and/or slides and exercises will be made available through eCampus.

 

 

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )


Additional information:

The assessment focuses on the correct use and understanding of the statistical methods, the interpretation of the results as well as the use of the statistical software R. The exam consists of 2 parts:

  • 70% of the marks is assigned to a written examination, consisting of multiple choice questions (understanding of theory, short exercises) and open questions (long exercises, interpretation of results),
  • 30% of the marks comes from a practical examination (statistical analyses in R).
During the practical examination, students can either work on their own laptop or on a university computer. The practical examination is an open book examination.

 

 

 

 

 

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Professor: Laurent Loosveldt (l.loosveldt@uliege.be)

Assistant: Carole Baum

 

Association of one or more MOOCs