This subject is a computer-oriented introduction to probability and data analysis. It is designed to give students the knowledge and practical experience they need to interpret lab and field data. Basic probability concepts are introduced at the outset because they provide a systematic way to describe uncertainty. They form the basis for the analysis of quantitative data in science and engineering. The MATLAB® programming language is used to perform virtual experiments and to analyze real-world data sets, many downloaded from the web. Programming applications include display and assessment of data sets, investigation of hypotheses, and identification of possible casual relationships between variables. This is the first semester that two courses, Computing and Data Analysis for Environmental Applications (1.017) and Uncertainty in Engineering (1.010), are being jointly offered and taught as a single course.

P values represent a widely used, but pervasively misunderstood and fiercely contested method of scientific inference. Display items, such as figures and tables, often containing the main results, are an important source of P values. We conducted a survey comparing the overall use of P values and the occurrence of significant P values in display items of a sample of articles in the three top multidisciplinary journals (Nature, Science, PNAS) in 2017 and, respectively, in 1997. We also examined the reporting of multiplicity corrections and its potential influence on the proportion of statistically significant P values. Our findings demonstrated substantial and growing reliance on P values in display items, with increases of 2.5 to 14.5 times in 2017 compared to 1997. The overwhelming majority of P values (94%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 92% to 96%) were statistically significant. Methods to adjust for multiplicity were almost non-existent in 1997, but reported in many articles relying on P values in 2017 (Nature 68%, Science 48%, PNAS 38%). In their absence, almost all reported P values were statistically significant (98%, 95% CI 96% to 99%). Conversely, when any multiplicity corrections were described, 88% (95% CI 82% to 93%) of reported P values were statistically significant. Use of Bayesian methods was scant (2.5%) and rarely (0.7%) articles relied exclusively on Bayesian statistics. Overall, wider appreciation of the need for multiplicity corrections is a welcome evolution, but the rapid growth of reliance on P values and implausibly high rates of reported statistical significance are worrisome.

This course is an introduction to statistical data analysis. Topics are chosen from applied probability, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, linear regression, analysis of variance, categorical data analysis, and nonparametric statistics.

This course is a broad treatment of statistics, concentrating on specific statistical techniques used in science and industry. Topics include: hypothesis testing and estimation, confidence intervals, chi-square tests, nonparametric statistics, analysis of variance, regression, correlation, decision theory, and Bayesian statistics.

This course offers a broad treatment of statistics, concentrating on specific statistical techniques used in science and industry. Topics include: hypothesis testing and estimation, confidence intervals, chi-square tests, nonparametric statistics, analysis of variance, regression, and correlation.
OCW offers an earlier version of this course, from Fall 2003. This newer version focuses less on estimation theory and more on multiple linear regression models. In addition, a number of Matlab examples are included here.

Provides students with the basic tools for analyzing experimental data, properly interpreting statistical reports in the literature, and reasoning under uncertain situations. Topics organized around three key theories: Probability, statistical, and the linear model. Probability theory covers axioms of probability, discrete and continuous probability models, law of large numbers, and the Central Limit Theorem. Statistical theory covers estimation, likelihood theory, Bayesian methods, bootstrap and other Monte Carlo methods, as well as hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, elementary design of experiments principles and goodness-of-fit. The linear model theory covers the simple regression model and the analysis of variance. Places equal emphasis on theory, data analyses, and simulation studies.