BIO 262 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
This seminar course will examine experimental designs commonly used by biological and environmental scientists. Through discussion of scientific papers drawn from the published literature, the participants in this seminar class will learn how to design laboratory and field experiments that discern statistically significant effects in a time- and energy-efficient manner. Emphasis will be placed on developing a strong conceptual understanding of the advantages and limitations of various experimental designs and statistical analysis tools. Some of the topics to be covered include pseudoreplication, random sampling, quasi-experiments, factorial experiments, split-plot designs, block designs and the role of ethics in research.