Statistics for AS Biology

Descriptive Statistics:
Replicate measurements in biology are rarely identical due
to random errors and natural variation.
Histograms usually show a normal distribution with most of
the repeats close to some central value. Many biological
phenomena show this pattern, e.g. peoples height, number
of peas in a pod, the breathing rate of insects, etc.
If the data are all close together, then the mean is probably
good, but if they are scattered widely, then the calculated
mean may not be very reliable.
The spread of the replicates is given by the standard
deviation (SD), the more spread out the replicates are, the
larger the SD.
The accuracy or confidence of the calculated mean is given
by the 95% confidence interval (CI). You can be 95%
confident that the real mean lies somewhere in the range:
calculated mean CI. CI also indicates the quality of the
replicates.
The confidence interval should be shown on a chart as an
error bar. In a scatter graph, a line of best fit always goes
through the error bars.
Small confidence limit + low variability + data close
together mean is reliable.
Large confidence limit + high variability + data scattered
widely mean is unreliable.
Non-normal data:
Skewed histograms can happen with arbitrary scales
like 1-5, calculated data and data with extreme
outliers.
In the case of non-normal data it is meaningless to
calculate a mean or CI, so instead of a mean you
calculate a median; instead of a CI you calculate the
interquartile range; and instead of a bar chart you
draw a box plot. This shows the median as a central
line, the interquartile range as a box, and the
maximum and minimum values as whiskers.