Practical Laboratory Statistics

This course provides a practical discussion of statistical principles, with very little statistical "theory". The content focuses on the most common statistical techniques that are used in evaluating analytical chemistry data.

Students will learn:

• How to calculate means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals
• How to properly reject data points
• How to spot trends in your data
• How to determine if two standard deviations are different from each other (comparing precision)
• How to determine if two means are different from each other (comparing accuracy)

These topics are taught by working through real analytical chemistry examples.

Outline

1. General Statistical Principles
2. Statistical Definitions
   • Mean, Median, Range, Variance, Standard Deviation
   • The Normal Curve
3. Hypothesis Testing
   • Null Hypothesis, Alternative Hypothesis
   • Level of Significance
   • One- and Two-Tail Tests
4. Confidence Intervals
5. Evaluation of Data
   • Looking for Trends
   • Rejection of Data
   • Comparing Variances (F-test)
   • Comparing Means (t-Test)
   • Practical vs Statistical Significance
6. Control Charts

Course Length: ½ day