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EvolDir wrote:
Colleagues, A few days ago I posted a message inquiring what folks were using for teaching biostats. I received a stunning 38 replies offering various opinions, some quite surprising, along with links to web pages, pointers for coverage, commentaries on favorite professors, etc. Rather than post the entire text of all the messages to the web, I have summarized the results of this "poll". If you want a copy of all the messages, then drop me an email and I will forward them! AND THE TEXT WINNERS ARE.... There was a clear preference in texts for Zar, with Sokal and Rohlf coming in second. Most folks thought that Zar was the best combination of text and reference for undergrads. Many admitted it was difficult, but that the students could handle it. THE SURPRISE WINNER IN THE SOFTWARE CATEGORY: The leader was S-Plus or the freeware version R. I am a true S zealot, however I was concerned about teaching with this (although I actually have done so in the past). Most folks felt that the benefits of S/R's flexibility and outstanding graphics outweighed the steep learning curve. Many suggested that I would be doing the students a favor by teaching them how to program such powerful software. SPSS and JMP tied for second, however nearly everyone had some caveat about limitations/shortcomings of every package (which is, of course, why we use S or R...). RESULTS (note that some folks recommended only software or only text; others had two favorites): Zar: Biostatistical Analysis 15 Sokal & Rohlf: Biometry 9 Dytham: Choosing and Using Statistics : A Biologist's Guide 2 Sokal & Rohlf: Introduction to Biostatistics 1 Rossner': Fundamentals of Biostatistics, 5th Edition 1 Fowler & Cohen: Practical Statistics for Field Biology 1 Splus/R 8 SPSS 5 JMP 5 Systat 4 Statview 3 Minitab 3 Excel 2 Sigmastat 2 Statistica 1 I want to thank everyone who replied and offered words of encouragement and advice. Again, if you want the entire set of messages, drop me a note and get ready for a big document. Cheers, George ================================================================= George W. Gilchrist Email #1:gilchrgw at clarkson.edu Department of Biology, Box 5805 Email #2: kitesci at northnet.org Clarkson University Phone: (315) 268-2359 Potsdam, NY 13699-5805 Fax: (315) 268-7118 GWG Web Site <<http://www.clarkson.edu/~gilchrgw>>
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