At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Construct a Design of Experiments to evaluate the influence of multiple factors on the outcome of an experiment
- Answer various research questions using Linear Regression and Analysis of Variance
- Extract relevant information from spectroscopic and other multivariate datasets by Principal Component Analysis
- Statistically validate your research findings and handle research data in a scientifically valid way
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Chemical measurements may often contain random errors due to experimentation and measurement, already discussed during Chemical Analysis (NWI-MOL001). Statistical methods are needed to draw quantitative conclusions on the likelihood that differences in measurements are caused by the conditions imposed by the experiment (for example "A higher temperature leads to a higher yield of the reaction"). Also, statistics provides ways to set up a set of experiments such that maximum information is obtained with minimal effort ('Design of experiments'). Therefore, statistics as a way to formally design and interpret experiments is indispensable knowledge for any chemist.
When performing experiments and gathering results yourself, as you will do frequently during your studies, it is of the utmost importance to correctly interpret these results. During this course, you will learn to draw conclusions based on the outcome of statistical tests. The course will cover the basic data analytic methods required to do research in chemical settings.
The course consists of lectures and workshops. Each week starts with a lecture and is followed by a workshop on the same subject. The workshops provide hands-on questions to familiarise the students with theoretical concepts and methods to answer research questions by letting students perform statistical analyses themselves and to draw conclusions based the outcomes. You are expected to have studied the reader and have made the pre-lecture assignments prior to every lecture/workshop: during the workshop there will be limited time to read and discuss the reader.
Note that both the reader and the lectures count as course curriculum and the content can be part of the examination.
Instructional Modes
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Chemical Analysis (NWI-MOL001A). This is a course in the theme 'Methods'. |
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Final resit: Written exam (computer) |
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As of 2020 this course is part of the new course MOL150 DATA 1.
A final resit will be organized.
In this course, you will learn how to translate your experimental results into decisions and observations that you can communicate to your peer researchers.
Prepare for each course week, by studying the relevant chapter or chapters from the Course Material and make introductory assignments. The lectures will discuss general principles and key topics from the material, while the practicals will cover the material in depth. |
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