Introduction to Ecological Statistics and Modeling
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Learn a variety of essential quantitative skills in R to be successful in analyzing, presenting, and publishing your research findings. The examples used during the course are tailored to the needs of students, researchers, and professionals in ecology-and wildlife-related disciplines.
PREREQUISITES
Basic statistics and introductory R training (e.g., R Boot Camp for Ecologists and Wildlife Biologists).
INSTRUCTOR
Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology
COURSE FORMATS & DATES
FORMAT: Learn at your own pace over 3 months as you work through prerecorded lectures and exercises.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: This course has been pre-approved for continuing education by (1) the Ecological Society of America for 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training, and (2) The Wildlife Society for 16 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program. Participants must complete all exercises to pass the course (P/F) and receive a CWS Certificate of Course Completion, which can be submitted to ESA and TWS for CEUs. See our Continuing Education Page for more details about CEUs with ESA and TWS.
*** This version of the course can NOT be used to earn academic credit from your college or university, certify as a Professional Ecologist with ESA or a Wildlife Biologist® with TWS, or used to earn a professional certificate with CWS. ***
DATES & PRICES:
Spring: Mar 4 - May 26: $400 professional / $300 student
Summer: June 3 - Aug 25 (early bird* ends May 6): $350 professional / $250 student
Fall: Sept 3 - Nov 24 (early bird* ends Aug 5): $350 professional / $250 student
*Early bird saves $50
FORMAT: Reach out to your instructor over a 1-month period to get help as you work through prerecorded lectures, problem sets, and your own personal work. Instructor support includes emailing your instructor, accessing live discussion threads, attending group meetings, and scheduling one-on-one appointments (Zoom or phone) about course materials, your research, datasets from work, etc. You will have access to the course for the 3-month term. Completing all exercises and course surveys are required to pass the course and receive a CWS certificate of course completion, which can be submitted for continuing education with ESA and TWS.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: This course has been pre-approved for continuing education by (1) the Ecological Society of America for 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training, and (2) The Wildlife Society for 16 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program. Participants must complete all exercises to pass the course (P/F) and receive a CWS certificate of course completion, which can be submitted to ESA and TWS for CEUs. See our Continuing Education Page for more details about CEUs with ESA and TWS.
ESA & TWS CERTIFICATION: Participants that earn a B- or better can use this 1-credit course to help meet the minimum education requirements (in Chemistry, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics) to certify as a Professional Ecologist with ESA. Participants that earn a D or better can use this 1-credit course in their application to certify as a Wildlife Biologist® with TWS. See our Professional Certification Page for more details about ESA and TWS certification.
*** This version of the course can NOT be used to earn academic credit from your college or university or to earn a professional certificate with CWS. See the PREMIUM format below ***
DATES & PRICES:
Spring: Mar 4 - May 26: $550 professional / $450 student
Summer: June 3 - Aug 25 (early bird* ends May 6): $500 professional / $400 student
Fall: Sept 3 - Nov 24 (early bird* ends Aug 5): $500 professional / $400 student
*Early bird saves $50
FORMAT: Reach out to your instructor for help with course materials as you work through prerecorded lectures and exercises. Instructor support includes emailing your instructor, accessing live discussion threads, attending group meetings, and scheduling one-on-one appointments (Zoom or phone) about course materials, your research, datasets from work, etc. You will have access to course materials for 1 year. After working through 8 modules, set up an optional meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: This course has been pre-approved for continuing education by (1) the Ecological Society of America for 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training, and (2) The Wildlife Society for 16 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program. Participants must complete all exercises to pass the course (P/F) and receive a CWS certificate of course completion, which can be submitted to ESA and TWS for CEUs. See our Continuing Education Page for more details about CEUs with ESA and TWS.
ESA & TWS CERTIFICATION: Participants that earn a B- or better can use this 1-credit course to help meet the minimum education requirements (in Chemistry, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics) to certify as a Professional Ecologist with ESA (pending approval). Participants that earn a D or better can use this 1-credit course in their application to certify as a Wildlife Biologist® with TWS. See our Professional Certification Page for more details about ESA and TWS certification.
ACADEMIC CREDIT: This 1-credit course can be taken with pre-approval from an administrator at a your college or university. For an additional fee, students also have the option to complete an Applied Project for an additional 1-2 academic credits (earning up to 2-3 academic credits in total). See our Academic Credit Page for details.
CWS PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE: CWS requires a grade of a B- or higher for the course to count toward earning a Professional Certificate in Applied Quantitative Ecology.
DATES & PRICES:
Spring: Mar 4 - May 26: $650 professional / $550 student
Summer: June 3 - Aug 25 (early bird* ends May 6): $600 professional / $500 student
Fall: Sept 3 - Nov 24 (early bird* ends Aug 5): $600 professional / $500 student
*Early bird saves $50
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Refresh your knowledge on how to import, tidy, mutate, combine, transform, and visualize data using R and RStudio
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Use the Central Limit Theorem to determine the sampling distribution
Demonstrate the ability to calculate confidence intervals and p-values
Compare populations statistically using one- and two-sample t-tests
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Demonstrate the ability to conduct hypothesis testing using nonparametric tests
Learn how to use loops in R
Understand the difference between sampling with and without replacement
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Measure correlation between variables
Demonstrate the ability to carry out simple linear regression
Interpret regression outputs for continuous predictors
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Understand how categorical predictors work
Demonstrate the ability to carry out multiple linear regression
Interpret regression outputs for continuous & categorical predictors
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Understand when to use ANOVA instead of other parametric tests
Demonstrate the ability to run ANOVA in R and interpret the output
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Learn how to diagnose and address multicollinearity
Understand how to compare competing models
Combine information from more than one model
“This is a great course for those who are intimidated to learn R—the web format gives flexibility to go at your own pace, and there’s fantastic support when you need some extra explanations.”
Valerie Eviner
Professor of Ecosystem Management and Restoration, UC Davis
“The instructors of this course clearly have an incredible working knowledge of ecological modeling and statistics. I would consider my knowledge of statistics a weak point of mine, and that being said, they did a great job of explaining why each model, test, etc. was the appropriate tool for the situation. For me personally, this was extremely helpful in my comprehension of the lecture content.”
Kayli Thomas
Wildlife Biologist 1, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
SCHOLARSHIPS
Full scholarships are available to participants from countries designated as “lower income” and “lower middle income” in the World Bank List of Economies. Please see our CWS World Scholars Program page for details.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations 30 days or more before the start date are not subject to cancellation fees. Cancellations <30 days before the start date are subject to a 50% cancellation fee. No refunds once the course begins.