Quantitative Analysis of Biological Data

Methods of analysis for time series and other data. Analysis methods include signal processing, statistics, and simple modeling. Matlab programming is taught and used throughout the course. Topics include data smoothing, Fourier/frequency analysis, spectrograms, and error estimation with bootstrap and permutation tests. The class format is two 75 minute lectures plus a two hour hands-on computer lab.

Students from neuroscience, cognitive science, and related fields are encouraged. 

There are no formal prerequisites beyond calculus, but willingness to learn both mathematical techniques and some programming is essential. Basic calculus, complex numbers, and related concepts will be reviewed.


There is no ideal textbook for this course. But I will be using:

Required
Author: Edward Batschelet
Title: Introduction to Mathematics for Life Scientists
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
ISBN: 978-3-540-09648-1

Optional
Author: Stormy Attaway
Title: Matlab: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN:  978-0-12-385081-2
Edition: 2nd


Batschelet will help you to shake some of the rust off your math background. 

No Matlab book I have seen can possibly meet the needs of all students of any background, but Attaway seems to meet the needs of many.