DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

BIO361H5F LEC0101
Biometrics II
Course Outline - Fall 2015
Class Location & Time Tue, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM DV 1154
Thu, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM DV 1154
Instructor Christoph Richter
Office Location DV3006
Office Hours Wed, 15:00 - 17:00 or by appointment
E-mail Address christoph.richter@utoronto.ca
Course Web Site on Portal

Course Description
This course is a sequel to BIO360 in which topics in biological statistics are explored at an advanced level. Multiple regression,
concepts of power, multi-factor analysis of variance, advanced experimental designs, logistic regression, Monte Carlo techniques,
generalized linear models and principal component analyses are explored using R. [24L, 36T]

Prerequisite: BIO360H5
Exclusion: ECO220Y5; STA258H5; STA260H5 (SCI)
Distribution Requirement: SCI

The UTM Calendar states that students who lack the prerequisites for a course can be deregistered at any time

Objectives
Course goals

This course builds on what you have learned in Bio360 or other prerequisite statistics courses. The goals are to:

expand your statistical tool kit;

give you the background to make informed decisions when analyzing large and/or complicated data sets;
provide you with the experience to critically evaluate statistical analyses and interpretations.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

confidently choose and carry out statistical analyses for a range of data types and experimental designs;
recognize the multi-layered relationships between data, statistical techniques, assumptions, and advantages as well as
disadvantages of each technique;
critique statistical analyses in a knowledgeable, informed and constructive manner;
competently integrate appropriate graphical and numerical tools in your statistical analyses;
collaborate with peers in designing, carrying out, and presenting a complete statistical analysis.

Required Textbook and Materials

Kuiper, S. and Sklar J. 2013. Practicing statistics - guided investigations for the second course. Pearson.

Access to a statistical software package - instructions will be based on R Studio.

Supplemental Textbook and Materials

see course website

Assessment and Grading Policies

Type Description Due Date Weight

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 Class Participation Participation in lectures and tutorials, and feedback exercises On-going 10%
Quiz Weekly On-going 10%
Presentations Group presentation 2015-11-26 15%
Assignment Project reports On-going 25%
Term Test Term test 2015-10-22 15%
Final Exam Final exam TBA 25%
Total 100%

Notes on Assessment Items

Class participation is based on your preparation for, and active contribution to, discussions during lecture period. Your
assessment will be based on weekly quizzes which are due at the beginning of following week's Tuesday lecture, except for
lectures 1 and 2. You can miss two quizzes without loosing marks.
There will be 3 projects, in which you will carry out statistical analyses and interpretation using real world data.
The term test will take place duirng regular tutorial time on Oct. 22, and cover material from lectures, text book readings
and tutorials up to and including week 6.
The final exam will be cummulative, i.e. include material from all 12 weeks of the course.

Teaching Methods and Academic Supports

You have enrolled in this course and your attendance is expected at lecture, tutorials, and exams.

Teaching methods:

This course will be held in UTM's two new Active Learning Classrooms. These classrooms feature resources and technologies not
available in standard classrooms. Your feedback about your experiences in the room and your suggestions for improvement are
welcome and will be integral to improving the learning experience for you, your fellow students, and future students.

This course will probably be a bit different from your usual courses. In this course, you are not only a listener in lectures, and
participate to some extent in tutorials. Instead, the course is designed to reflect how you would work as a scientist using statistical
tools in a variety of fields.

Success is not only limited to what you know, but also how hard you work. The effort you put into your contribution to
lectures and tutorials, and your written submissions demonstrate the amount of effort you are putting into this course.
Most, but not all, of the work will be done in teams.
Very few problems in the real world have only one, obvious, solution. This also holds for the problems we will tackle in this
course: there will be ambiguity, and you will have to consider several possible options, determine their benefits and
problems, and properly discuss and support your decision.
Readings: You are expected to read through the assigned sections of the textbook before class. Weekly quizzes are based
on those readings and are due at the beginning of lectures.
Lectures: Most lectures will be more like a workshop rather than a traditional lecture. The better prepared you are (by
completing assigned readings and quizzes), and the more actively you participate in the activities during the lecture period,
the more you will get out of these lectures.
Tutorials: They serve as an extension to the lectures. In the tutorials, we will continue our guided investigations based on
the textbook case studies. We will also discuss how statistics are used and abused in a variety of fields, such as medicine,
law, and politics.

Academic support:

Lectures and tutorials: Lectures and tutorials are a time for interactions, for questions and solving problems. Don't hestiate
to approach us after the lecture or tutorial. We are here to help!
Discussion board on Portal: Don't wait until lecture or tutorial time. Post your question or problem on the discussion board
- chances are another student may have the answer already, or a good idea how to solve your issue.

Procedures and Rules

E-Mail Policy
The University's official method of correspondence with students is through their University of Toronto e-mail accounts. It is the

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 student's responsibility to keep his/her @mail.utoronto.ca account active and check it on a regular basis.

All e-mails from students must include your full name and student number as well as have the course code in the subject line.

Re-Mark Policy
Requests for re-evaluation of course work must be made in writing to the instructor no later than one month following the return of
the work. Re-evaluation may result in a grade increase, decrease, or no change.

If you are unsure about the marking of a project or quizz, please talk first to your TA within a week of receiving your marked work
back. Chances are, she will be able to explain why you obtained a specific mark or did not get points for a particular section. If,
after this meeting, you are still not satisfied with the explanations, submit, in writing, your specific reasons exactly where you
disagree with the marking no later than four weeks after receiving your marked assignment back. Explain precisely why you think
you should have received more marks, and submit it to your TA no later than a month following the return of your work.

Religious Observance
Information about the University's Policy on Scheduling of Classes and Examinations and Other Accommodations for Religious
Observances is at http://www.viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca/publicationsandpolicies/guidelines/religiousobservances.htm

Classroom Management
Students are expected to come to class on time, turn off cell phones and pagers and to use laptops in class for note-taking and
statistical analysis only (not for web surfing, email, viewing movies etc.)

Late Assignments, Extensions and Missed Term Tests

You are expected to complete and submit all assignments on time.

You can miss two quizzes without loosing marks and without having to submit documentation.Any missed quizzes above two
will result in a loss of marks, regardless of the reason for missing them.

If you miss a project deadline or the term test: Contact the professor and your TA imediately and follow the steps below.

Documentation and Procedures:

1. In the case of a missed term test: Declare your absence on ROSI.

2. Contact your professor via email within 48 hours of the missed project deadline or term test.
3. Submit an explanation in writing within one week, detailing the University-approved circumstance s, beyond your control,
that caused you to miss the project deadline/test. The explanation must be accompanied by proper documentation (originals,
in hard copy) and should be submitted to the Department of Biology to Diane Matias (d.matias@utoronto.ca). Include your
name, your student number, your @utoronto e-mail address, your phone number, the course designator/ code, and a
description of the item you missed (e.g., Project 1). The standard U of T Mississauga medical certificate is the appropriate
documentation to submit if you were ill.

Note that it is not sufficient simply to visit a doctor's office; the documentation must show that you were incapable of writing the
test or completing the project, for medical reasons. The medical certificate must include the statement: "[Name of student] was
unable to write the test on [date]/complete the project within the deadline for medical reasons." Documentation must show the
physician was consulted within one day of the test. A statement merely confirming the report of an illness made by a student is not
acceptable.

Note that holidays and pre-purchased plane tickets, family plans (unless critical, such as death of an immediate family member),
and lack of preparation or too many other tests are not acceptable excuses.

The written explanation and documentation that you submit represents an appeal from you, requesting the opportunity to make up
that portion of your grade in some other manner. If an appeal is not received, or if the appeal is deemed unacceptable, you will
receive a grade of zero for the item you missed. If the appeal is granted - that is, your reason for missing the test is considered
acceptable - then a mechanism for making up the missed item will be offered.

If your appeal is accepted, it may b e considered appropriate to do a weighted average of your other term marks to make up for the
missed item, rather than setting a makeup date. If a makeup is offered, the date will be determined by the Department, and you will
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 be notified. The general format and content of the makeup will be similar to the original test, but the specific format and content
may not be the same.

Missed Final Exam

Students who cannot write a final examination due to illness or other serious causes must file anonline petition within 72 hours of
the missed examination. Original supporting documentation must also be submitted to the Office of the Registrar within 72 hours
of the missed exam. Late petitions will NOT be considered. If illness is cited as the reason for a deferred exam request, a U of T
Medical Certificate must show that you were examined and diagnosed at the time of illness and on the date of the exam, or by
the day after at the latest. Students must also record their absence on ROSI on the day of the missed exam or by the day after at
the latest. Upon approval of a deferred exam request, a non-refundable fee of $70 is required for each examination approved.

Academic Integrity
The code of Behaviour on Academic Matters states that:

The University and its members have a responsibility to ensure that a climate that might encourage, or conditions that
might enable, cheating, misrepresentation or unfairness not be tolerated. To this end all must acknowledge that seeking
credit or other advantages by fraud or misrepresentation, or seeking to disadvantage others by disruptive behaviour is
unacceptable, as is any dishonesty or unfairness in dealing with the work or record of a student.

- University of Toronto Mississauga Academic Calendar

It is your responsibility as a student at the University of Toronto, to familiarize yourself with, and adhere to, both the Code of
Student Conduct and the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.

This means, first and foremost, that you should read them carefully.

The Code of Student Conduct is available from the U of T Mississauga website (Registrar > Academic Calendar > Codes
and Policies) or in your print version of the Academic Calendar.
The Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters is available from the U of T Mississauga website (Registrar > Academic
Calendar > Codes and Policies) or in your print version of the Academic Calendar.
Another helpful document that you should read is How Not To Plagiarize, by M. Proctor.

Turnitin.com
Normally, students will be required to submit written projects to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of
possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their assignments to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com
reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's
use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com website. Students are permitted, under our conditions of use, to
opt-out of using Turnitin. If a student chooses not to submit their assignment through Turnitin, it will be necessary to submit all of
her/his rough work or drafts for the assignment during a meeting with Dr. Richter and the TA.

Additional Notes
To learn how to better support students in Active Learning Classroom environments, students will have an opportunity to
participate in research to gather feedback regarding their experiences and to make improvements to the Active Learning
Classrooms. The research will include a beginning-of-term and end-of-term survey and a researcher may be present in up to 2
classroom sessions to make notes regarding classroom interactions. A focus group session may be held after the semester is over.
All data will be anonoymized and will not be reviewed by the instructor until after the course is over and final grades have been
submitted. Participation in these research activities will not impact on grades for the course or admission into any university course
or program. Participation in the research project is optional and students can withdraw from participation at any time. More
information and an opportunity to provide consent for us to use your data in the research process will be provided during class.

The course website on Portal will be a crucial tool for your success in the course. You will find all important information, materials
and updates there, as well as the discussion board. This is where you can post questions regarding the course in general as well as
technical, statistics-related questions. There are two boards for each of these areas (Logistics et al., and Statistics et al.). When
posting, please keep the following in mind:

Posts are not anonymous

There is no such thing as a stupid question - you may have wondered about exactly that point earlier or next day
Be short and precice
You are in "professional" company, so be polite, helpful and constructive.

Where to get your questions answered

If you have a question, follow the steps below to get your answer as soon as possible:
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 1. Check the course website, in particular the course syllabus and/or the Discussion board. Chances are, what you are looking
for can be found in either or both of those places.
2. If you can't find an answer, post your question on the Discussion board and give it a couple of days - we are all busy!
3. Talk to the prof or TA after lecture or tutorial.
4. If you still don't have an answer, send an email to the prof or see him during office hours.

Other Resources
AccessAbility
The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the AccessAbility Resource Centre. Please let me
know in advance, preferable in the first week of class, if you will require any accommodation on these grounds. To schedule a
registration appointment with a disability advisor, please call the centre at 905-569-4699 or e-mail at: access.utm@utoronto.ca.
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/access/

Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre

Students can visit the Academic Skills Centre to consult with one of its strategists about understanding learning style, developing
study plans for upcoming tests/exams, or discussing papers. Special Diagnostic Assessments are also offered and are designed to
help you learn exactly where you stand with respect to critical academic skills.
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc

UTM Library (Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre)

The University of Toronto boasts the biggest academic library in Canada and the second biggest in North America. Various services
are available to students at the UTM Library and across the UofT library system. Services including borrowing, interlibrary loans,
online references, laptop loans and the RBC Learning Commons. For more information, visit http://library.utm.utoronto.ca.

BIO361H5F - Richter, Christoph Page 5 of 6

 Course Schedule
Please check for a continually up-dated course schedule on the course website on Portal.

Last Date to drop course from Academic Record and GPA is November 4, 2015.

Every attempt will be made to follow this syllabus, but its content are subject to change, according to the rules as outlined in the
UTM Instructor's Handbook, section 3.2.2.

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