Free Online Statistics and Methods Courses

Want to expand your statistics and methods knowledge at no cost -- except your time? Coursera hosts free online courses on a variety of research and analytic methods, among other topics. For example, Model Thinking, a 10-week course on how to think in terms of models (topics addressed include, for example, cellular automata and markov processes), will be offered beginning February 3rd. Statistical Analysis of fMRI Data, a 6-week course, will be offered beginning February 24th. If you don't see any topics that interest you at this time, you can create an account in advance and elect to receive emails when courses that might be of interest to you will be offered.

R Webinar

Have you been yearning to learn more about working with R? If so, take advantage of this coming Monday's free webinar on R for data analysis and visualization! More information on this event is below:

HFES Webinar: R for Data Analysis and Visualization

Please join the upcoming webinar on Monday, September 16, by registering for free athttps://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/266549378. 

R for Data Analysis and Visualization

Monday, September 16, 2013

9:30-11:00 a.m. Pacific / 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon Mountain / 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Central / 12:30-2:00 p.m. Eastern

This webinar will give attendees a glimpse of the usefulness and power of R, the statistical software package for human factors/ergonomics researchers and practitioners. R can produce very simple graphics with only one line of code, but it also has the power to produce stunning graphics, in every color and style imaginable, with add-on packages and additional coding. There is a steep learning curve associated with R, as it encourages users to think of statistics in a way that they may not have considered. In this webinar - which is intended for students, academics, and industry professionals with basic knowledge of statistics - the presenters will demonstrate why this additional learning is truly worthwhile.

Read the full description at http://www.hfes.org/web/Webinars/sepleeboyle.html. 

MCMC/Bayes Workshop Announcement

Summary

What MCMC/Bayesian Data Analysis Workshop
Where BPS1142
When Fridays at 10am ES

Lengthier Description

By now, we've all heard that null-hypothesis significance testing is fundamentally flawed and that the good Reverend Bayes' star is ascendant. John Kruschke has a great paper comparing the t-test and it's Bayesian alternative, (and a book that expands the idea a bit ), but self-directed reading tends to fall by the wayside during the semester. Surely there's a course that teaches more about Bayesian data analysis.
While it's not local, Andrew Gelman will be teaching just such a course! Per Gelman's public suggestion, we're organizing a group at UMCP to follow along and figure out how to use R and JAGS, (or more probably, STAN), to implement Bayesian modeling. Each week we'll follow his public lectures on Google hangouts and work through the posted homework, all accompanied by weekly meetings to ask each other questions and discuss the week's topics.
The official course text is Gelman et al.'s Bayesian Data Analysis, 3rd Ed. We have a month before the real class starts, though, so we're also planning to work through a few chapters of Robert & Casella's book on Monte Carlo methods with the goal of knowing something about the major random search process that underlies Bayesian data analysis.
Meetings are at 10am EST on Friday mornings in room BPS1142. We're organizing our local activities via a Google group that all are welcome to join. We hope to see you there. Contact jchrabaszcz at gmail dot com with any questions.

Quantitative Training Scholarship Announcement

Psychology graduate students at the University of Maryland, College Park: is there a statistics/methods training program or conference you have wanted to attend but could not due to cost? If so, please apply for the Aiken Scholarship for Quantitative Training, which aims to ensure that psychology graduate students have as many opportunities as possible to enhance their statistics and methods skills. Details on the scholarship are below.

Scholarship Announcement

Aiken Scholarship for Quantitative Training

This scholarship will assist graduate students interested in quantitative aspects of Psychology to attend statistically and methodologically oriented programs and conferences. Examples include, but are not limited to training through the programs such as those sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA) and conferences such as the Joint Statistical Meetings. There will be two awards of $500 each.

To apply for the scholarship, interested students should supply:

1) A 2-page, double-spaced proposal detailing which program or conference they would like to attend, how the program or conference will advance their research or academic pursuits in quantitative issues in Psychology, and their financial need. Applicants should be as specific as possible in identifying the program or conference they will attend. However, there will be some flexibility, with approval of the Department, if an opportunity more useful to the student is announced after the awarding of the scholarship.

2) A brief letter of support from the applicant’s faculty mentor to be sent separately to the committee.

3) A transcript for graduate courses completed (unofficial is acceptable).

Scholarship winners will be asked to provide a short report of their experience funded by the scholarship.

Application materials (hard copy or email) should be sent to Christina Garcia, 1141 Biology- -Psychology Building, mcgarcia@umd.edu

The deadline for application is October 1st.

For questions regarding the scholarship, contact Dr. David Yager, ddyager@umd.edu