28881 - Laboratory 2

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course, the student acquires practical knowledge about experimental methodology and data analysis in the field of agronomy and plant productions.

Course contents

Prerequisites

The student is required to have knowledge of the basics of statistics, obtained during bachelor's degree, with particular reference to the knowledge necessary for data collection and processing, through descriptive statistics.
A little review of the main topics of basic statistics, which are necessary for understanding the topics that will be explained in the course, will be given in the first lesson. Knowledge of the English language contributes to the student's preparation, as some of the lecture material or scientific articles are in English.

Expected Skills

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to plan a scientific experiment in the field or in an artificial environment (e.g., laboratory, greenhouse,...) and will be able to evaluate the results from a statistical point of view.

Course content (approximately 12 hours of lecture and 8 hours of computer laboratory and field practice)

1) Review of basic statistics concepts: descriptive statistics, distributions of populations and samples, sampling theory.

2) Hypothesis testing, Student's t test.

3) Non-parametric comparison tests.

4) Analysis of Variance: principles and calculation. Basic assumptions of ANOVA. Planned and post-hoc tests.

5) Proper planning of an experiment and experimental designs.

6) Regressions and correlations analysis.

7) Collection and management of experimental data.

8) Practical examples of experimental trial in plant sciences and statistical interpretation of the results of experiments in palnt sciences.

During the course, computer and field laboratories will be realized in relation to:
- exercises and concepts related to the Office software suites (text editors, spreadsheets, presentations)
- statistical exercises concerning the topics covered in the theoretical part. Data used for the exercises comes from real case studies.
- visits to real experimental trials in field and greenhouses.

Readings/Bibliography

The lecturer's teaching materials will be available online, basically lecture presentations and scientific articles.

For personal study, the following texts are recommended:
Pacini, B., Raggi, M., 2006. Statistics for the operational analysis of data. Ed. Carocci. EAN: 9788843036622.
Gomez, K.A., Gomez, A.A., 1984. Statistical procedures for agricultural research (2 ed.). John wiley and sons, NewYork. ISBN: 978-0-471-87092-0.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Lectures are realized in the classroom at the designated times, aided by the projection of presentations, which are sent to students at the end of the lectures.

Practical lessons

Practical lessons consist of: computer exercises and/or guided field visits (at the University of Bologna's Experimental Farm).
In view of the types of activities and teaching methods adopted, attendance of this training activity requires all students to carry out Modules 1 and 2 in e-learning mode [https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/health-and-assistance/health-and-safety/online-course-on-health-and-safety-in-study-and-internship-areas] and to participate in Module 3 of specific training about safety and health in the workplace. Indications about dates and methods of attendance of Module 3 can be found in the appropriate section of the course of study website.

Assessment methods

The assessment of knowledge consists in a final examination, which verify the acquisition of the expected skills through a computer-based test.

The test consists of 30 closed-ended questions in which the student must choose, from several answers, the correct one(s). Passing the test provides a passing grade but not a numerical evaluation.
During the test, no technical manuals or computational or multimedia aids are allowed.

Students can book for the examination test exclusively using the methods provided by the online Alma Esami system.

Teaching tools

Personal computer and video projector for classroom and computer lab activities.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL - lecture materials presented in class are available to the student in electronic format. Access to the material is allowed only to students enrolled to the course.

Office hours

See the website of Lorenzo Negri