BST 611 Intermediate Statistical Analysis I

Taken Fall 2011 with Dr. Alfred Bartolucci.

I took BST 611 my first semester in the MSFS program. I had a previous statistic class in my undergraduate degree, however this course  was tailored more towards medical professions. Overall, I enjoyed the class and thought Dr. Bartolucci genuinely cared about his students and their understanding of the material.

The take home concept (beaten) into your brain is how to test a hypothesis. The material builds upon itself and all examples are medical related, however the general concept is taught so don't worry if you're not familiar with medical related topics.

The class requires a book. there isn't any real way of getting around that, however as far as text books go the example problems were helpful in understanding the material. The class also requires a software JMP (or "Jump"). It takes some getting used to but later in the course it is very helpful. Some people would try to avoid it only to shoot themselves in the foot when it gets more demanding.

Dr. Bartolucci is a very pleasant man, and easy to talk to. He is a serious Boston Redsox's fan so, if you wear anything to do with Boston or the team, he will certainly talk to you. The class, was a total of 18 lectures and he goes at a fast tempo, so falling behind with homework is not ideal. Also, a note about homework -you are required to turn in the homework and you are graded with a Pass, Fail, or Incomplete. You are penalized for not doing it however it is used to help those on the border at the end of the semester. The class had two tests: a midterm and a final. He is strict on time and deducts points on those who go over the time (I found the midterm to be more difficult than the final, so don't freak out if you don't get an A on the midterm). Dr. Bartolucci will also work with you if you go to office hours to help you bring up your grade.

My last word of advise is very simple. If you take BST 611 and there is a TA by the name of "Frank", please do yourself a favor and don't listen to a word he says. He constitently says things incorrectly and has to repeatedly correct himself later in e-mails. He wasn't helpful at all and confuses students by the masses.

Overall it is a worthwhile course to take if you are looking to brush up on Statistics as it relates to hypothesis or have a particular interest in Forensic Biology.

Good Luck and Regards!

BST 611: Intermediate Statistical Analysis I/Biostatistics

Taken Fall 2010
Instructor: Al Bartolucci

I never took a statistics course as an undergraduate. I was terrified of statistics, so when it finally came time to take it at the graduate level I had many regrets for not taking it as an undergraduate. Those fears were put to rest from day one in this course. It is the recommended course for MSFS students lacking statistics and it is a great choice for us! The material was relevant to what we do from day to day as scientists in a laboratory setting. Although most of the cases were clinical, the concepts are the same for any type of experimentation in which a population (lots of data) must be shown as significant or insignificant. This course teaches you how to understand your data and make a conclusion that is statistically accurate and acceptable. It made me feel like a real scientist and helped my perspective in reading scientific articles with statistical analyses.

What really made this course amazing was the instructor. Dr. Bartolucci is a riot, to say the least. He made the scary process of learning statistics fun and interesting. He is a great teacher and he knows his stuff!! As a heads up, he is a die hard Boston Red Socks fan so if you are a Yankee fan keep that information to yourself. He took any questions I had at anytime and made sure the class as a whole was understanding the material. He is very strict on his homework format but it is not too terrible. Even better, all tests are open-book and notes. Make sure to buy the book!! All tests come from problems out of the book and in fact, if you do not have the book you cannot do the graded homework or take the test. The homework he assigns are relevant to the tests and as long as you do the homework you can take the tests no problem.

So, if you have any fear of statistics like I did, Dr. Bartolucci will mend that quickly. Once you get passed the first few weeks, the entire class is the same 10 step concept over and over and over! No worries, statistics is actually cool and will bring to light any misunderstandings you may have had in reading statistical analysis of scientific data in the past. Good Luck!

Intermediate Statistical Analysis (BST 611)

Taken: Fall 2009
Instructor: Dr. Al Bartolucci

From someone who has no statistical background, this class was a good introduction to statistical analysis in a laboratory setting. We covered topics I have seen before (probability) and delved into other topics only relevant to those doing intense medical research (hypothesis testing). The class size was large and consisted of mostly Dept. of Public Health students and UAB researchers. It was also the largest class I've had at UAB so far. I recommend this class as a fine introduction to statistics without complicated math and easy-to-understand examples.

Advantages: Great teacher (hilarious!), Open-book tests, online notes, 2 TAs

Disadvantages: Lengthy homework assignments (but easy to figure out), large class size